The Sound of Freedom: Seeing Contemporary South Africa Through Sound

Undergraduate

Thinking through and with the work of Njabulo S. Ndebele this course poses a number of questions through the sonic landscape of South Africa: How do we think about hybridity, multi-disciplinarity, and multi-form as a productive tool in the face of complex sociopolitical histories and lived experiences? How do we think about ritualised belonging through music, spirituality, and the body in a South African context riddled with a past of violent disregard for humanity and land? Also, how do we begin to name, categorize, and describe a truly South African performance medium that speaks to Ndebele’s formulation of the spectacular? This course should be of interest to students who are looking to engage with dance theatre, self-directed performance, embodiment, and the sonics, performance art, performance installation, and music theatre (20th-century instrumental and vocal composition that includes non-sonic gesture, movement, costume, and other visual elements within the score). HU W 4pm-5:55pm