MUS 1120: Music Cultures

Fall 2025

“Music is more than an object of study: it is a way of perceiving the world.”

—Jacques Attali, Noise: The Political Economy of Music (1977)

Professor: Dr. Jordan Laney (“Jordan”)

Pronouns: she/her

Professor’s Email: jordan-laney@warren-wilson.edu

Course Meeting: 10:10-11:40 AM Tues/Th 

Course Location: Jenson 317

Office Hours: I am available directly after class on Tuesday and Thursday in Jenson 317 (from 11:40-12:30) and by appointment. Whether you have questions/concerns, or just want to check in, meeting with professors is highly encouraged. Office hours are specific times set aside to attend to student questions. Email me to set up a time to meet!

Email Hours: I will respond to all email inquiries within 24 hours on weekdays. If you do not receive a response within 24 hours, please feel free to re-send the email as it may not have been received.

Course Description:

This class explores the diversity of music making across time and place as a socially embedded practice. It looks at the value and meaning that music contributes to the lives of individuals and communities, as they seek to understand the past, fully experience the present, and to imagine themselves into the future. Case studies range from the music culture of Warren Wilson College to various international contexts. Along the way, students critique the notion of music culture as a homogenous “thing,” and learn to recognize the ways that all individuals exist at the intersection of multiple spheres of cultural influence.

This class takes an ethnomusicological, transdisciplinary approach, and addresses the intersections of music with religion, politics, race, gender, identity, and other critical themes.