Department of Music

Last updated: July 19, 2013 at 1:38 p.m.

Objectives

Undergraduate Major
The Department of Music offers a broad-based undergraduate major that combines the study of history, theory, composition, and performance. The core of the program consists of two years of theory (with associated labs that provide further training in the musicianship skills necessary for all musical endeavors), three semesters of the history of Western music, participation in University ensemble, and three electives chosen from a broad array of topics. Students may, if desired, opt for one of five specialized tracks within the music major or work with a faculty adviser to propose an alternate program in accordance with their own interests.
  • Composition
    The track in composition, open to qualified students, develops skills in composition and analysis through courses in composition selected in consultation with the faculty adviser.
  • Cultural Studies
    The track in cultural studies encourages students to develop an understanding of music of various traditions in their cultural and social contexts. Students in this interdisciplinary track select courses in cultural studies from offerings in the schools of creative arts, social sciences, and humanities.
  • History
    The track in history, open to qualified students, allows students to focus on the place of music in history through elective courses on historical topics chosen in consultation with the faculty adviser. Students are encouraged to select these courses from related disciplines to focus on a particular time or place.
  • Performance
    The track in performance, open to highly qualified students by audition, develops skill in performance through private study as well as through elective courses selected in consultation with the faculty adviser. Students also present junior and senior recitals.
  • Musical Theater Performance
    The track in musical theater performance, open to qualified students by audition, allows students with an interest in musical theater to pursue that dream. In addition to taking courses in the music department, musical theater students are encouraged to participate in musicals produced by the Theater Arts Department and to enroll in a mix of music and theater electives. Students also present junior and senior recitals.

Graduate Program in Music
The department offers graduate programs in two areas: composition and theory, and musicology.

Composition and Theory
The department offers three degree programs in composition and theory: MA (normally one year), MFA (normally two years), and PhD (normally two or more years following the completion of MFA requirements). The programs are designed to help students develop a command of the craft of composition. That objective is supported by studies in theory and analysis and in electro-acoustic music. The doctoral dissertation consists of two parts: an extended analysis thesis and a composition.

Musicology
The department offers three degree programs in musicology: MA (normally one year), MFA (normally two years), and PhD (normally two or more years following the completion of MFA requirements). The programs offer an integrated approach to the understanding of the nature, structural basis, and historical development of music. Students may elect to emphasize or concentrate in music history, or in theory and analysis. In the music history program, a variety of techniques and methodologies, including source studies, style development, and historiography, are applied to different repertories and historical problems. The theory and analysis program features work in the history of theory as well as analytic work in the context of theory construction involving the evaluation of pretonal, tonal, and contemporary analytic models. Courses consist of proseminars and seminars: proseminars survey an array of topics illustrating the representative avenues of research and methodological approaches and seminars typically concentrate on a single topic.

Learning Goals

The learning goals for the Music Department are based on an integrated approach to the study of music, encompassing a number of perspectives:

  • Music as a technical discipline, with its own notation, materials and forms.
  • Music as an artifact of different historical periods, cultures and societies, both Western and non-Western, in written as well as oral traditions.
  • The practice of music in the context of both performance and composition.
  • Music as expression and communication, fostering a deeply sympathetic understanding of peoples, a sense of community, and a humane and tolerant outlook on the world.

In addition to the general requirements for the Music Major, students may enrich their experience by choosing to pursue one of five specialized tracks offered by the Department. Whichever route a student follows, course-work is built on three essential ways of knowing about and experiencing the field of music. The THREE PILLARS OF THE STUDY OF MUSIC can be summarized as follows:

  • Theory: Mastery of the basic materials of music and the rules governing their arrangement and organization.
  • History: The study of musical forms, repertory, and composers as they exemplify different styles and periods.
  • Performance: Direct collaborative experience of music through participation in Departmental ensembles including chorus, orchestra, early music ensemble, jazz ensemble and chamber music.

Each of the three Pillars serves the student of music by providing its own set of Core Skills and Knowledge, summarized below.

Theory:
Essential for work in theory is the development of self-criticism in the control of the basic materials of music and mastery of the rules governing their arrangement and organization in different musical styles. Courses in theory are aligned with work in ear training and musicianship, which develop aural skills necessary for identifying, writing and singing the basic elements of music.

Core Skills:

  • Train and develop skills for accurately hearing and matching sounds
  • Discriminate differences of pitch and duration in single voice and in combination, both in reading music (sight-singing) and notating it (musical dictation)
  • Master the control of consonance and dissonance in written exercises
  • Shape and develop melodic lines both in terms of single voice continuity and in the simultaneous combination of voices
  • Understand the grammar of chords, cadence structures, and the place and function of chords in harmonic progressions
  • Synthesize concepts of form, melody, rhythm, and harmonic motion in the writing of music
  • Refine the understanding of compositional structure in discussion and performance by professional musicians

Knowledge:

  • Capability to write in the style of traditional classical forms (minuet and trio; sonata movement)
  • Ability to recognize and describe the structure of standard small musical forms
  • Strong foundation in functional harmony and counterpoint

History:
The study of the history of Western music from antiquity to the present day gives us a cultural and sequential context for the understanding of changing musical aesthetics and modes of expression. Evidence for examination includes historical depictions of music in society (written and pictured), theoretical and philosophical writings, notational systems, musical instruments, written and printed music, recordings, and performances.

Core Skills:

  • Consider the various ways in which society has used music in private/public, secular/religious contexts
  • Evaluate the changing standards of the musical aesthetic over time, including tuning systems, texture, timbre, melody and harmony
  • Listen critically to musical examples, identifying performing forces, form, and social function
  • Apply the principles of music theory in a historically appropriate manner
Knowledge:
  • Ability to recognize and categorize historical and national style and to describe musical trends over time
  • Familiarity with the major composers of the Western canon and representative repertoire of the significant styles, forms and genres
  • Awareness of the nature, causes, directions, and influences of stylistic change

Performance:
Performance of music synthesizes knowledge and skills, bringing together text, context and technique by interaction with well-known, lesser-known, and newly written repertoire. Technical and expressive skills are practiced, and competency in solo and ensemble performance is expected. While strongly anchored in Western European classical repertoire, there are also opportunities for study and performance of historical music, jazz, popular and non-Western traditions.

Core Skills:

  • Demonstrate proficiency in chosen instrument/voice as well as a mastery of basic keyboard skills
  • Incorporate improvisation and oral learning skills in appropriate musical traditions (jazz, early music)
  • Employ effective self-critique and problem-solving in private practice sessions and rehearsals
  • Work effectively within an ensemble in both a leading and responding role
  • Hear and act on subtle differences in pitch, timbre, balance, and articulation
  • Express musically the affective aspect of the compositions
  • Communicate verbally the musical ideas involved in creating a convincing performance, with the ability to compare alternatives and justify choices
  • Write clear and effective program notes
Knowledge:
  • Ability to read musical notation fluently on chosen instrument or voice
  • Understanding of the information in a musical text: pitch, rhythm, articulations, tempo, dynamics, etc.
  • Differentiation between various forms and genres of music, including different periods and traditions
  • Application of theoretical and stylistic knowledge to musical interpretation
  • Employment of effective listening and communicating techniques to solve ensemble issues (rhythm, intonation, etc.)
  • Direct experience with performing in a variety of ensembles and venues
  • Familiarity with the works of major composers in the Western European tradition
  • Identification of the basic musical instrument families, their sounds and functions
Social Justice:
  • Collaborate with colleagues in working toward a common goal
  • Recognize, respond to, and communicate the shared human expression embodied in all music
  • Value the benefit of self-reflection and inquiry in continually striving to become a better musician

The three pillars of theory, history and performance form the core of the music major; students may choose to focus their study further through one of five track options:

COMPOSITION TRACK
In addition to the core requirements of the Music Major, students work closely with the Composition Track advisor to choose electives that focus on the skills necessary to create new works of music. Students in this track employ their knowledge of musical form and function, their awareness of genres and historical trends, and their familiarity with performance issues to develop their creative expression. Upon graduation, students in this track will be prepared to pursue graduate degrees in composition.

HISTORY TRACK
As in the above track, students will enhance the major requirements with electives chosen in consultation with the History Track advisor. Through in-depth focus on specific composers and repertoires, and engagement in research and analysis, students will gain a fuller understanding of the changing ways in which music has served as a means of expression arising from the surrounding culture and ethos. This focus will enhance their own musical experience as well as preparing them for further graduate work in musicology.

PERFORMANCE TRACK
While all music majors incorporate performance into their studies, those in the Performance Track must demonstrate an advanced level of skill through audition. In addition to their core courses, students in this track work with their private instructor and the track advisor to prepare two recitals: a half-length program in their Junior year and a full-length one in their Senior year. Graduates in this track will be prepared go on to further study towards a professional career in performance or music education.

MUSICAL THEATER PERFORMANCE TRACK
As in the Performance Track, students are accepted into the MTP Track by audition. Core courses and electives include offerings specific to the track within the Theater Department. Students work with their private voice or instrumental teacher and track advisor to prepare two recitals: a half-length program in their Junior year and a full-length one in their Senior year. Upon graduation, MTP students will be prepared to pursue further study in musical theater or to audition for professional work.

