INQ-300 | The Ecology of Music

Full Title: The Ecology of Music

Topic Description:

This global course explores the impact of consumer culture on the ecology of music and poses a range of questions about its culture, consumption, technology, sustainability, and diversity. For instance, do streaming services and social media platforms expand the world of music––or do they reduce it to soundbites and videoclips? Do playlists express identity within a community of shared tastes, or do they actually reflect marketing and advertising processes? Can marginal musics survive media conglomerates? Why is cloud-based music distribution at the center of the digital rights movement? Can music education shape cultural diversity? Why does MP3 compression satisfy our need for music? Is “live” music more authentic than recorded music? What is cultural appropriation? Teams develop an original case study, defending a viewpoint, analyzing a perspective, and arguing solutions regarding present and future music in a global economy.

Counts as Global? Yes

Topic Approved: February 2022