An abstracted 21st-century rethinking of the traditional concept of counterpoint as a matrix of developing maximal melodic identity and independence while bound by and optimized for vertical harmonic cohesion. The composition students will creatively explore contemporary concepts of identity, diversity, and how these can interact within a redefined framework of "social" cohesion and cooperation. A series of small experimental compositions informed by this principle will form the core of the student work for this course, accompanied by in-class presentations and short essays addressing their contemporary solutions to this age-old matrix. Mixed with the above, career development strategies (how to frame and disseminate the artistic message) will be discussed as part of the course curriculum.