ETHNMUS 148

Global and Local South Asian Popular Music

Ethnomusicology · 4 units · Undergraduate upper division (100-199)

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India, South Asia, and South Asian diasporas are home to vast array of popular musics. Bollywood (or Hindi film music) dates from 1940s to present day and has spread to countries as diverse as Ghana, Greece, Israel, and western world from 1950s. Older history of popular music in India delves into cosmopolitan colonial cultures of jazz, minstrelsy and traveling theatre, and global circulation of gramophone discs. With advent of cassettes, then CDs, VCDs, MP3s, and now online platforms, popular musics have proliferated. These include rustic vernacular styles like Bhojpuri pop; music of downtrodden groups such as Chamar pop or Gaana; Sufi popular music highlighting religious harmony; pop-style Hindu devotional songs; and recently, militant Hindutva pop. Popular musics have also emerged from South Asian diasporas, such as Chutney and Soca from Trinidad, or Bhangra from United Kingdom Punjabis.

P/NP or 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.

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Requisites

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Requires

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Unlocks

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