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  3. Global Pop

Global Pop (MUSI20219)

Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5Not available in 2026

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Overview

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This subject introduces students to major popular music styles from Africa, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia, and the Eastern Europe.

Through weekly case studies, students learn how local musicians and listeners create, debate, and value popular music across diverse contexts, situating local genres within regional and global debates on identity, politics, and culture.

Styles considered include major local traditions, as well as the indigenization of Western genres such as hip-hop, rock, and pop.

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of this subject, students should be able to:

  • use informed listening to anylayse popular music-making across diverse contexts;
  • use specialized vocabulary to describe the fundamentals of popular music‐making in general as well as their manifestations in specific cultural contexts;
  • identify major research questions about popular music in cross‐cultural contexts;
  • research independently different popular music styles.

Generic skills

On completion of this subject, students should have:

  • a capacity for independent critical thought about music from any time or place;
  • knowledge and skills which provide a basis for independent critical inquiry and research‐based writing about music;
  • an informed understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity.

Last updated: 6 November 2025