CULTURAL STUDIES TRACK
Cultural Studies is a semi-independent track in music that is a reflective, critical and cross-disciplinary exploration of culture with music as a primary lens. Students are encouraged to take courses across the academy in global studies, the creative arts, religion, languages, the social sciences, and the humanities in order to develop tools and strategies for the serious study of the various expressions of culture across place and time. Students are expected to apply critical thinking to issues of globalization, trans-nationalism, cultural production, and cultural rights, as they explore the flow of artistic expression across traditional boundaries: political, cultural, social. They are encouraged to study a non-Western instrument and to take the opportunity to study abroad. Upon graduating, a CST student will be prepared to pursue graduate study in ethnomusicology, music education, or (in some cases) performance, as well as fields outside of music, including cultural or international studies.

Because of the unique nature of this track, it encompasses its own list of outcomes:

Core Skills:

  • Hear and identify unique musical values and aesthetic aims in a variety of Western and non-Western musical traditions
  • Make connections between cultural values and cultural expressions from Western and non-Western traditions
  • Recognize how cultural/social values are transmitted through music and other forms of human expression and activity
  • Investigate socio-political movements across time as well as place
  • Examine issues of identity and authenticity
Knowledge:
  • Familiarity with the theory, practice, and performance of Western and non-Western musical traditions
  • Awareness of the intersections between social history and music history
  • Understanding of the complexity of cultural production and its effects on local traditions
  • Recognition of the intersections of gender, race and class in the formation of cultural values
  • Openness to religion and ritual as cultural expressions
Social Justice:
  • Value the diversity of cultural expression
  • Take part comfortably in cross-cultural collaboration
  • Appreciate the uniqueness of, as well as the commonalities between, traditions
  • Be well-versed in issues of globalization

How to Become a Major

Students wishing to major in music should arrange to meet with the undergraduate advising head, who will discuss the various options for majoring in music and assign them to a faculty adviser. Students who opt to focus their study by choosing a specific track within the music major will be given information on how to apply. For certain tracks, a writing sample, an original musical composition, or an audition is required. Before admission to the major, candidates will normally pass MUS 101a and b, with accompanying labs MUS 102a and b, preferably during their first year.

How to Be Admitted to the Graduate Program

The general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, as specified in an earlier section of this Bulletin, apply to candidates for admission to this area of study. Students are advised to submit scores on the Graduate Record Examination. Applications received after the deadline will be considered on a rolling basis until the program is filled.

Applicants for study in composition and theory are required to submit evidence of qualification in the form of examples of original work in musical composition; they must also take a departmental written test in basic musicianship. Applicants for admission in musicology should submit examples of their prose writing on music. Musicology applicants wishing to specialize in theory and analysis should also submit examples of advanced work in musical theory.

Admission is granted for one academic year at a time. Readmission will be refused in cases where students have not demonstrated a capacity for acceptable graduate work.

Faculty

Yu-Hui Chang, Chair
Composition. Theory and analysis.

Eric Chafe, Graduate Program Chair (Musicology)
Music of Monteverdi. Bach. Wagner. Seventeenth century. Postromantic music. Twentieth-century music. Analysis.

Eric Chasalow
Composition. Analysis. Electronic music.

Seth Coluzzi, Undergraduate Advising Head (spring 2014)
Music of the Renaissance. Theory and analysis.

Judith Eissenberg, Undergraduate Adviser (Cultural Studies Track) (on leave fall 2013)
Violin, Lydian String Quartet. Chamber music performance and analysis. Director, MusicUnitesUS.

Joshua Gordon (on leave fall 2013)
Cello, Lydian String Quartet. Performance and analysis.

Neal Hampton
Director, Brandeis Orchestra. Musical theater composition.

Allan Keiler, Undergraduate Adviser (History Track)
Nineteenth-century music. Theory and analysis. Beethoven.

Sarah Mead, Undergraduate Advising Head (on leave spring 2014), Undergraduate Adviser (Cultural Studies Track, fall 2013)
Director, Brandeis Early Music Ensemble. The Authenticity Question.

Bob Nieske
Director, Jazz Ensemble. Jazz bass. Jazz improvisation and composition.

James Olesen
Director, Brandeis Choruses. Chorus. Chamber Choir. Conducting.

David Rakowski, Graduate Program Chair (Composition and Theory), Undergraduate Adviser (Composition Track)
Composition. Theory and analysis.

Daniel Stepner, Undergraduate Adviser (Performance Track, Musical Theater Performance Track) (on leave fall 2013)
Violin, Lydian String Quartet. Performance and analysis.

Vocal Instructors

Pamela Wolfe, soprano
Pamela Dellal, mezzo-soprano
Jason McStoots, tenor

Instrumental Instructors

Violin
Judith Eissenberg
Sharan Leventhal
Daniel Stepner
Paula Zeitlin, jazz violin
Viola
Mark Berger
Cello
Joshua Gordon
Viol
Sarah Mead-Ramsey
Double Bass
Elizabeth Foulser
Robert Nieske
Guitar
Steven Kirby
Harp
Virginia Crumb
Flute
Jill Dreeben
Clarinet
Margo McGowan
Oboe
Laura Ahlbeck
Bassoon
Margaret Phillips
Saxophone
Kristine Grey
Tom Hall, director, Improv Collective
Trumpet
Phil Grenadier
Dana Russian
French Horn
Frederick Aldrich
Tuba/euphonium
Michael Milnarik
Piano
Ben Cook, jazz piano
Evan Hirsch
Jean Meltaus
Marc Ryser
Harpsichord
Frances Fitch
Organ
Christa Rakich
Percussion
Richard Flanagan
Amit Kavthekar, tabla
Robert Schulz

Requirements for the Minor

The minor in music consists of the equivalent of six semester courses:

A. Theory (three semesters): MUS 101a and 101b (with associated two-credit labs MUS 102a and b) or MUS 103a and 103b (with associated two-credit labs MUS 104a and b). Placement at the appropriate level is determined by an examination given at the beginning of the semester. Students may be exempted from any portion of this sequence by examination.

B. History (two semesters): chosen from MUS 131a, 133b, 135a.

C. One additional music course. Note: MUS 1a, MUS 2a, MUS 5a, and ensembles MUS 80a,b – MUS 87a,b may NOT count as an elective for the music minor.

D. Students must receive a grade of C- or higher in any course taken to fulfill the requirements for completing the minor.

Requirements for the Major

A. The major in music consists of the equivalent of 12 semester courses.

1. Theory (six semesters): MUS 101a and 101b (with associated lab MUS 102a and b), and MUS 103a and 103b (with associated lab MUS 104a and b). Placement at the appropriate level is determined by an examination given at the beginning of the semester. Students may be exempted from any portion of this sequence by examination.

2. History (three semesters): MUS 131a, MUS 133b, and MUS 135a.

3. Electives: Three semesters of courses from the music department. A full year of private instruction, MUS 111a,b (Private Instruction: Instrumentalists) or MUS 112a,b (Private Instruction: Voice) may be counted only once for major credit. MUS 1a, MUS 2a, MUS 5a, and MUS 80a,b – MUS 87a,b may NOT count as electives for the music major.

B. All majors in music are required to participate in a music department ensemble MUS 80a,b – MUS 87a,b (such as Early Music Ensemble, Chamber Music, Orchestra, Chorus, Jazz Ensemble) or MUS 116a,b with or without credit, in four separate semesters. Students must be enrolled in the either the credit or non-credit section of the course to receive credit towards the major. Students may petition to fulfill one semester of their ensemble requirement with participation in a professional non-Brandeis ensemble.

C. Piano proficiency: Keyboard proficiency must be demonstrated by the end of the next-to-last semester. Keyboard instruction under the basic piano program is offered for those students who are deficient at the keyboard. No fee is charged for this instruction and no course credit is granted.

D. Additional requirements for candidates for degrees with distinction: To be eligible for honors in music, candidates must demonstrate superior ability through their overall record and a capacity for independent thought beyond the limits of their course program (such as a written thesis, an approved project in original composition, or a senior recital).

E. Students must receive a grade of C- or higher in any course taken to fulfill the requirements for completing the major.

F. Music majors may choose to specialize in one of five tracks: composition, cultural studies, history, performance, or musical theater performance. These tracks combine core courses in theory and history and electives chosen in consultation with the undergraduate advising head and the track adviser. Students are encouraged to develop areas of interest within the track, in consultation with the respective adviser, and to choose appropriate electives for these areas.

G. Alternative programs: At any time prior to the completion of the junior year, the student may, in consultation with his or her adviser, submit an alternative proposal for the completion of the major. Such proposals will be considered by the department on the basis of their coherence and appropriateness to specific goals.

Composition Track
Admission to the composition track is contingent upon submission of an original musical composition to the composition track adviser. Students in this track are eligible to take a semester of Mus 292, contingent on submitting two or three original compositions to the track adviser at the in the junior year.

Core courses:
1. Theory (six semesters): MUS 101a and 101b (with associated two-credit labs MUS 102a and b), and MUS 103a and 103b (with associated two-credit labs MUS 104a and b). Placement at the appropriate level is determined by an examination given at the beginning of the semester. Students may be exempted from any portion of this sequence by examination.
2. History (three semesters): MUS 131a, MUS 133b and MUS 135a.

Electives:
Three semesters of courses from music and/or related disciplines as approved by the track adviser. MUS 111a and b (Private Instruction: Instrumentalists) or MUS 112a and b (Private Instruction: Voice) may be taken once only for major credit.

Electives include: MUS 30a, MUS 31a, MUS 106a, MUS 107a, MUS 120a, MUS 160b, MUS 161a, MUS 162b, MUS 170a, MUS 171a, MUS 172a, MUS 175a, MUS 292a and b. Note: MUS 1a, MUS 2a, MUS 5a, and ensembles MUS 80a,b – MUS 87a,b may NOT count as electives for the composition track. See the end of this section for a list of electives offered outside of the music department.

