By TreyBien Duffy from San Luis Obispo, California 5 months ago Completed

My first MOOC and a nice entry, fun topic, not difficult content. Loved having access to people all over the world with quite different perspectives than you get in a class of N Americans. Class helped me become a better listener. Recommend to anyone who like music, culture or language.

By Pilar Reyes 6 months ago Completed

It was a very interesting course: I like the structure and contents. Besides, I enjoyed the challenge of writing in English (my second language).

About the teaching staff: the professor in charge didn't seem very engaged with the course. TAs, on the other hand, put a lot of effort and enthusiasm into it.

If you like music, the different contexts in which it takes place, and like writing, this course is for you.

By Susan Kemp from Montevallo, Alabama 6 months ago Completed

OK, this is going to sound weird but I didn't have much interest in the subject matter going into the course, but I took it anyway because some people I knew were going to take it. Having said that, I did enjoy the class. As previously mentioned, you don't need much of a music background (but if you do have one, don't worry, you will be able to apply it to make your essays even more rich).

However, a lot of the class focuses on the cultural aspects surrounding world music. Questions that come up are who should have rights to music (i.e. the native cultures that created the music, or the Westerners who shop up and appropriate it)? So there's issues of law, ethics, society, etc.

While the issues themselves are interesting, the delivery of the course could be better. I found the lectures fine, but less engaging than other courses. Each week ended with a discussion between graduate students about the musical aspects of the course, which I found completely unapproachable. I hate to say it, but a lot of what I enjoyed the most is taking that week's content then watching documentaries about it completely not required by the class so I was getting more about the subject but it was technically not a component of the class.

I don't want to discourage you. I'm saying the class is OK, even good, however some courses on Coursera use the technology so well that this course can pale in comparison. If the subject matter interests you, though, don't be discouraged. You will enjoy it and there are no super egregious flaws.

By Laura Cushing from West Berlin, New Jersey 6 months ago Completed

The matterials were very interesting - I loved the videos we had to watch, and links to them were embedded right in the class vidoes which was nice.

There was very minimal interaction between the professor and TAs and students - that area can be greatly improved.

The portion of the class where grad students modeled how to talk about the music didn't really work for me. They often used musical terms that went above the head of the average student.

The essay topics we had to write on were interesting, and engaging.

Overall a course that's worth taking.

By Brian 50 days ago Completed

I have mixed feelings about this course. It was one of the first courses I signed up for. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from it, but overall I would say I enjoyed it.

I had hoped to be exposed to more examples of world music, as each week focused only on 1 or 2 songs. The most interesting parts of the course to me where some of the videos linked to on youtube, as opposed to any of the video lectures.

I was very annoyed at the actual powerpoint slides that the professor used. They looked like they had been slapped together at the last minute, as they were full of typos, and could really have benefited from some simple editing.

By Wendy Mitton from Toronto, Ontario 6 months ago Completed

This was a fascinating course. I loved the video lectures and felt I learned a lot. I enjoyed the assignments as quizs. You didn't need a music background to complete the course although if you had, I suppose it would have been a richer experience. There was good interaction with one very dedicated TA in the forums, but little interaction with the prof. In fairness, this took place over the summer during holiday season. I highly recommend this course.