Music and Interactivity

Course goals

Upon completing this course, the student is able to:

• Describe in detail a process of musical interaction using concepts from music studies, cultural studies, and sociology, amongst others;
• Assess the role of music in society through the analysis of such musical interactivity;
• Describe the influence of new media and technology on the role of music in society;
• Critically reflect on how the musical participation of people with various identities, cultural backgrounds, and bodily characteristics is enabled or restricted.

Content

In this course we study the interaction in, with, and through the use of music. With this kind of musical interactivity in mind, students learn about the role of music in creating social relations, and how new media and technology have influenced this role. We will take as a starting point musical practices instead of musical works, and discuss how a process-oriented and an object-oriented musicology differ.

Topics that will be discuss include musical interactions between musicians during a live performance, interactions between musicians and their instrument, the different instrumental roles in a band or ensemble, player interaction with music and sound in video games, and new forms of musical interaction on social media. Students learn to describe musical interactions using concept from e.g. musicology, cultural studies, and sociology.

Additional information

This course has priority rules and a waiting list. Your enrolment is guaranteed if you
- are a student in the BA Muziekwetenschap and this course is part of your specialisation (verdiepingspakket)
- are a student in the BA Liberal Arts and Sciences or Taal- en Cultuurstudies and this course is part of your specialisation (kernpakket)
- are an exchange student and meet the course’s entry requirements
In all other situations, you will be placed on a waiting list if you enrol in this course. For any remaining slots in the course, lots are drawn among the students on the waiting list.

This course is equivalent to the following courses:
MU3V20002 Music, Play and Performance
MU3V22001 Muziek, spel en uitvoering
MU3V24004 Music, Play and Performance
If you have already completed this course, you may not take Muziek en interactiviteit due to too much overlap in content.

The language of instruction for this course is English, unless all enrolled students and the instructor are proficient in Dutch, in which case it will be taught in Dutch.

Please note: the time slot shown here is not yet final, and may still be modified until the third Wednesday in September.