Online courses directory (78)

This course provides an introductory survey of the Western classical tradition, exploring music both as a phenomenon of sound and culture.  The focus of this course is the development of aural skills that lead to an understanding and appreciation of music.  Making use of live performances and streaming audio available on the Internet, we will listen to and explore some of the most important and influential repertoires and genres of music that emerged in the last four centuries: High Renaissance vocal music, the cantatas and oratorios of Bach and Handel, Mozart’s comic operas, the monumental orchestral works of the Romantic movement, and the major musical movements of twentieth-century Europe and America, revealing significant connections with contemporary pop and jazz styles.  These styles have become an enduring part of the world of music in the twenty-first century, traveling out of the concert hall and conservatory into the larger world via movies, television, and the Internet. This course will begi…

This Art History course investigates the role of the French avant-garde in developing and showcasing new modern forms and approaches to art and visual culture in the 19th century. The material addresses the most critical issues of modernity from Realism through Post-Impressionism. We will cover the stylistic changes that challenged academic art, the new subjects that confounded modern audiences, and the new roles and authority of the modern artist. To do this, we will focus on the European world through a series of video podcasts and online readings over five weeks. By the end of the course, you will understand the issues of modernity and the way that art and art-making addressed these issues as well as recognize the profound impact that 19th century Europe had in shaping our contemporary ideas of being “modern.”

At its core, this course is about providing students with a broader understanding of music as a uniquely human activity. This will be accomplished by discussing the music you actually listen to, learning about various dimensions and elements of music, and creating your own music. No previous experience making music is necessary. This course is designed for individuals at all levels of musical understanding and experience. The fundamental assumption underlying the course design is that ALL people are innately musicians, whether that musicianship is expressed in the form of listening, performing, or creating music. Ever since you were born (and even before) you have been developing an expertise in music based on your own personal musical experience. This is similar to how you have been developing a language expertise that is dependent on your individual experience with the language(s) that you speak. It is your own individual musical expertise that forms the entry point into this course and on which this course is built. These are the course’s four learning goals: Acquire a more robust understanding of the various dimensions of music Acquire a richer language for talking about (describing and evaluating) music Integrate those understandings to create and evaluate your own music Apply this musical language to describe and evaluate music of others The entire course is framed around answering one basic, but deceptively complex, question: What is music? The course is structured to help answer this question by approaching it from various perspectives, including the following: Music as Human Activity Music as Metaphor Music as Emotion Music as Physics Music as Form Music as Culture Within each module, you will do each of the following: Learn new material through various media, including course readings, presentations, videos, websites, etc. Actively participate in discussions, which are designed to give you opportunities to apply and broaden your knowledge of this new material. Demonstrate your knowledge by completing short quizzes on the material (only some modules). Create musical products of your own, with support and help embedded within the course itself (you do NOT need to be able to play an instrument or have previous experience making/writing music). Review, evaluate, critique, and discuss projects from your peers.