ETHNMUS M50B
Jazz in American Culture: 1940s to Present
Description: (Same as Global Jazz Studies M50B.) Lecture, four hours; discussion, one hour. Course M50A is not requisite to M50B. Survey of development of jazz in American culture. Discussion of different compositional/performance techniques and approaches that distinguish different sub-styles of jazz from one another, as well as key historical figures that shaped development of jazz from its early years through modern jazz. Important historical social issues (segregation, Depression, World War II, Civil Rights Movement) that intersect with history of U.S. and jazz music. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2025 - Worst GE ever. I love jazz and absolutely hated this class. It was so incredibly unorganized and I had no idea what was expected of me the entire time. The classes were each two hours long and he would ramble about who knows what. It was so unclear what you were supposed to be learning. The midterms and finals were torture. I studied for days and ended up doing well because I spent so much time on them, but it was way too much work for a GE. The questions were super random and rarely were actually covered in class/ the readings. Also, we were expected to remember long lists of songs (he would play the song and we had to recognize it and memorize their titles, artists, genres, years, and random details. We had to write multiple essays (literally the longest essays I've had to write in my life even though there was nothing to talk about), a long project, and try to find a boring concert to attend just to write another incredibly long essay. If you put an insane amount of work in, you'll do fine, but it's not worth it. As a pre-med student, saying this is the most time I've ever put into a class is insane.
Winter 2025 - Worst GE ever. I love jazz and absolutely hated this class. It was so incredibly unorganized and I had no idea what was expected of me the entire time. The classes were each two hours long and he would ramble about who knows what. It was so unclear what you were supposed to be learning. The midterms and finals were torture. I studied for days and ended up doing well because I spent so much time on them, but it was way too much work for a GE. The questions were super random and rarely were actually covered in class/ the readings. Also, we were expected to remember long lists of songs (he would play the song and we had to recognize it and memorize their titles, artists, genres, years, and random details. We had to write multiple essays (literally the longest essays I've had to write in my life even though there was nothing to talk about), a long project, and try to find a boring concert to attend just to write another incredibly long essay. If you put an insane amount of work in, you'll do fine, but it's not worth it. As a pre-med student, saying this is the most time I've ever put into a class is insane.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - If you have any interest in jazz music, I'd recommend taking this class. I took it as a GE, and I discovered some really great music. The 2 hour lectures in the morning can be draining, but usually there's not too much in the way of notetaking. A good chunk of each lecture is taken up by the professor playing a song or a portion from a documentary. The lectures aren't podcasted and the slides aren't posted online though. In terms of workload, it's pretty light. There's a paper due towards the end of the course that was graded pretty generously. You do have to keep track of the songs the professors posts though, as they make up the majority of the exams. In the end, the amount of songs amounted to a little over 80, so it is quite a bit, even though most of them are really enjoyable. I'd suggest making a Spotify/Apple Music playlist for easy studying and listening. Overall, I'd really recommend this class as an easy GE, especially if you have an interest in jazz music.
Winter 2020 - If you have any interest in jazz music, I'd recommend taking this class. I took it as a GE, and I discovered some really great music. The 2 hour lectures in the morning can be draining, but usually there's not too much in the way of notetaking. A good chunk of each lecture is taken up by the professor playing a song or a portion from a documentary. The lectures aren't podcasted and the slides aren't posted online though. In terms of workload, it's pretty light. There's a paper due towards the end of the course that was graded pretty generously. You do have to keep track of the songs the professors posts though, as they make up the majority of the exams. In the end, the amount of songs amounted to a little over 80, so it is quite a bit, even though most of them are really enjoyable. I'd suggest making a Spotify/Apple Music playlist for easy studying and listening. Overall, I'd really recommend this class as an easy GE, especially if you have an interest in jazz music.
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