PMA 3804

Black Sound and Visual Culture

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2026-2027 Catalog.

In this interdisciplinary seminar, we will study the strategies that sound artists, composers, visual artists, writers, and filmmakers have employed to use Black sounds as a sign. We will explore intersections between sound and image throughout the African diaspora. Intersections in question include the place of sound art within different Black musical and visual traditions, Black music as a resource for painting and sculpture, the visual design of Black music projects, the Black soundscape and the built environment, acoustic ecology and mapping in Black communities, and African diasporic filmmaking as a sonic art form. (PMA-HTC)

Distribution Requirements (ALC-AAP), (CA-AG, LA-AG)

Exploratory Studies (CU-ITL)

Program Requirements (PMA-HTC)

Last 4 Terms Offered 2024FA

Learning Outcomes

• Students will be able to articulate the arguments artists and cultural critics have made for and against the terms Black sound and Black music.
• Students will gain familiarity through exhibitions, screenings, and readings with the role Black sound and music have played in the visual arts and culture.
• Students will be able to identify some important concepts and techniques related to creative works made at the intersection of sound and image production throughout the African Diaspora.
• Students will have direct engagement with visual and sound artists whose work engages the material or idea of Black sound/music.

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