history and criticism

Provides an overview of music in all the world's cultures, chronicling the history of music from prehistoric times to the present day.

Discusses Vlad the Impaler, the historical person behind Count Dracula, describes how Bram Stoker came to write his famous novel about him, and examines how the character has been portrayed on stage and screen.

A history of jazz form its origins in the late nineteenth century to the 1980's.

Explores the fairies, wizards, trolls, and other mythical characters which make up the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings".

Identifies more than fifty themes in J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" book series that parallel Christian gospel and argues that the works are not threats to the Christian faith.

Discusses the influence of people and events worldwide on music in the late twentieth century which led to crossovers between musical genres, stadium rock fund-raisers, hip-hop, rap, and the rise of world music.

Discusses the influence of people and events worldwide on music in the 1970s which led to developments in minimalism, modern opera and ballet, jazz-rock fusion, heavy metal, progressive rock, punk, and reggae.

Discusses the influence of people and events worldwide on music in the 1960s which led to electronic experimentation, the blues, hard bop, protest songs, soul, and radical modernism in classical music.

Discusses the influence of people and events worldwide when music served as World War II propaganda even as it blossomed into Broadway and Hollywood musicals, big bands, and bebop, then evolved into rock and roll.

Discusses the influence of people and events worldwide on music after World War I which led to a renewal of folk and national music, neo-classicism, the popularization of jazz, and political repression of musicians under communist and fascist regimes.