| LEC # | TOPICS | KEY DATES |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1: Introduction: Ethnomusicological Approaches to African Music | ||
| 1 | Preliminaries; Overview of Course | |
| 2 | The Field of Ethnomusicology, the Concept of "Soundscapes" and its Application to the Study of World Music Building a Cross-Cultural Musical Vocabulary | |
| 3 | Organology and Instruments: The Sachs-Hornbostel System of Instrument Classification | |
| 4 | African Music: A Review of Ethnomusicological Literature | Paper 1 due |
| Unit 2: Senegal | ||
| 5 | Senegalese History, Culture, and Music Focus on Wolof Griots, Masters of the Sabar Drum | |
| 6 | Popular Music in Senegal: mbalax and Hip-Hop | |
| 7 | Sabar Drumming: An Introduction to Basic Hand Techniques, Rhythms, and bàkks | |
| 8 | Sabar Drum Workshop with Artist-in-Residence, Lamine Touré | |
| 9 | Interlude: Southern Africa | |
| Unit 3: Mali | ||
| 10 | Music of the Mande: The jali and his Instruments | Musical transcription exercise due |
| 11 | Guest Lecture - Demonstration by Balla Kouyate, a Balafon Player from New York City | |
| 12 | Malian Superstars: Salif Keita, Oumou Sangare and Ali Farke Touré | |
| 13 | Midterm Exam | |
| Evening Performance by Lamine Touré and Group Saloum | ||
| Unit 4: Ghana | ||
| 14 | Music Cultures of the Ewe and Dagbamba | |
| 15 | Case Study: Agbekor (Ewe) | Paper 2 due |
| 16 | Urban Music Roots: Highlife and Palm-wine Music | Submit final project proposal |
| 17 | Interlude: Central Africa | |
| Unit 5: Nigeria | ||
| 18 | Music and Identity: jùjú and fúji Bands | |
| 19 | Music and Politics: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti's Afro-Beat | |
| 20 | Music and Ritual: Hausa Music and the bori Ceremony | Submit final project progress report |
| 21 | Interlude: East Africa | |
| Unit 6: Conclusions | ||
| 22-24 | Final Presentations | |
| 25 | Conclusions | Final paper due |