| Unit name | Music and Migration in the 20th Century |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MUSI20085 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Heldt |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Music |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
What do Stravinsky and Schoenberg have in common with Miles Davis and Asian Dub Foundation? Their music is informed by engagements with diaspora, by experiences of exile, and by characteristics of displacement. Migration as a phenomenon, whether physical or virtual, has underpinned and informed a wide variety of musics in the 20th century.
In the twentieth century, displacement and migration reached a scale unprecedented in human history. Where people travel, so does music. We will explore how migration has impacted on musical genres ranging from western art music to pop and jazz in a multitude of different ways. Topics will include the wave of migration triggered by the Russian revolution; the migrations of musicians who fled the rise of fascism before and during WWII; the role of music in the formation of diasporic identities ranging from the Jewish diaspora to jazz in the African-American community; and diasporic musics in postcolonial metropolises.
The aims of this unit are:
1) to introduce students to the impact of different migrations (and types of migration) on music in the 20th century;
2) to set different repertoires and developments in 20th-century music in the political and social contexts of migration movements;
3) to allow students to engage with historical and musicological research into migration and its influence on music;
4) to introduce students to research about the role of music in the formation of identities in diasporic communities;
5) to develop students’ skills in in critical listening;
6) to develop students’ skills in the oral and written presentation of their ideas.
At the end of the unit, students should:
1) be familiar with the outlines of the consequences of different migration movements in the 20th century for the development of a range of musical styles of art and popular music;
2) understand the impact of migration on the personal stories and the work of composers and other musicians;
3) understand the impact of migration on music as part of the formation and change of group identities in different ethnic, national and social contexts;
4) know key scholarly contributions to the field and be able to integrate insights from historical scholarship on migration into their own musicological work on relevant music.
10x2 hour classes for the whole cohort
All the assessment is summative:
1x2,500-word essay (50%); 1x 2-hour exam (50%).
Both the essay and the exam will demonstrate (1)-(4), with the essay in particular providing an opportunity for the students to demonstrate (4).
1. Reinhold Brinkmann and Christoph Wolff, ed., Driven into Paradise: The Musical Migration from Nazi Germany to the United States. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999
2. Stephen Castles and Mark J. Miller, The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009
3. Erik Levi and Florian Scheding, ed., Music and Displacement: Diasporas, Mobilities and Dislocations in Europe and Beyond. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2010
4. Ingrid Monson, ed., The African Diaspora: A Musical Perspective. New York: Garland, 2000
5. Edward W. Saïd, Reflections on Exile and Other Essays. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2002
6. Daniel Snowman, The Hitler Emigrés: The Cultural Impact on Britain of Refugees from Nazism. London: Chatto & Windus, 2002