Cultural Studies Track
Core courses:
1. Theory (three semesters): MUS 101a and 101b (with associated two-credit labs MUS 102a and b) or MUS 103a and 103b (with associated two-credit labs MUS 104a and b). Placement at the appropriate level is determined by an examination given at the beginning of the semester. Students may be exempted from any portion of this sequence by examination.
2. History (two semesters): MUS 133b plus one additional history course (MUS 131a or MUS 135a).
3. MUS 3b (or alternative courses with permission of the department).

Electives:
Six semesters of courses from music and/or related disciplines, of which three are to be music-related courses approved by the track adviser. At least one course must explore issues of globalization. MUS 111a and b (Private Instruction: Instrumentalists) or 112a and b (Private Instruction: Voice) may be taken once only for major credit. Note: MUS 1a, MUS 2a, MUS 5a, and ensembles MUS 80a,b – MUS 87a,b may NOT count as electives for the cultural studies track. See the full list of electives at the end of this section.

History Track
Admission to the history track is contingent upon submission of a writing sample to the history track adviser. The writing sample should be on a musical topic of your choice.

Core courses:
1. Theory (six semesters): MUS 101a and 101b (with associated two-credit labs MUS 102a and b), and MUS 103a and 103b (with associated two-credit labs MUS 104a and b). Placement at the appropriate level is determined by an examination given at the beginning of the semester. Students may be exempted from any portion of this sequence by examination.
2. History (three semesters): MUS 131a, MUS 133b and MUS 135a.

Electives:
Three semesters of courses from music and/or related disciplines, to be approved by the track adviser. MUS 111a and b (Private Instruction: Instrumentalists) or 112a and b (Private Instruction: Voice) may be taken once only for major credit. Note: MUS 1a, MUS 2a, MUS 5a, and ensembles MUS 80a,b – MUS 87a,b may NOT count as electives for the history track.

Electives include: MUS 32b – 65a, MUS 150a, MUS 178b – MUS 189a, MUS 195a. See the full list of electives at the end of this section for electives offered outside of the music department.

Performance Track
Admission to the performance track is contingent upon a successful audition, normally at the end of the sophomore year.

Core courses:
1. Theory (six semesters): MUS 101a and 101b (with associated two-credit labs MUS 102a and b), and MUS 103a and 103b (with associated two-credit labs MUS 104a and b). Placement at the appropriate level is determined by an examination given at the beginning of the semester. Students may be exempted from any portion of this sequence by examination.
2. History (three semesters): MUS 131a, MUS 133b, and MUS 135a.
3. Ensembles: Students in the performance track are required to participate in a music department ensemble, MUS 80a,b – MUS 87a,b, or MUS 116a,b, with or without credit, every semester after acceptance in the track for a minimum of four taken in separate semesters. Students must be enrolled in the either the credit or non-credit section of the course to receive credit towards the major. Students who anticipate pursuing the performance track are encouraged to register for private instruction, MUS 111a,b or MUS 112a,b prior to the audition.
4. Recitals: Students in the performance track must register for private instruction leading to the junior recital (MUS 117a,b) and senior recital (MUS 118a,b). The recital in the senior year may be taken as 99d (Senior Project) by petition.

Electives:
Three additional electives, two of which are concerned primarily with issues of performance, to be approved by the track adviser. MUS 111a and b (Private Instruction: Instrumentalists) or 112a and b (Private Instruction: Voice) may be taken once only for major credit. Note: MUS 1a, MUS 2a, MUS 5a, and ensembles MUS 80a,b – MUS 87a,b may not count as electives for the performance track.

Performance electives include, MUS 113a, MUS 114a, MUS 116a,b, MUS 121a, and MUS 175a. See the full list of electives at the end of this section for electives offered outside of the music department.

Musical Theater Performance Track  
Admission to the musical theater performance track is contingent upon a successful audition, normally at the end of the sophomore year.

Core courses:
1. Theory (six semesters): MUS 101a and 101b (with associated lab MUS 102a and b), and MUS 103a and 103b (with associated lab MUS 104a and b). Placement at the appropriate level is determined by an examination given at the beginning of the semester. Students may be exempted from any portion of this sequence by examination.
2. History (three semesters): MUS 131a or MUS 135a; MUS 133b; THA 123a.
3. Ensembles: Students in the musical theater performance track are required to participate in an ensemble, MUS 80a,b – 87a,b or MUS 116a,b, with or without credit, every semester after acceptance in the track for a minimum of four taken in separate semesters. Students must be enrolled in the either the credit or non-credit section of the course to receive credit towards the major. Up to two Brandeis Theater Company (BTC) musicals may be substituted for music department ensembles. Students who anticipate pursuing the musical theater performance track are encouraged to register for private instruction, MUS 111a,b or MUS 112a,b prior to the audition.
4. Recitals: Students in the musical theater performance track must register for private instruction leading to the junior recital (MUS 117a,b) and senior recital (MUS 118a,b). The recital in the senior year may be taken as MUS 99d (Senior Project) by petition.

Electives:
Three additional electives concerned primarily with issues of musical theater performance, from the music and theater departments, to be approved by the track adviser. MUS 111a and b (Private Instruction: Instrumentalists) or MUS 112a and b (Private Instruction: Voice) may be taken only once for major credit. Note: MUS 1a, MUS 2a, MUS 5a, and ensembles MUS 80a,b – MUS 87a,b may NOT count as electives for the music major.

Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts

Composition and Theory
A.
Seven and one-half courses at the graduate level: seminars in composition, proseminars in tonal writing; proseminars and seminars in tonal and nontonal analysis. MUS 171a is required. Private instrumental or vocal instruction and ensemble performance may be counted for credit with permission of the program chair.

B. A composition that is begun during the first semester, completed in time to be performed in the spring graduate composers' concert.

C. One year of residency. The program may take an additional one or two semesters to complete as an Extended Master's student.

D. Attendance at departmental composition colloquia.

Musicology
A.
Seven and one-half courses at the graduate level: proseminars and seminars in musicology (including an array of courses in different historical periods, in music analysis, and in history of theory). MUS 171a is required. Private instrumental or vocal instruction and ensemble performance may be counted for credit with permission of the program chair.

B. Satisfactory completion of the language requirement in French or German.

C. A seminar paper written during the first semester, expanded with independent supervision of a faculty member during the second semester.

D. One year of residency. The program may take an additional one or two semesters to complete as an Extended Master's student.

E. Attendance at departmental musicology colloquia.

Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts

Composition and Theory
A.
Twelve courses at the graduate level: proseminars and seminars in composition, seminars in tonal and nontonal analysis, a course in electro-acoustic music (or demonstrated proficiency). MUS 172a is required.

B. Examinations: Demonstration of competence by means of a portfolio review and written general examination at the end of the second year of study.

C. Thesis: An original composition, the scope to be approved by the faculty in composition. The master’s thesis must be deposited electronically to the Robert D. Farber University Archives at Brandeis.

D. Two years of residency. The program may take an additional one or two semesters to complete as an Extended Master's student.

E. Attendance at departmental composition colloquia.

Musicology
A.
Twelve courses at the graduate level: proseminars and seminars in musicology (including an array of courses in different historical periods, in music analysis, and in history of theory). MUS 171a is required unless exemption is earned through examination.

B. Satisfactory completion of the language requirement in French and German. Students may substitute another language for French by petition. The German requirement should be satisfied by the end of the first year.
 
C. Thesis: Either a thesis that is an analytical or historical study of a topic acceptable to the music faculty or revised copies of two seminar papers that have been certified by the seminar instructor and at least one other faculty member as demonstrating a high degree of competence in research writing. Two copies of the thesis must be submitted to the program chair in final form no later than December 1 for a February degree, or April 1 for a May degree. The master’s thesis must be deposited electronically to the Robert D. Farber University Archives at Brandeis. For doctoral candidates, successful completion of the general examinations may be substituted for this thesis requirement.

D. Two years of residency. The program may take an additional one or two semesters to complete as an Extended Master's student.

E. Attendance at departmental musicology colloquia.

Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Composition and Theory
A
. Sixteen courses at the graduate level. MUS 172a is required.

B. Teaching: Preparation of graduate students for teaching careers is an integral part of the PhD programs in music. Beginning with the second year of residence, PhD candidates in composition participate as teaching fellows in the relevant undergraduate courses, for a minimum of six semesters. All teaching comes under the guidance of the primary course instructors and the department chair.

C. Satisfactory completion of the language requirement in one language (French, German, Italian, or another language by petition).

D. Examinations: General examinations during the second year. Oral qualifying examination in the third year.

E. Dissertation: An original musical composition and a thesis on a theoretical or analytical subject. Two copies of the thesis, as well as an abstract not to exceed 350 words in length, should be submitted to the program chair no later than December 1 for a February degree, or March 1 for a May degree, of the academic year in which the PhD degree is to be conferred. Upon completion of the thesis, the candidate is expected to defend it in a final oral examination. The faculty in composition attempts to arrange for the performance of dissertation compositions whenever possible.

F. Three years of residency.

G. Attendance at departmental composition colloquia.

Musicology
A.
Twelve courses at the graduate level: proseminars and seminars in musicology (including an array of courses in different historical periods, in music analysis, and in history of theory). MUS 171a is required unless exemption is earned through examination.

B. Satisfactory completion of the language requirement in French and German. Students may substitute another language for French by petition. The German requirement should be satisfied by the end of the first year.

C. Teaching: Preparation of graduate students for teaching careers is an integral part of the PhD programs in music. Beginning with the second year of residence, PhD candidates in musicology participate as teaching fellows in the relevant undergraduate courses, for a minimum of six semesters. All teaching comes under the guidance of the primary course instructors and the department chair.

