Hot subjects—Music 319: Musical Ethnicities of Wisconsin

Most students are surprised to find on the timetable that a Wisconsin-focused class could fulfill their ethnic studies requirement.

But music professor Susan Cook says her new class takes a broad view of both music and ethnicity, diving into the use of music in ethnic settlements in Wisconsin since the 1800s, such as the Swiss in New Glarus and Germans in Milwaukee. She will also explore the musical traditions of Native Americans and recent Hmong immigrants.

"I want (students) to appreciate how much meaning resides in music, how much power music has to shape individuals and to help individuals create their own self-identities," says Cook. "And with that, (show) how important music has been to these notions of ourselves as ethnic or racial people."

One of the ways she plans to impart this message is by having students experience ethnic uses of music at local events, some of which may be centered around music, while other may celebrate other parts of a culture while incorporating music.

"Often, it's a part of a larger cultural context, and that's one of the things we'll be talking about," Cook says. "Is the music central to the event, is it peripheral to the event, and how is the music helping what else is going on there with regard to ethnicity?"