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Course Info for MUSC - 218 - 01, Fall 2025
Class number: 2901 Title: American Popular Music Department: Music
Career: Undergraduate Component: Lecture Session: Regular
Instructor's Permission Required: No Grading Basis: Regular Units: 1.00
Enrollment limited to 39 Current enrollment: 39 Available seats: 0
Start date: Tuesday, September 2, 2025 End date: Wednesday, December 17, 2025 Mode of Instruction: In Person
Schedule: TR: 1:30PM-2:45PM, AAC - 112 Instructor(s): Woldu, Gail
Prerequisite(s): None
Distribution Requirement: Meets Arts & Identity Power Equity Requirements
Note: Seat Reservations: 5 first-years, 5 sophomores.
Course Description:
A broad survey of popular music in the United States from the late 19th century to the present. We will explore blackface minstrelsy, the music of Tin Pan Alley, ragtime and big band jazz, early blues and country music, post-war pop singers, the evolution of rock and roll, rhythm and blues and soul, folk music, alternative music, hip-hop, and MTV and the popular mainstream. Themes of music and identity, multi- cultural sources, the business of music, and the influence of technology will be followed throughout the course. No previous background in music is required. Also listed in American Studies.