D. Examination: At the end of the second year, candidates must demonstrate competence by means of a written general examination.

E. Four additional courses at the graduate level, normally MUS 401d (Dissertation Research), or other courses as recommended by the faculty.

F. Dissertation proposal: fifteen- to twenty-page page prospectus of the dissertation developed in consultation with the dissertation adviser and presented to the musicology faculty for their approval, no later than the end of the third year of residency.

G. Dissertation on a historical, theoretical, or analytical subject. Two copies of the doctoral dissertation, as well as an abstract of the dissertation not to exceed 350 words in length, should be submitted to the program chair no later than December 1 for a February degree, or March 1 for a May degree, of the academic year in which the PhD degree is to be conferred.

Dissertations should demonstrate the competence of the candidate as an independent investigator, his or her critical ability, and effectiveness of expression. Upon completion of the dissertation, the candidate is expected to defend it in a final oral examination.

H. Three years of residency.

I. Attendance at departmental musicology colloquia.

Special Notes Relating to the Graduate Program

Master's Degree
Students may normally hold only one master's degree in the department.

Language Requirements
Language examinations to test reading proficiency are administered by the music department. Students will be asked to translate several passages with the aid of a dictionary. Foreign language course credits do not in themselves constitute fulfillment of the language requirements. Examinations will be offered once per semester. In case of failure, an examination may be retaken.

Instrumental Proficiency
At least moderate proficiency at the piano is required of all candidates for advanced degrees.

Electronic Music Studio
The Brandeis Electro-Acoustic Music Studio (BEAMS) with facilities for the composition of electronic music is available to qualified student composers. Director: Mr. Chasalow.

Special Notes Relating to the School of Creative Arts Distribution Requirement

Private Instruction and Ensembles in Fulfillment of the Creative Arts Distribution Requirement
Please note that ensembles and private instruction (MUS 80a,b – MUS 87a,b, MUS 111a,b, MUS 112 a,b, and MUS 116a,b) yield half-course credit each; therefore, two semesters of ensemble or one semester of private instruction plus the corequisite ensemble are required to fulfill the creative arts distribution requirement.

Courses of Instruction

(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

MUS 1a Introduction to Music
[ ca ]
A general introduction to the materials and forms of music, and a study of musical literature. Training in analytical listening, based on selected listening assignments. Open to non-majors who are assumed to have little or no previous knowledge of music. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Keiler

MUS 3b Introduction to World Musics
[ ca nw ]
Open to all students. Required of all Cultural Studies track majors.
What are we listening to? Applies engaged listening skills and critical analysis for a deeper appreciation of (non-Western) music as a cultural expression. Focuses on particular traditions as well as social context, impact of globalization, cultural production, cultural rights, etc. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Eissenberg

MUS 4a Introduction to Chinese Music and Its Development in the Modern Era
[ ca nw ]
Open to all students; no musical background is required.
A general introduction to the history and practice of Chinese music, with a focus on existing musical activities. Specific topics include instrumental music, folk and dance music, musical drama and narrative, ritual and religious music, interaction with Western music, popular music, musical aesthetics and ideology, and music of ethnic minorities. Through listening, reading, and class discussion, students explore different musical genres and gain an understanding and appreciation of Chinese music idiom, as well as a general picture of how music lives and functions in Chinese-speaking communities. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Chang

MUS 5a Fundamentals of Music
[ ca ]
This is an experiential learning course.
For the general student with no musical background. Two hours a week will be devoted to the notation of music, including scales, intervals, keys, triads, rhythm, and meter. The third hour will be devoted to sight-singing and dictation. Reading knowledge of music is not required; a placement exam will be given on the first day of instruction. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Rakowski

MUS 5b Fundamentals of Music II
[ ca ]
Continuation of MUS 5a. Prerequisite: MUS 5a or by examination. This is an experiential learning course.
Studies the fundamentals of music. Two hours per week are devoted to continued study on elementary harmony, rhythmic training, and songwriting, including formation of teams of students to perform exercises live. The third hour is devoted to ear training, sightsinging, and dictation. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Gordon

MUS 8a Non-Western Musical Traditions
[ ca ]
Focuses on music from Non-Western cultures, discussing its use for cultural preservation and enculturation, as well as representation and recreation. We will also survey the discipline of ethnomusicology, engaging traditional and emerging ideals within this field. Special one-time offering, summer 2013.
Mr. Schwindt

MUS 31a Broadway Bound: The Craft of Composing Songs for Musical Theater
[ ca ]
Recommended prerequisite for composers: MUS 5a or demonstration of requisite musicianship skills. Open to music majors and non-majors. Admission by instructor's permission. Aspiring lyricists will be required to submit a sample of their writing (lyrics, poetry). Aspiring composers will be required to perform live or submit a recording of song they have written. This is an experiential learning course.
Are you passionate about music theater? Have you written songs or lyrics or poetry? Is there a subject for a musical you think would make the perfect show? Open to aspiring composers and lyricists, students compose music and/or lyrics and present their material for peer and instructor feedback. Contemporary and traditional musical theater masterpieces are analyzed. Composers should have previous experience composing songs and will need to use a music notation program like Finale or Sibelius. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Hampton

MUS 32b Elements of Jazz
[ ca ]
Open to music majors and non-majors.
Examines the development of Jazz styles from the origins of Jazz in the late 1800’s through today's Jazz masters. Early Jazz, Swing, Bebop, Cool, the year 1959, and Avant Garde are some of the styles we will be examining through recordings, videos, and in-class performances by local jazz musicians. The emphasis will be on learning how to listen to the various layers of the music and recognize specific stylistic techniques. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Nieske

MUS 33a The Beatles: From "Yesterday" to "Tomorrow Never Knows"
[ ca ]
Open to music majors and non-majors. Requires ability to read and perform music. Prerequisite: MUS 5a or MUS 101a or by permission via audition with the instructor. This is an experiential learning course.
Explores why the Beatles were much more than simply the most famous band of all time. Their musical thinking and that of their producer George Martin has been deeply and pervasively influential. In this class we will delve into why this is so. We will play the songs, analyze the music and its technical production, and create our own arrangements. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Chasalow

MUS 36a Introduction to Music Technology
[ ca ]
Introduces basic techniques of midi composition, audio recording and digital music production through hands-on approach. Digital music projects from field recording to small song arrangements will be assigned and discussed in class. Special one-time offering, summer 2013.
Mr. Zaccagini

MUS 37b America's First Maestro: Leonard Bernstein's Music and Role in New York Cultural Life
[ ca ]
Prerequisite: The ability to read music is helpful but not required. Appropriate for non-Music majors.
Conductor, composer, and educator, Leonard Bernstein is an icon of twentieth-century American cultural life. This class will analyze examples from Bernstein's oeuvre (including 'West Side Story') within various contexts, allowing students to hone their critical listening, score reading, and analytical writing skills. Special one-time offering, spring 2014.
Ms. Luikens

MUS 38a American Music
[ ca ]
Open to music majors and non-majors.
Exploration of the tensions between folk, popular, and cultivated traditions. Course will focus on select repertories, beginning with Native American and African-American traditions along with New England psalm singing from the eighteenth century and closing with musical theater, jazz, and art composers up to the twenty-first century. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

MUS 45a Beethoven
[ ca ]
Open to music majors and non-majors.
A study of the most influential musician in the history of Western civilization. Although attention is given to his place in society, emphasis falls on an examination of representative works drawn from the symphonies, concertos, chamber music, and solo piano works. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Keiler

MUS 51b The Symphony
[ ca ]
Open to music majors and non-majors.
Examines a major genre of Western classical music: the symphony. By analyzing representative masterpieces, students acquire an understanding of the development of musical style in the classic, romantic, and modern periods. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Chafe

MUS 52a Opera
[ ca ]
Open to music majors and non-majors.
Surveys the history of opera from its emergence around 1600 to the present day. In addition to tracing musical changes, the social, cultural, and intellectual trends that influenced (and were shaped by) these changes are also considered. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

MUS 54b Music and Poetry in the German Art Song During the Nineteenth Century
[ ca ]
Surveys the interaction of poetry and music in major masterpieces of the German art song (Lied) for voice and piano from the time of Beethoven and Schubert (c. 1815) to that of Strauss, Wolf and Mahler (c. 1900). All the major composers of Lieder will be covered. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Chafe

MUS 80a Early Music Ensemble
Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. Yields half-course credit. Open to singers and instrumentalists interested in learning about the historical ancestors of their modern instruments. Instrumental and/or vocal experience and competency in sight-reading required. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (80a,b – 87a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section. This is an experiential learning course.
Examines the performance of music written before 1700. A large number of historical instruments are available for student use and instruction. Solo, ensemble, and one-on-a-part opportunities. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Mead

MUS 80b Early Music Ensemble
Continuation of MUS 80a. See MUS 80a for special notes and course description. This is an experiential learning course.
Usually offered every year.
Ms. Mead

MUS 81a Chamber Choir: Loving the Classics
Corequisite: MUS 80a,b or MUS 82a,b. Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis. Yields half-course credit. Vocal experience and sight-reading skill required. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (80a,b – 87a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section. This is an experiential learning course.
Explores unusual repertory, Bach cantatas, seventeenth-century oratorios, sixteenth-century motets and madrigals, nineteenth-century lieder, and twentieth-century works. Singers prepare independently outside of scheduled rehearsals. Opportunities for one-on-a-part ensemble singing and solo works. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Olesen

