Special Topics in German Literature and Culture (246-0-22)
Topic
Berlin Calling: Electronic Dance Music and Club Cu
Instructors
Domenic Joseph DeSocio
Meeting Info
University Hall 101: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM
Overview of class
This course offers a study of Berlin, Germany's world-famous role as a major center of contemporary dance music (techno, house, disco) and nightclub culture. Beginning in the 1990s with the end of the Cold War and the reunification of Berlin, the city quickly became home to cutting-edge DJs, party planners, club owners, and dancers, including notorious clubs like Tresor and Berghain. Coming together, they pioneered new ways to express oneself and connect with one another through music and dance.
Together, we will explore many aspects of this culture, from the unique genres of music and how DJs create music to the technology of sound, the experience of dancing and of clubs as spaces, and the politics of belonging, representation, and identity on the dance floor, in particular its complicated exchanges with Black communities and music in New York, Chicago, and Detroit, the birthplaces of this music. We also will consider the social, cultural, and political implications of nightlife and dance music as a site of community-building, friendship, and love within contemporary Western society, especially for queer communities. Finally, particular emphasis will be placed on understanding, analyzing, and discussing how music is made, how it works, and how it feels.
There will also be an experiential component to the course where you will talk with professional DJs about the course topics.
Learning Objectives
Learn about the history and culture of dance music in the United States and Germany.
Acquire the conceptual knowledge and skills to critically describe, analyze, and discuss music.
Practice forms of academic analysis and criticism of scholarship and cultural objects across genres, materials, and media, and present your findings in advanced writing and oral communication.
Learn to summarize, synthesize, analyze, and present complex information effectively and critically for multiple purposes and through diverse lenses and methodologies.
Develop your own voice to communicate effectively and join intellectual discussions through original insights and argumentation.
Class Attributes
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area