Columbia University
African-American Studies, Anthropology, and Film
Fall 2006
Course Requirements
1) Regular attendance and participation
2) Attendance at film showings
3) Read all assigned texts
4) 1-page paper on each week's film, due in class the week of the showing, beginning Sept 19
5) A short classroom presentation on one of the scheduled films or related material
6) Final paper of 15-20 pages (based on a topic that has been discussed with the instructor)
Required Reading
Columbia University
English
Fall 2007
Yale University
Spring 2003
This seminar will undertake critical reading of the earliest commentaries on jazz (including the writings of musicians, literary critics, educators, the popular press, and artists (especially the Futurists, Surrealists, and Dadaists), and of the first attempts at jazz history. Discussion will include the dates and characteristics of the earliest jazz, the role of race in jazz commentary, and the place of jazz in twentieth century discourse. Recordings and films will supplement the readings.
REQUIRED READINGS:
Columbia University
Spring 2002
Yale University
African-American Studies
Spring 2002
A survey of the life and music of Miles Davis, examining the social history and musical traditions which shaped his work, and exploring his influence on music, literature and society.
ABOUT THE COURSE
Columbia University
Anthropology and American Studies
Spring 2007
Course Requirements
1. Regular attendance and participation at the seminar
2. Two or three class presentations based on papers of approximately 5 pages
3. A term paper of approximately 15-20 pages due on April 24
REQUIRED READING
Christoph Cox and Daniel Warner, eds. Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music. NY, 2004
Mark Katz, Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music. Berkeley, 2004 (with CD)
Michel Chion, Audio Vision
Columbia University
Department of Music
In the 20th Century, improvisation in the contemporary arts has served as a symbol of new models of social organization that foreground agency, history, memory, identity, personality, freedom, embodiment, cultural difference and self-determination.
Columbia University
Department of Music
Berea College
Fall 2004