MUS 81b Chamber Choir: Gaining Expertise, Exploring the Repertory
Continuation of MUS 81a. See MUS 81a for special notes and course description. This is an experiential learning course.
Usually offered every year.
Mr. Olesen

MUS 82a University Chorus
Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis. Yields half-course credit. Placement auditions will be held at the start of the semester. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (80a,b – 87a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section. This is an experiential learning course.
Performs in concert great literature from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries. Aspects of singing, musicianship skills, and ensemble building are emphasized. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Olesen

MUS 82b University Chorus
Continuation of MUS 82a. See MUS 82a for special notes and course description. This is an experiential learning course.
Usually offered every year.
Mr. Olesen

MUS 83a Jazz Ensemble
Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis. Yields half-course credit. Admission by the consent of the instructor based on an audition. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (80a,b – 87a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section. This is an experiential learning course.
The Brandeis Jazz Ensemble has about 15 musicians from the Brandeis community. Instrumentation will vary according to annual fall auditions. Repertoire consists of pieces by jazz greats including Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Sun Ra...as well as arrangements of tunes and original compositions by the director, Bob Nieske and students. Students are also encouraged to compose or arrange for the group with the assistance of the director. Each semester the ensemble performs 5 or 6 pieces as a full group and 4 or 5 as small groups for a different musical experience. Although saxophone, brass, piano, guitar, bass and drums are the traditional jazz instruments, the ensemble is also open to more “classical” instruments (strings and woodwinds). Lower brass such as French horn, trombone, euphonium and tuba are especially encouraged to audition. Students do not have to have any experience improvising but must be able to read well and have a good command of their instrument. At least one concert per semester. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Nieske

MUS 83b Jazz Ensemble
Continuation of MUS 83a. See MUS 83a for special notes and course description. This is an experiential learning course.
Usually offered every year.
Mr. Nieske

MUS 84a Orchestra
Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis. Yields half-course credit. Acceptance into ensemble contingent on instructor’s approval based on auditions held at the start of the semester. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (80a,b – 87a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section. This is an experiential learning course.
The orchestra gives several concerts each year performing major works from the symphonic repertory. Students prepare independently, outside of scheduled rehearsals. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Hampton

MUS 84b Orchestra
Continuation of MUS 84a. See MUS 84a for special notes and course description. This is an experiential learning course.
Usually offered every year.
Mr. Hampton

MUS 85a Wind Ensemble
Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis. Yields half-course credit. Placement auditions will be held at the start of the semester. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (80a,b – 87a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section. This is an experiential learning course.
The Wind Ensemble gives one to two concerts a semester. Members of the Wind Ensemble may be asked to play with the orchestra as needed for large-scale works. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Souza

MUS 85b Wind Ensemble
Continuation of MUS 85a. See MUS 85a for special notes and course description. This is an experiential learning course.
Usually offered every year.
Mr. Souza

MUS 86a Improv Collective
Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. Yields half-course credit. Placement auditions will be held at the start of the semester. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (80a,b – 87a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section. This is an experiential learning course.
Open to all Brandeis students who play an instrument or sing, regardless of skill or experience in improvising, the Improv Collective focuses on both individual creativity and group improvisation. The semester culminates with a performance in Slosberg Recital hall. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Hall

MUS 86b Improv Collective
Continuation of MUS 86a. See MUS 86a for special notes and course description. This is an experiential learning course.
Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Hall

MUS 87a Music and Dance from Ghana
Offered exclusively on a credit/no credit basis. Yields half-course credit. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (80a,b – 87a,b) alone or Private Instruction and Ensemble together. Instruments will be supplied by instructor. This is an experiential learning course.
Students in this course will study and perform a repertory of traditional music and dance of a variety of ethnic traditions from Ghana, West Africa. The drum ensemble includes bells, rattles and drums. The vocal music features call-and-response singing in local languages. The dances have choreographic formations as well as opportunity for individual expression. Drumming and dancing are closely intertwined; work will culminate in a final performance. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Conant

MUS 87b Music and Dance from Ghana
Continuation of MUS 87a. See MUS 87a for special notes and course description. This is an experiential learning course.
Usually offered every year.
Ms. Conant

MUS 88b Middle East Music Ensemble
Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis. Yields half-course credit. This is an experiential learning course.
Teaches students how to perform music traditions of the Middle East, focusing on music of Arab Levant, but also including Turkey, North Africa, and Iran. issues of culture are also addressed. Special one-time offering, spring 2013.
Ms. Lucas

MUS 97a Independent Projects
Yields two semester-hours credit (one half-course credit). Normally open only to music majors in their junior and senior years. May be taken twice for credit if no undue duplication of content is involved.
Reserved for projects such as directed readings, preparation of a work for performance, or internships that do not require written work (papers or compositions). Usually offered every year.
Staff

MUS 97b Independent Projects
Yields two semester-hours credit (one half-course credit). Normally open only to music majors in their junior and senior years. May be taken twice for credit if no undue duplication of content is involved.
Reserved for projects such as directed readings, preparation of a work for performance, or internships that do not require written work (papers or compositions). Usually offered every year.
Staff

MUS 98a Directed Independent Study
Yields four semester-hours credit (one course credit). Open to qualified undergraduates.
One-semester course with one semester credit. Requires written work such as a historical or analytical essay, preparation of a critical edition, or the creation of an original musical composition. Usually offered every year.
Staff

MUS 98b Directed Independent Study
Yields four semester-hours credit (one course credit). Open to qualified undergraduates.
One-semester course with one semester credit. Requires written work such as a historical or analytical essay, preparation of a critical edition, or the creation of an original musical composition. Usually offered every year.
Staff

MUS 99d Senior Project
Yields eight semester-hours credit (two course credits).
A full-year course with two semester course credits. Open to seniors with a GPA in music of 3.00 or above. Admission by petition. May involve a thesis, musical performance, or composition. In all cases, it must produce written work. Usually offered every year.
Staff

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

MUS 101a Theory and Musicianship I: Part 1
[ ca ]
Admission by placement exam to be given in class on the first day of instruction. Corequisite: MUS 102a. This is an experiential learning course.
A first course for students who already read music, but wish to develop a deeper involvement. Students investigate how music "works" by composing exercises based on examples of tonal music and literature that students are practicing for performance. Focuses on elementary harmony and voice-leading, counterpoint, analysis, and model composition. In the required one-hour lab (MUS 102a), students practice sight-singing and dictation, skills essential to music literacy. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Brown

MUS 101b Theory and Musicianship I: Part 2
[ ca ]
Prerequisite: MUS 101a. Corequisite: MUS 102b. This is an experiential learning course.
The second semester introduces broad concepts of theory and begins the process of learning to write and analyze music. By the end of the year, students will gain experience in counterpoint, harmony, and formal analysis, and will compose in a simple form. Throughout the year, the relationship of repertoire and theory is stressed. The required ear-training and keyboard lab meets separately. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Brown

MUS 102a Theory and Musicianship Lab I: Part 1
Corequisite: MUS 101a. Yields half-course credit.
Designed to help students develop essential music literary skills. Beginning sight-singing, simple melodic and harmonic dictation, and rhythmic studies. Materials drawn from the corequisite lecture course. Keyboard harmony. Usually offered every year.
Staff

MUS 102b Theory and Musicianship Lab I: Part 2
Corequisite: MUS 101b. Yields half-course credit.
See MUS 102a for course description. Usually offered every year.
Staff

MUS 103a Theory and Musicianship II: Part 1
[ ca ]
Prerequisites: MUS 101a,b and 102a,b. Corequisite: MUS 104a. This is an experiential learning course.
This course builds on MUS 101. Chromatic tonal harmony is covered, and short pieces of nineteenth century music are analyzed in depth. Students will analyze pieces on their own and write analytical papers. Students will also harmonize various chorale melodies. The required ear training and keyboard lab meets separately. Usually offered every year.
Mr. McAneny

MUS 103b Theory and Musicianship II: Part 2
[ ca ]
Prerequisite: MUS 103a. Corequisite: MUS 104b. This is an experiential learning course.
A continuation of MUS 103a. Twentieth century styles and techniques are covered, including extended tonality and atonality. Several compositional projects are assigned and performed in class. Usually offered every year.
Mr. McAneny

MUS 104a Theory and Musicianship Lab II: Part 1
Corequisite: MUS 103a. Yields half-course credit.
A continuation of MUS 102. More advanced exercises in sight-singing and dictation. Keyboard harmony. Usually offered every year.
Staff

MUS 104b Theory and Musicianship Lab II: Part 2
Corequisite: MUS 103b. Yields half-course credit.
A continuation of MUS 104a. Usually offered every year.
Staff

MUS 106a Undergraduate Composition
[ ca ]
Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis.
Students are introduced to a variety of compositional issues by writing five or six short pieces and one longer project. Concurrently, pertinent examples from the twentieth-century classical repertoire will be discussed. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Rakowski

MUS 107a Introduction to Electro-Acoustic Music
[ ca ]
This is an experiential learning course. Prerequisite: Any music course or permission of the instructor.
A course designed to give students basic studio skills and a context for listening to and working in electronic music. Topics include basic acoustics, sound design, digital and analog recording techniques, and assignments on the pioneers and current practitioners of electro-acoustic music. Involves hands-on experience in the use of MIDI-controlled synthesizers, samplers, production equipment, and includes individual studio projects based on individual studio time. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Chasalow

