Topic for Spring 2024: Listening to and Performing Salsa Music

This course is a deep dive into one of the most important and influential genres of American music. In the 1970s, salsa music introduced the world to the stories and complex identities of the Latino/x people living in the Caribbean, the United States and beyond. 

In this course, we will explore the history and evolution of salsa music from its roots in West African drumming, the development of son music in Cuba and its eventual transformation into salsa in the 1970s in New York City. Salsa music’s important and lasting legacy will also be discussed. 
The course will explore historical, musical, and cultural aspects of salsa with an emphasis on experiential, hands-on music making in class. We will explore this genre from a variety of critical lenses such as postcolonial, queer, and gender theories.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 15

Prerequisites: MUS 100 or exemption via the Music Theory Placement Evaluation.

Instructor: Moya (Spring)

Distribution Requirements: ARS - Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Film and Video

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring

Notes: This is a topics course and can be taken more than once for credit as long as the topic is different each time, with permission from the department.