Topic: Mozart's World
| Time | Days | Location | Instructor | GER | Credit | OPUS Class Number | Syllabus (Tentative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11:45am- | MWF | Bowden Hall 118 | James Melton. | 4 | 12893 | TBA. |
Content: This interdisciplinary course will be taught in English and assumes no special musical training. We use Mozart's biography, travels, and music as a vehicle for exploring broader issues in the cultural history of Europe on the eve of the French Revolution. The first half focuses on Mozart's world through the composer's letters and travels. The second half explores Mozart's operas, not primarily as musical products but as visual and literary texts that serve to illuminate major cultural issues of his day. We focus especially on shifting or conflicting representations of women, as illustrated in works like The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, The Abduction from the Seraglio, and The Magic Flute. These works also provide an occasion for exploring Western perceptions of non-Europeans (eighteenth-century “orientalism”), as well as the social conflicts and tensions that characterized European society on the eve of the French Revolution.
Required Texts: Kristi Brown-Montesano, Understanding the Women of Mozart’s Operas; Peter Gay, Mozart: A Life; Jane Glover, Mozart’s Women; H.C. Robbins Landon, 1791: Mozart’s Last YearLandon, 1791: Mozart’s Last Year; James Van Horn Melton, The Rise of the Public in Enlightenment Europe; Robert Spaethling (ed.), Mozart’s Letters, Mozart’s Life
Grading: Midterm, final, 12-15 page paper.
The schedule of courses on O.P.U.S. is the official listing of courses, including days and times they meet and the General Education Requirements they satisfy. Students should use course descriptions as general guidelines. Course requirements, grading details, book lists, and syllabi are subject to change.