MUS 111a Private Instruction: Instrumentalists
Offered on a credit/no-credit grading basis. Yields two credits (one semester half-course credit). Placement auditions will be held at the start of the semester. Students registering for MUS 111a must also register for a departmental Ensemble (MUS 80a,b – 87a,b or 116a,b); 111a may NOT be taken alone. Students may petition to substitute one semester of a professionally directed non-university ensemble for their university Ensemble co-requisite. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (MUS 80a,b – 87a,b) alone or Private Instructions and Ensemble together. Successful completion of MUS 111a,b may be applied only once toward the requirements for the major or minor in music. Course may be taken as a noncredit activity by registering in the XC section. Studio fee: $250 fee for majors; $650 for non-majors. This is an experiential learning course.
Instrumentalists will take ten one-hour, private lessons per semester in the field of early music, jazz, or classical music while participating in a departmental ensemble on that instrument. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Nieske

MUS 111b Private Instruction: Instrumentalists
Continuation of MUS 111a. See MUS 111a for special notes and course description. This is an experiential learning course.
Usually offered every year.
Mr. Nieske

MUS 112a Private Instruction: Voice
This is an experiential learning course. Offered on a credit/no-credit grading basis. Yields two credits (one semester half-course credit). Placement auditions will be held at the start of the semester. Students registering for MUS 112a must also register for a departmental Ensemble (MUS 80a,b – 87a,b or 116a,b); 112a may NOT be taken alone. Students may petition to substitute one semester of a professionally directed non-university ensemble for their university Ensemble co-requisite. A maximum of four course credits will be allowed for all enrollments in Ensemble (MUS 80a,b – 87a,b) alone or Private Instructions and Ensemble together. Successful completion of MUS 112a,b may be applied only once toward the requirements for the major or minor in music. Course may be taken as a noncredit activity by registering in the XC section. Studio fee: $250 fee for majors; $650 for non-majors.
Voice students will take ten one-hour, private lessons per semester. Fundamental skills of breathing, resonating, and relaxing will be taught along with repertory appropriate to the individual student. A ten-minute jury is required in second semester. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Olesen

MUS 112b Private Instruction: Voice
This is an experiential learning course. Continuation of MUS 112a. See MUS 112a for special notes and course description.
Usually offered every year.
Mr. Olesen

MUS 113a Introduction to Conducting
[ ca ]
This is an experiential learning course. Prerequisite: MUS 103a,b or permission of instructor; proficiency on an instrument or as a singer required. Corequisite: Participation in departmental ensemble.
Involves score-reading, score study and analysis, conducting technique, and conducting. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Olesen

MUS 114a Performance and Analysis
[ ca ]
This is an experiential learning course. Admission by the consent of the instructor based on an audition. Preference given to formed groups.
Explores the connection between analyzing a composition and performing it. Does analysis reveal significant aspects of the music, which can inflect, clarify, pace, and color the performance? This course is open to competent performers by audition only. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

MUS 116a Inside the Piece: Chamber Music from the Player's Perspective
Offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit basis. Yields two semester-hours credit (one half-course credit). May be repeated for credit. May be undertaken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity by registering in the XC section. Vocalists will be admitted on an individual basis and must take MUS 82 a,b: University Chorus or MUS 80 a,b: Early Music Ensemble as a corequisite. Informal auditions at the beginning of the semester. This is an experiential learning course.
Musicians bring their own experience, instinct, and theoretical knowledge to music-making through study and performance of chamber music in a supportive master class setting. Through coaching by a professional performer, readings, and listening to recordings, this course examines how performance practice, basic structural analysis, and historical context affect interpretation. Individual and ensemble preparation required. Class meetings include coaching, discussion/listening salon, masterclass and rehearsals, to be scheduled. Final public performance. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Berger

MUS 116b Inside the Piece: Chamber Music from the Player's Perspective
This is an experiential learning course.
Continuation of MUS 116a. See MUS 116a for special notes and course description. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Gordon

MUS 117a Junior Recital I
Yields two semester-hours credit (one half-course credit). For music majors accepted into the performance or musical theater performance tracks only. Admission by the consent of the instructor based on an audition. Students may not enroll in MUS 111a,b or MUS 112a,b for credit while enrolled in MUS 117a,b.
Students will take ten one-hour private lessons in preparation for performance of a recital, to be given in the spring semester, of significant representative repertory appropriate to the instrument or voice of the student, including the selecting of repertory for a coherent program. Students are expected to demonstrate command of stylistic, technical, and expressive aspects of the chosen music. Requires passing a jury at the end of the fall semester. Studio fee: $250. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Stepner

MUS 117b Junior Recital II
Continuation of MUS 117a. Includes final preparation for spring full recital. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Stepner

MUS 118a Senior Recital I
Yields two semester-hours credit (one half-course credit). For music majors accepted into the performance or musical theater performance tracks only. Admission by the consent of the instructor based on an audition. Students may not enroll in MUS 111a,b or MUS 112a,b for credit while enrolled in MUS 118a,b.
Students will take ten one-hour private lessons in preparation for performance of a full recital, to be given in the spring semester, of significant representative repertory appropriate to the instrument or voice of the student, including the selecting of repertory for a coherent program. Students are expected to demonstrate command of stylistic, technical, and expressive aspects of the chosen music. Requires passing a jury at the end of the fall semester. Studio fee: $250. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Stepner

MUS 118b Senior Recital II
Continuation of MUS 118a. Includes final preparation for spring full recital. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Stepner

MUS 121a Introduction to Jazz Improvisation
[ ca ]
This is an experiential learning course. Prerequisites: Ability to read music and facility on an instrument. May not be taken for credit by students who have taken MUS 191a in prior years.
This course explores some of the tools improvisers use to develop their craft: melody, harmony, rhythm, articulation, listening, and phrasing. This is approached through a series of exercises along with the playing and analysis of standard jazz tunes and the composing of solos over standard chord changes. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Nieske

MUS 131a History of Music I: Ancient through Early Baroque
[ ca ]
Prerequisites: MUS 101a and b, or by permission of the instructor. This course may not be repeated for credit by students who have taken MUS 131b in prior years.
A survey of music history from antiquity to the mid-17th century, considering major styles, composers, genres, and techniques of musical composition from a historical and analytical perspective. Topics include Gregorian chant, the motet and madrigal, Monteverdi and early opera, and developments in instrumental genres.
Mr. Coluzzi

MUS 133b History of Music II: Late Baroque and Classical
[ ca ]
Prerequisite: MUS 101a and b. This course may not be repeated for credit by students who have taken MUS 133a in prior years.
A survey of music from Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel through Beethoven and Schubert. Major styles, genres, and techniques of musical composition are discussed from historical and analytic perspective, based on a study of representative works.
Mr. Chafe

MUS 135a History of Music III: Romantic and 20th Century
[ ca ]
Prerequisites: MUS 101a and b. May not be taken for credit by students who took MUS 134b or 135a in prior years.
Surveys music history from c.1830 to the present, considering major styles, genres, and techniques of musical composition from a historical and analytical perspective. Styles and composers represented include Chopin, Liszt, Wagner, impressionism, serialism, Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Bartok, and Babbitt. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Chafe

MUS 150a Women and Music, Past and Present: Style, Identity, Culture
[ ca ]
Examines the interaction between gender and culture in shaping music and musical life. Topics will vary; refer to the Schedule of Classes. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff

MUS 160b Electro-Acoustic Music Composition (Laptopping)
[ ca ]
Preference given to students who have taken MUS 107a and majors in the departments of the School of Creative Arts. This is an experiential learning course.
A continuation of work begun in MUS 107a, with emphasis on composition and performance in the electro-acoustic medium. Course focus is on individual and collaborative projects. Work is carried out in BEAMS (Brandeis Electro-Acoustic Music Studio), but every effort will be made to equip students to compose on their own computers and to work collaboratively using the Internet. Composition projects are based on models since 1948 in the genres of musique concrete, "pure" and "live" electronic music, music for instruments and tape, and multidisciplinary works. A final project leads to the production of a concert. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Chasalow

MUS 161a Electro-Acoustic Music Composition
[ ca ]
Prerequisite: MUS 107a or MUS 160b, or permission of the instructor. Intended for graduate students and advanced undergraduates. This is an experiential learning course.
Composing for electronic media. Advanced topics in software synthesis, sound design, studio production. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Chasalow

MUS 162b Seminar in MAX/MSP
[ ca ]
Advanced undergraduate students may enroll with permission of the instructor. This is an experiential learning course.
Topics related to the use of the MAX/MSP graphical programming language for composition, sound design, installation, and live performance. Participants engage in individual projects and study MAX patches by established practitioners. Individual and group research and presentations are required. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Lane

MUS 171a Form and Analysis
[ ca ]
Required of all musicology graduate students during their first year, and composition MA students. Prerequisite for undergraduate students: MUS 103a and permission of instructor. May not be counted for credit toward the course requirements for the MFA and PhD programs.
A proseminar in analytical approaches to Western music through representative examples from major composers from the Middle Ages through the early 20th century. Emphasis will be placed on the common practice period. Different theories of musical form will be applied to representative genres. Work on close harmonic analysis as well as large scale tonal and rhythmic structure will be included. Graduate students may be exempted by examination. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Coluzzi

MUS 172b Proseminar in Theory and Composition
[ ca ]
May be repeated for credit.
Composition in classical forms with particular emphasis on sonata form. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

MUS 175a Instrumentation and Orchestration
[ ca ]
This is an experiential learning course. Prerequisites: MUS 101a and b. May not be taken for credit by students who have taken MUS 193a in prior years.
Technical projects in the art of writing for instruments and for groups of instruments, from chamber groups of various sizes to full orchestra. Score study of examples from 1770 to the present. Additional focus on notation and on rules for instrumental parts. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Rakowski

