Music

This introductory course examines music and philosophy as intersecting practices through which human beings give meaning to the world around them. By exploring philosophy through music and music through philosophy from cross-cultural perspectives, the course looks at the variety of ways that knowledge, existence, religion, ethics, politics, culture, and sound converge.

This course examines the factors that facilitate optimal performance in music and the performing arts, sports, business, public speaking, teaching and educational activities. Underpinned by theoretical frameworks, research findings and using real-world examples, this course will engage students in practical strategies commonly used to achieve optimal performance.

This course deals with the concept of soundscape and the practices of sound art. Soundscape is a mental tool to listen to and to understand environment; it is also an engaging dialogue with our “umwelt.” Sound art is an array of actions and interventions to enhance and distort perception of sounds. This course includes presentations of research and artwork dealing with these topics; video documentation, attentive listening, explanation of the background of the artists and discussion about the aesthetic questions that they raise; practical processes; assemblage, a collective creation; production of a flow of small-scale creations that are progressively gathered into a publication; some outdoor sessions, some of the class happen in various urban or semi-urban environment to be able to discuss about field practices and in-site artworks where it happens. Assessment: participation, assignements, final project.