Topologies: The Popular Music Survey Course and the Posthumanities

  • Justin D Burton Rider University
Keywords: pedagogy, posthuman, topology, popular music, non-linear

Abstract

As part of a roundtable exploration of pedagogical practices in popular music survey courses, this essay considers the possibility of structuring a survey course in a topological rather than chronological fashion. Unlike chronology, which is linear and teleological, topology loops, twists, and doubles back on itself in surprising ways. Topological engagement with popular music intersects with practices of posthuman critical theory, encouraging students to hear popular musicians collaborating and sounding together across multiple times and spaces. This essay argues that employing a topological framework at once speaks to the everyday material experiences of twenty-first century students and also seeks to fashion a more ethical, sustainable future for those students.

Author Biography

Justin D Burton, Rider University

Justin D Burton is Assistant Professor of Music at Rider University. His research revolves around popular music/culture, music technologies, hip-hop, and critical race theory, all of which inform his current book project, Posthuman Pop. Recent publications appear in the Journal of Popular Culture 46:3, the Journal of the Society for American Music 7:3, the Oxford Handbook of Mobile Music Studies, Vol 2, and Sounding Out! He is co-editing with Ali Colleen Neff a forthcoming special issue of the Journal of Popular Music Studies titled “Sounding Global Southernness.â€

Published
2014-07-12
Section
Roundtable