MUS 181b Fieldwork Seminar in Ethnomusicology
[ ca ]
Trains students to perform ethnographic fieldwork in the field of ethnomusicology using readings, workshops and hands on research opportunities. Special one-time offering, spring 2013.
Ms. Lucas

MUS 183b Music in European Culture 1400-1600
[ ca ]
Prerequisites: MUS 101a and b, one music history course (MUS 131a – 135a), and experience with early music; open to other students by permission of the instructor.
This advanced seminar, designed for music majors in their junior or senior year and for students enrolled in MERL, explores the place of music in European culture between 1400 and 1600. Taking as its point of departure a group of representative compositions, it considers questions such as the role of music in society, the impact of religious reformations, the significance of music printing in the transmission of music, and problems in performance practice. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff

MUS 185a Proseminar in Music of the Renaissance
[ ca ]
An introduction to the fundamentals of Renaissance musical language. Investigation of selected topics in Renaissance musicology, such as editorial methods, archival research, printed and manuscript sources, historiography, and analytical approaches to Renaissance music. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Coluzzi

MUS 186a From Source to Sound: Interpretation of Early Notation
[ ca ]
An introduction to Western notation from the tenth through the sixteenth century. Students develop their understanding of scribal practices in relation to musical style through weekly transcription exercises, with special attention to editorial practices concerning musica ficta and text underlay. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

MUS 187b Proseminar in Music of the Baroque
[ ca ]
Selected topics in the music of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Sample topics: Monteverdi operas; tonality in seventeenth-century music; Bach and theology; the beginnings of music criticism in the eighteenth century. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Chafe

MUS 188b Proseminar in Music of the Eighteenth Century
[ ca ]
In addition to tracing the evolution of the principal genres (e.g., sonata, symphony, string quartet, opera buffa, opera seria), the course assesses the historical position of the major figures from Bach and Handel to Mozart and Haydn. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding the phenomenon of the "style shift" from baroque to classical style. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff

MUS 189a Proseminar in Music of the Nineteenth Century
[ ca ]
A broad study of the principal stylistic developments and musical genres of the nineteenth century. Topics include significance of Beethoven on the musical thinking of the nineteenth century, the rise of national schools of composition, especially opera, and program music and its aesthetic and compositional bases. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Keiler

MUS 190b Proseminar in Schenkerian Analysis
[ ca ]
The systematic study of the approach to music analysis developed by Heinrich Schenker. The basic concepts of diminution, voice leading, prolongation, and structural level are studied and their significance is applied to smaller examples as well as the principal longer forms of tonal music. The student gradually masters all of the notational techniques of linear analysis as they are applied to the tonal repertory. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Keiler

MUS 191b Analysis of Extended Tonal Music
[ ca ]
Works in this course are selected from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Composers such as Wagner, Wolf, Debussy, early Schoenberg, Bartok, and Stravinsky. Music from the Renaissance and early baroque may also be examined. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Chang

MUS 192a Topics in Analysis of Early Twentieth-Century Music
[ ca ]
Detailed examination of selected works composed between 1908 and 1951. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Chafe

MUS 193b Topics in Analysis of Contemporary Music
[ ca ]
Detailed examination of selected works since 1951. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Chang

MUS 194a Topics in Twentieth-Century Music
[ ca ]
Studies in twentieth-century music and the revolution in sensibility at the end of the nineteenth century. Close reading of texts by Stravinsky, Bartok, and the Viennese School; also discusses European and American music since World War II. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Chafe

MUS 195a Seminar: Music and Meaning
[ ca ]
The problem of meaning has reemerged as a central concern in musicology. Contemporary approaches to musical meaning in which interdisciplinary connections are emphasized will be considered. Possible topics of study include narratology, hermeneutics, gender studies, psychoanalytic approaches to biography and musical content, and the work of Peter Kivy. Changes in attitudes toward musical meanings that have occurred in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries will also be explored. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Keiler

(200 and above) Primarily for Graduate Students

MUS 212a Seminar: Analyzing Early Music (1300-1600)
An investigation of analytic approaches to pretonal music, including such issues as text-music relations, tonal structures, compositional planning, use of preexisting material. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Coluzzi

MUS 213b Seminar in Music of the Renaissance
An investigation of a selected topic in Renaissance music. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Coluzzi

MUS 214b Seminar: Baroque Topics
An in-depth investigation of one selected topic in baroque music. Topics may include the Monteverdi madrigals, seventeenth-century instrumental music, and the Bach Passions. The methodology employed varies according to the subject; emphasis is given to more recent research in most cases. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Chafe

MUS 216a Seminar: Topics in Bach Interpretation
The interpretation of the music of J. S. Bach. Selected topics may include the Bach Passions, Bach's early cantatas, the Leipzig cantata cycles, Bach's instrumental cycles. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Chafe

MUS 217b Topics in Music of the Eighteenth Century
An in-depth examination of selected topics in eighteenth century music. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff

MUS 218b Seminar in the Music of the Nineteenth Century
A detailed exploration of one historical, analytical, or stylistic issue of current significance to nineteenth-century musicology. Topics include the two versions of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra and cyclic organization in the song cycles of Robert Schumann. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Keiler

MUS 219a Seminar: Wagner
This seminar will study one of Wagner's major works in depth and from a variety of approaches: analytical questions; the sketches and drafts; Wagner's writings. Special emphasis will be given to Wagner's Schopenhauerian aesthetics. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Chafe

MUS 220a Seminar: The German Postromantic Period
This course will study topics drawn from the period between 1860 and 1914. Topics may include Mahler's songs and symphonies, the aesthetics of late nineteenth-century music, the postromantic lied with particular emphasis on Hugo Wolf. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Chafe

MUS 225a Seminar: Topics in the History of Theory to 1700
An investigation of topics in music theory (including the tonal system, solmization, modality, counterpoint, composition, musica ficta, notation) based on a close reading of theoretical treatises.
Staff

MUS 226a History and Literature of Western Music Theory: Baroque to 1850
Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Keiler

MUS 226b History and Literature of Western Music Theory: 1850 to the Present
Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Keiler

MUS 292a Seminar in Composition
Group meetings and individual conferences. Opportunities for the performance of student works is provided. Usually offered every year. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.
Staff

MUS 292b Seminar in Composition
Group meetings and individual conferences. Opportunities for the performance of student works are provided. Usually offered every year. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.
Staff

MUS 299a Individual Research and Advanced Work
Usually offered every year.
Staff

MUS 299b Individual Research and Advanced Work
Usually offered every year.
Staff

MUS 401d Dissertation Research
Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested. Required of all doctoral candidates.
Staff

Cross-Listed in Music/Composition Track

FILM 100a Introduction to the Moving Image
[ hum ]
An interdisciplinary course surveying the history of moving image media from 1895 to the present, from the earliest silent cinema to the age of the 500-channel cable television. Open to all undergraduates as an elective, it is the introductory course for the major and minor in film, television and interactive media. Usually offered every year.
Staff

THA 150b Sound Design
[ ca ]
This is an experiential learning course. May not be taken for credit by students who took THA 50b in prior years. Laboratory fee: $10 per semester.
Explores the process of modern sound design from concept to execution. Hands-on sound lab instruction provides a foundation for creative expression in the aural arts. Projects include creating aural images and soundscapes based on selected readings, static and moving images. This class provides a solid foundation in audio editing and MIDI sequencing. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

Cross-Listed in Music/Cultural Studies Track

AMST 129a From American Movie Musicals to Music Videos
[ ss ]
Examines the spectacle of song and dance in movie musicals and music videos, beginning with the earliest talking pictures in the late 1920's and continuing to the present. Particular emphasis will be on technological change, race, gender and the commodification of culture, among other topics. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Mandrell

ANTH 1a Introduction to the Comparative Study of Human Societies
[ nw ss ]
Examines the ways human beings construct their lives in a variety of societies. Includes the study of the concept of culture, kinship, and social organization, political economy, gender and sexuality, religion and ritual, symbols and language, social inequalities and social change, and globalization. Consideration of anthropological research methods and approaches to cross-cultural analysis. Usually offered every semester.
Mr. Anjaria, Ms. Lamb, or Ms. McIntosh

ANTH 26a Communication and Media
[ ss ]
An exploration of human communication and mass media from a cross-cultural perspective. Examines communication codes based on language and visual signs. The global impact of revolutions in media technology, including theories of cultural imperialism and indigenous uses of media is discussed. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. McIntosh

ANTH 63a Non-Western Musical Traditions
[ ca nw ss ]
Explores non-Western musical traditions in social and cultural contexts, including music of the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Americas. Focuses on methodologies within the field of ethnomusicology, and the study of music in the social sciences. Usually offered every fourth year.
Ms. Lucas

ANTH 126b Symbol, Meaning, and Reality: Explorations in Cultural Semiotics
[ ss ]
Provides a historical survey of the development of theories of signs and symbols; comparison of Peircean and Saussurean foundations of modern semiotics; the structure of cultural codes (language, art, and music); and the possibility of cross-cultural typologies. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Parmentier

ANTH 129b Global, Transnational, and Diasporic Communities
[ ss ]
Examines the social and cultural dimensions of globalization from an anthropological perspective. It starts by critically engaging with more fundamental concepts such as state, identity, and movement. It then proceeds to debate the various contributions that anthropologists have presented to the understanding of human life in global, transnational, and diasporic contexts. Topics to be discussed include place, migration, religion, global sexual cultures, kinship, and technology—all within a global perspective. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Anjaria, Ms. Ferry or Ms. Lamb

