This course explores the music that is forbidden, namely, music in conjunction with censorship of various sorts. More often than not, music has been viewed as a double-bladed tool by the state and the church in Western culture. Its potential danger derives from not only its power to touch—and manipulate—human feelings, but also its ability to carry powerful message, be it political, religious, or aesthetic. When a certain type of music is deemed harmful and censored, consequently, the music in question mirrors the party that censors it, including its value system, political policy, and aesthetic or moral value. Some broad questions we will raise are as follows: should music have a function in society? Should it serve politics, religion, or morality? Where does the audience, taste, cultural trends stand in this context? Can it exist as an independent aesthetic product?

We will examine these issues from the following perspectives: 1) Why is a certain type of music forbidden in a certain social, political, cultural, or aesthetic context? Does the censorship derive from the composer? The identity of its performer(s)? The music itself? 2) Who forbids it? Is the music banned by law? By the government? The church? A political party? Does the audience or the artists play a part in the censorship?

This course explores the music that is forbidden, namely, music in conjunction with censorship of various sorts. More often than not, music has been viewed as a double-bladed tool by the state and the church in Western culture. Its potential danger derives from not only its power to touch—and manipulate—human feelings, but also its ability to carry powerful message, be it political, religious, or aesthetic. When a certain type of music is deemed harmonious and censored, consequently, the music in question mirrors the party that censors it, including its value system, political policy, and aesthetic or moral value. Some broad questions we will raise are as follows: should music have a function in society? Should it serve politics, religion, or morality? Where does the audience, taste, cultural trends stand in this context? Can it exist as an independent aesthetic product?

We will examine these issues from the following perspectives: 1) Why is a certain type of music forbidden in a certain social, political, cultural, or aesthetic context? Does the censorship derive from the composer? The identity of its performer(s)? The music itself? 2) Who forbids it? Is the music banner by law? By the government? The church? A political party? Does the audience or the artists play a part in the censorship?

Burkholder, J. Peter, Donald Jay Grout, and Claude V. Palisca. A History of Western Music. 8th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010.
Hugo, Victor. The King Amuses Himself. Trans. Frederick L. Slous. New York: Howard Fertig, Inc., 1995.
Strunk, Oliver, ed. Sources Readings in Music History. New York: Norton, 1998.
Wagner, Richard. Judaism and Other Essays. Trans. William Ashton Ellis. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995.
Weiss, Piero and Richard Taruskin. Music in the Western World: A History in Documents. New York: Schirmer, 1984.

Burkholder, J. Peter, Donald Jay Grout, and Claude V. Palisca. A History of Western Music. 8th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010.
Hugo, Victor. The King Amuses Himself. Trans. Frederick L. Slous. New York: Howard Fertig, Inc., 1995.
Strunk, Oliver, ed. Sources Readings in Music History. New York: Norton, 1998.
Wagner, Richard. Judaism and Other Essays. Trans. William Ashton Ellis. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995.
Weiss, Piero and Richard Taruskin. Music in the Western World: A History in Documents. New York: Schirmer, 1984.