Aims

The objective of this course is to give students an introduction to the world of music in its most general sense. The aim is to demonstrate the crucial role of music throughout all cultures both as a language in its own right and as the expression of an identity.

Main themes

The course will enable students to discover the importance of music worldwide, but also its place in the history of Western civilization and the role it has played in education (Antiquity), in science and religion (the Middle Ages), in the appropriation of power and the emergence of the aesthetic of sentiment and taste (the Renaissance and Modernity) and finally in today's leisure and communication-based society. Particular attention will be paid to demystifying the apparent technicity of this art form. Students will be presented with a concrete approach through different types of music (integrating and building on the various musical activities in Louvain-la-Neuve).

Content and teaching methods

The course examines the role of music at a number of key points in Western civilization, with a view to showing its essential and specific contribution (Antiquity, Middle Ages, Renaissance, the Modern age and the Information age). Some practical and concrete notions of musical techniques will be presented (through museum visits (MIM), visits to auditoria (TRM), participation in concerts etc).

Other credits in programs