ANTH 184b Cross-Cultural Art and Aesthetics
[ nw ss ]
A cross-cultural and diachronic exploration of art, focusing on the communicative aspects of visual aesthetics. The survey takes a broad view of how human societies deploy images and objects to foster identities, lure into consumption, generate political propaganda, engage in ritual, render sacred propositions tangible, and chart the character of the cosmos. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Urcid

ECS 100a European Cultural Studies Proseminar: Modernism
[ hum wi ]
Explores the interrelationship of literature, music, painting, philosophy, and other arts in the era of high modernism. Works by Artaud, Baudelaire, Benjamin, Mann, Mahler, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Kandinsky, Schiele, Beckett, Brecht, Adorno, Sartre, Heidegger, and others. Usually offered every fall semester.
Mr. Dowden

ECS 100b European Cultural Studies Proseminar: Making of European Modernity
[ hum wi ]
Investigates how the paradigm of what we know as modernity came into being. We will look at the works of writers and philosophers such as Descartes, Aquinas, Dante, Ockham, Petrarch, Ficino, Rabelais, and Montaigne. Artwork from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance will be used to understand better what "the modern" means. Usually offered every spring semester.
Mr. Randall

ED 101b Elementary School Curriculum and Teaching: Arts, Multiculturalism, and Other Topics
[ ss ]
This is an experiential learning course. Limited to students enrolling in ED 111e spring semester.
Focuses on principles and effective procedures for teaching elementary students. Examines how art, creative drama, multicultural education, special education, and physical education affect teaching and learning. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Moriarty and Staff

ENG 64b From Libertinism to Sensibility: Pleasure and the Theater, 1660-1800
[ hum ]
Investigates the exchange between performance texts and contemporaneous discussions of class, nationality, and political party. Emphasizes the emergence of modern gender and sexual roles and the impact of the first professional women actors. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. King

ENG 101a Studies in Popular Culture
[ hum ]
A critical analysis of contemporary culture, including television, film, video, advertising, and popular literature. Combines applied criticism and theoretical readings. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Morrison

ENG 151b Performance Studies
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: A course in dramatic literature and familiarity with theatrical production. This is an experiential learning course.
The theater, etymologically, is a place for viewing. Theory, etymologically, begins with a spectator and a viewing. Reading theories of theater and performance against paradigmatic dramatic texts and documents of social performance, speculation, and spectatorship are reviewed. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. King

ENG 177b The Rock and Roll Novel
[ hum ]
Surveys contemporary US and world fiction with a musical focus. Asks how and why fiction explodes mythology of the rock star, fandom, and the culture industry. Involves close reading and close listening. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Irr

HIST 61a Cultures in Conflict since 1300
[ ss wi ]
Explores the ways in which cultures and civilizations have collided since 1300, and the ways in which cultural differences account for major wars and conflicts in world history since then. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Freeze and Mr. Jankowski

HIST 169a Thought and Culture in Modern America
[ ss wi ]
Developments in American philosophy, literature, art, and political theory examined in the context of socioeconomic change. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Engerman

IGS 10a Introduction to International and Global Studies
[ ss ]
"Globalization" touches us more every day. Introduces the challenges of globalization to national and international governance, economic success, individual and group identities, cultural diversity, the environment, and inequalities within and between nations, regions of the globe, gender, and race. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Chase or Mr. Rosenberger

PAX 250b The Arts of Building Peace
May not be taken for credit by students who took COEX 250a in prior years.
How can music, theater, poetry, literature, and visual arts contribute to community development, coexistence, and nonviolent social change? In the aftermath of violence, how can artists help communities reconcile? Students explore these questions through interviews, case studies, and projects. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Cohen

PHIL 113b Aesthetics: Painting, Photography, and Film
[ ca hum wi ]
Explores representation in painting, photography, and film by studying painters Rembrandt, Velázquez, and Vermeer, as well as later works by Manet, Degas, Cézanne, and Picasso; photographers Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Edward Weston, Walker Evans, Alfred Stieglitz, and Diane Arbus; and filmmakers Renoir and Hitchcock. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Teuber

RECS 149b Russian Modernism in: Culture and Arts
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English. Students may choose to do readings either in English translation or in Russian.
An interdisciplinary immersion in the period, emphasizing the connections between historical and artistic trends and employing prominent theories of culture. Focuses on major figures, works, and events in film, literature, the performing and visual arts, and political, philosophical, and religious thought. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Powelstock

SOC 120b Globalization and the Media
[ ss ]
Investigates the phenomenon of globalization as it relates to mass media. Topics addressed include the growth of transnational media organizations, the creation of audiences that transcend territorial groupings, the hybridization of cultural styles, and the consequences for local identities. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Miller

SOC 154a Community Structure and Youth Subcultures
[ ss ]
Examines how the patterning of relations within communities generates predictable outcomes at the individual and small-group level. Deals with cities, suburbs, and small rural communities. Special focus is given to youth subcultures typically found in each community type. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Cunningham

WMGS 105b Feminist Theories in Historical and Cross-Cultural Perspective
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: Students are encouraged, though not required, to take WMGS 5a prior to enrolling in this course.
Examines diverse theories of sex and gender within a multicultural framework, considering historical changes in feminist thought, the theoretical underpinnings of various feminist practices, and the implications of diverse and often conflicting theories for both academic inquiry and social change. Usually offered every spring.
Ms. Smith

Cross-Listed in Music/History Track

AAAS 79b Afro-American Literature of the Twentieth Century
[ hum ss wi ]
An introduction to the essential themes, aesthetic concerns, and textual strategies that characterize Afro-American writing of this century. Examines those influences that have shaped the poetry, fiction, and prose nonfiction of representative writers. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Abdur-Rahman

AMST 55a Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration in American Culture
[ ss ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took AMST 169a in prior years. This is an experiential learning course.
Provides an introductory overview of the study of race, ethnicity, and culture in the United States. Focuses on the historical, sociological, and political movements that affected the arrival and settlement of African, Asian, European, American Indian, and Latino populations in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Utilizing theoretical and discursive perspectives, compares and explores the experiences of these groups in the United States in relation to issues of immigration, population relocations, government and civil legislation, ethnic identity, gender and family relations, class, and community. Usually offered every year.
Staff

AMST 100b Twentieth-Century American Culture
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: AMST 100a. Permission of the instructor required.
The democratization of taste and the extension of mass media are among the distinguishing features of American culture in the twentieth century. Through a variety of genres and forms of expression, in high culture and the popular arts, this course traces the historical development of a national style that came to exercise formidable influence abroad as well. Usually offered every spring.
Staff

ECS 100b European Cultural Studies Proseminar: Making of European Modernity
[ hum wi ]
Investigates how the paradigm of what we know as modernity came into being. We will look at the works of writers and philosophers such as Descartes, Aquinas, Dante, Ockham, Petrarch, Ficino, Rabelais, and Montaigne. Artwork from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance will be used to understand better what "the modern" means. Usually offered every spring semester.
Mr. Randall

FA 45b Art of the Early Renaissance in Italy
[ ca ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took FA 51a in prior years.
Examines major painters, sculptors, and architects in Florence, Rome, and Venice from Giotto to Bellini (1290-1500). Important themes include the revival of Antiquity, the visual arts and the culture of Humanism, the Rise of the Medici, art and the ideal of the Republic, the development of art theory and criticism, Naturalism and the Sacred image, and the relation of artists and patrons during times of crisis (black death, Pazzi Conspiracy, and Savonarola). Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Unglaub

FREN 135a Rebellion Against Romanticism
[ fl hum wi ]
Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Liberation and selfhood in nineteenth-century France: short stories, novels, poetry, and theater. Topics include love and intimacy, the struggle for identity, gender roles, myth and folklore, religion and secularization. Authors may include Lamartine, Hugo, Desbordes-Valmore, Musset, Nerval, Sand, and Balzac. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Kaplan

GER 120a German Enlightenment and Classicism
[ fl hum ]
Prerequisites: GER 39a, A- or better in GER 30a, or the equivalent.
Careful reading and discussion (in German) of some of the most moving dramatic scenes and lyrical poems written by Lessing, Klopstock, Lenz, Goethe, Schiller, Hölderlin, and others will provide an overview of those fertile literary and intellectual movements--enlightenment, storm and stress, and idealism--that eventually culminated in German classicism. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. von Mering

HIST 147a Imperial Russia
[ ss ]
Examines the processes and problems of modernization--state development, economic growth, social change, cultural achievements, and emergence of revolutionary and terrorist movements. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Freeze

RECS 148a Russian Drama: Text and Performance
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English. Students may choose to do readings either in English translation or in Russian.
Examines the rich tradition of Russian drama and theater. Readings include masterpieces of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including those by Chekhov, Pushkin, Gogol, Ostrovsky, Mayakovsky, Erdman, and others. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Powelstock

Cross-Listed in Music/Performance Track

ED 101b Elementary School Curriculum and Teaching: Arts, Multiculturalism, and Other Topics
[ ss ]
This is an experiential learning course. Limited to students enrolling in ED 111e spring semester.
Focuses on principles and effective procedures for teaching elementary students. Examines how art, creative drama, multicultural education, special education, and physical education affect teaching and learning. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Moriarty and Staff

ENG 151b Performance Studies
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: A course in dramatic literature and familiarity with theatrical production. This is an experiential learning course.
The theater, etymologically, is a place for viewing. Theory, etymologically, begins with a spectator and a viewing. Reading theories of theater and performance against paradigmatic dramatic texts and documents of social performance, speculation, and spectatorship are reviewed. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. King