Instructor: Sam Howard-Spink
This course explores the concept of “hybridization” from its roots to contemporary manifestations in remix/mashup culture, and asks if hybridity is the key to unlocking the puzzle of globalization. We rely equally on theory and examples of practice, with an emphasis on musical cultures and industries worldwide. The course proceeds along two parallel lines of enquiry: (i) cultural blending per se, in which something new is created from the fusion of two or more distinct forms, and (ii) as a current theory of globalization, which offers a way of challenging the mutual exclusivity offered by the traditional models of “cultural imperialism” versus “the clash of civilizations.” Specific topic areas include competing models of cultural-economic globalization, the modern “individual creator” contrasted with the postmodern “prosumer” (producer/consumer) in a “participatory culture,” debates over originality and authenticity, the legal and political implications of efforts to restrict (re)mixing through mechanisms such as copyright, and examples of practice including hiphop and mash-ups, Brazilian tropicalia and favela/carioca funk, Japanese anime, and Indian cinema or Bollywood.