Musical Cultures of the Gulf South Coordinate Major

The Gulf South produced a distinctive set of musical cultures that continues to influence national and international musical currents: jazz, blues, zydeco, Cajun music, and brass-band music. As a city central to the African diaspora, New Orleans gave birth to a pan-African regional culture equally influenced by immigrants from the Caribbean -- Cuba and Haiti, in particular -- as by the ruling nations of Spain and France.

The mission of this coordinate undergraduate major is to educate students in the underlying currents of these musical cultures through a historical grasp of the Atlantic slave trade, the rituals of expressive culture and resistance in the Caribbean, and the social, environmental, economic, and political history of the region. The Gulf South extends from Texas across the coasts of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, around Florida into the Caribbean, where Cuba lies a mere 90 miles away. "New Orleans music" is a rubric that stretches from ragtime to hiphop, and includes the city's seminal influence on rock and roll, funk, and rhythm and blues, as each assumed national form. New Orleans remains the site of a range of vibrant living cultural traditions, including the Mardi Gras Indians; the second-line culture of Social Aid and Pleasure clubs, and Creole and Cajun cuisine.

This coordinate major is offered under the auspices of the New Orleans Center for the Gulf South. Please contact MCGS program director Rebecca Snedeker with questions.

Requirements

Musical Cultures of the Gulf South is an interdisciplinary, 27-credit program. Three required core courses encompass the fields of Anthropology, Ethnomusicology, History, Theatre and Dance, and Urban Geography. Electives courses are offered in African and African Diaspora Studies, Communication, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Economics, English, Environmental Studies, French, History, Theatre and Dance, Urban Studies. Students are welcome to petition program director for elective course credit for courses that are not cross-listed. Students must first declare a major in another discipline before declaring the MCGS coordinate major.

Core Classes (3) The following three courses are required.

3000-Level or Above Classes (3) From the electives listed below, students must take one 3000-level or above course in the fields of Music, History, and Anthropology.

Electives (3)

Students must take a minimum of 3 additional electives or nine credits from the courses listed in order to reach a minimum of 27 credits for the major. A total of two 1000-level courses can count towards the coordinate major. No more than two dance courses can count towards the major.

The courses listed below qualify or have qualified as electives for the MCGS major. Some of these courses are not currently being taught, but remain on the list to help convey this major’s scope of study. Again, students are welcome to petition program director for credit for courses not listed here.