ETHNMUS 135Indo-Persian Musical Cultures: Mapping Musical Connections
Ethnomusicology · 4 units · Undergraduate upper division (100-199)
Study of connections between musical cultures of Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, and Iran. Exploration of musical ideas, forms, theories, instruments, styles, lyrics, etc. that make visible cultural continuities across broad Indo-Persianate world. Connected histories developed in these vast areas are not just through official language and religion of courts—Persian and Islam—but through trade, wandering Sufis, Persian poetry, scholars, and musicians, engendering deep and long-lasting connections. Focus is both historical and contemporary. Readings include articles and book chapters on musical cultures of Central and South Asia. By exploring diversity of commonalities in Indo-Persian musical cultures, understanding of often hidden similarities across different ethnic, cultural, geographical, and political boundaries is enhanced. Study elucidates values, ideas, and goals that relate individuals and groups across different places and cultures.
Letter grading.
When it runs
Not on the schedule for any of Fall 2025 through Spring 2027. UCLA publishes only that window, so this does not mean the course is gone — check the official listing.
Requisites
UCLA lists no requisites for this course.
Requires
Everything that has to come before this course, not just the courses named in the requisite above.
Nothing — this is an entry point.
Unlocks
What this course is a requisite for, and what those courses lead to in turn.
No course in the catalog lists this as a requisite.