| New
course offers diverse cultural experience
-
by Angela Gradoz:
Page Editor
As
new and returning students succumb to the
arrival of the spring semester, many may
be unaware of an additional course offered
by the music department called World Music
in Culture.
Although
the course was taught in the past by a visiting
professor, CU assistant music professor
Kirsten Underwood stated that the course
is now official and here to stay.
The
overall process of consideration of the
new course took about six months and required
various meetings with curriculum and general
education committees.
“In
order for a new course to be implemented
into the schedule, one must go through a
curriculum committee,” Underwood said.
“You have to present them the course
as you envision, present a syllabus, present
reasons why this could be a good course,
and reasons why it’s already not covered
in this current curriculum.”
Students
enrolled in the course this semester or
those interested in enrolling in the following
semesters can look forward to broadening
their mental horizons.
“What
makes this course interesting and unique
is that it is covering world music as it
is occurring in North America,” Underwood
said. “It is world music introduced
by immigrants, and how our society has changed
that.”
Not
only will students learn and appreciate
our nation’s various cultural entities
through the new course, but they will also
be able to interpret its effects.
“We’re
dealing with the sociological aspects of
music, how it affects people, how people
feel about the effects,” Underwood
said. “So we’re not simply looking
at a piece of music and studying it; we’re
looking at all aspects of performance, of
appreciation and meaning.”
In
addition, students can expect the course
to offer a different perspective from the
Music Appreciation or American Popular Music
courses already offered at Cameron.
“In
Music Appreciation the whole class is dealing
with one kind of music that was enjoyed
by a pretty small percentage of one geographical
area in the world,” Underwood said,“whereas
this course is touching on music from all
over the world.”
Along
with the study of music provided by the
various cultures that make up the North
American population, students can look forward
to field trips, audiovisual accompaniment
and various guest speakers or performers.
Students
interested in finding out more about the
World Music in Culture course can contact
the music department at 580.581.2440.
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