The sounds, lyrics and performing styles have reflected the many economic and socio-political changes in society. It is aimed at undergraduate and graduate students of music, Asian studies majors, and those specifically interested in Korean society and history. Through a multi-disciplinary, anthropological approach to history they are encouraged to explore the boundaries of their discipline and learn much about the intricacies of Korean history in the process. The historiography of Korean music and society has for long been distorted because of strong nationalist tendencies and government censorship. For some time after liberation historians rejected, for example, the notion of any true market opportunities for Korean entrepreneurs during the colonial period . Instead, they overly emphasised the undeniable impact of Japanese cultural policy on the performance and survival of Korean music traditions. In the process they ignored, however, the possibility that the Koreans constituted a market force in their own right. In a chronological fashion, lectures will focus on the many different forces that have marked the development of different types of Korean music. Special attention will be paid to the role of nationalism and government propaganda, the enthusiasm over American culture in the 1950s and early sixties, and the commercialisation of folk music since the 1960s.

Student attendance, preparation and participation in class discussions (20%), two essays on a topic of the student?s choice (40%), a final 90-minute exam (40%). Graduate students attend joint classes with undergraduates but may expect more rigorous assessment and additional assignment work, tailored to the graduate students? interests.

42 contact hours per Semester

Permission of Coordinator