This course is an in-depth study of a subject chosen from topics varying from year to year. Possible topics may include film music, music of the concert hall, music and the visual arts, women in music, and the world of opera, performance art and staged drama. Genres of music are examined in terms of their musical features and also in their relationship to social, political, virtual and ideological life. Students will be exposed to new modes of listening and a diverse set of writings that reveal the multi-dimensional and complex make-up of listening practice.

MUS 315 is not open to students who have taken MUS 215 on the same topic.