For Music Students
IHUM 243 provides an introduction to two of the world’s greatest musical traditions, namely Hindustani classical music and Qawwali. Born in the courts of the Mughal Dynasty, the unique blending of Hindu and Muslim elements in Hindustani music has resulted in an art form of great complexity but one that does not use notation in its pedagogy and transmission. The profoundly important oral tradition has influenced a musical form that begs the question: how can a classical tradition flourish without notation?
Moreover, why has the deeply influential Sufi tradition known as Qawwali been so significant world wide? How have folk traditions profoundly affected elite and religious musical forms in South Asia? How have the conflicting roles of music in Hinduism and Islam resulted in such globally important musical traditions?