Caroline Fache

Student instructors gain mastery of their subject of interest by practical application in teaching a course. Students are supervised by the faculty sponsor as approved by the Dean of Undergraduates. Students must have taken COLL 300 in developing the course. Repeatable for Credit.

This course explores music as a cultural archive and social force across the French-speaking world. We will listen to, read, and analyze songs and sound cultures from French-speaking countries in France, the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, North Africa, Québec, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Indian Ocean, asking how rhythm, voice, language choice, and performance stage debates various social realities and challenges. Moving across genres such as chanson, rock, raï, zouk, hip-hop, rap, pop, electro, and Afropop/Afrobeats, the course treats music as both art and discourse, with attention to lyrics, music videos, live performance, and media ecosystems (radio, streaming platforms, and social networks). Students will practice close listening and close reading (in French and translation when useful), build a toolbox for analyzing sound and performance, and situate artists within the histories and politics that shape the Francophone world. Assignments can include a listening journal, short lyric analyses, a music video “shot-by-shot” commentary, a curated playlist with an annotated rationale, and a final creative-critical project such as a podcast segment or a short audio essay.