MDST 3510

TOPIC: RACE & SOUND
I found this class and its content really interesting. Professor Hamilton is one of the best professors at UVA and really puts an effort into making his lectures interesting and engaging, which is especially appreciated for a 2 ½ hour class period once a week. The class featured weekly reading (it's a lot, but it's all supporting and you aren't quizzed), three long-form essays (2 "midterm" essays at 20% each and a final paper at 25%), and ten discussion blog posts (20%, all completion) about music he posts in resources relating to each week's material. Each week consisted of him lecturing about a time period in music history with a focus on how racial dynamics contributed to the music and the time period around it. For example, we spent a week discussing rock & roll in the sixties and another week on the bebop age.
Professor Hamilton was very accommodating after the shooting in November, and as a result the class did not have to complete the final paper or the final five blog posts. Despite the less than opportune class time (5-7:30pm, once a week), I found the content interesting (as someone interested in music) and fun to study.