Sounds of Earth: Music and the Voyager Golden Record

In 1977, NASA launched the Voyager I spacecraft into the cosmos carrying the Voyager Golden Record—a time capsule of sounds, greetings, and music from Earth, intended to present human life to any extraterrestrial intelligence it might encounter. In this course, we use the Voyager Golden Record’s music from earth as a lens to explore how music, culture, and imagination shape visions of planetary identity. We explore musical selections from different cultures and eras, from J.S. Bach and Beethoven to traditional music from Senegal, Japan, and Azerbaijan, and discuss the historical, political, and ethical forces behind these choices. Through guided listening, we examine how music can represent identity, bridge cultures and species, and act as a message in a bottle drifting through interstellar space. This course will be recorded. Students will have access to the video for 30 days.