INDEX
In a few days, you will be able to print out a complete copy of the syllabus, by executing a download of a PDF version of the syllabus. (*See Bottom.)
Tuesday, September 8 "Music in My
Life" Discuss a particular piece of
music that holds a special position in your life or
at least did at one time. In addition to the sound
and lyrics (if applicable) and any background
knowledge that informs your listening, examine why
this song became important to you. This paper may
be more personal than scholarly. You can take
any approach to the paper that you want.
Because freedom is sometimes more frightening than
an itemized task, I like to provide a list of
questions to get you thinking: What does the song
mean to you and why? What role does this song play
in your life? When do you use it and how? In what
context did you first listen to this song? Do you
remember when you first heard it? Do you feel
differently about this song now? Please note that
these questions are merely starting points, you can
go in other directions. I do NOT want a paper that
gives brief answers to the series of questions
above. Your paper should have a single focus and
make a strong statement. Note: Please turn in a
cassette tape of your song/piece with your
assignment. These tapes will be used in our
discussion in class #3. Thursday, September 10 Paper 1
due Tuesday, September 15 Peer Paper
Comment 1 due Analysis exercise: listen
carefully to any two versions of the Star-Spangled
Banner from tape 1a. Make an annotated sheet of
lyrics and a graphical representation of each,
adding as much detail to these descriptions as
possible. Finally write a few sentences concerning
the effect, if any, of your analyses upon the way
you hear or interpret the song? Thursday, September 17 Discussion
Exercise A due Stop by any one of the record
stores in Ann Arbor (new or used) and notice how
the store is organized, that is, what category
labels are used to bring customer and product
together. Are there any special ways of displaying
merchandise? Make a quick sketch of the store and
the groupings in which music has been organized. Be
sure to tell the manager or another employee that
you're working on a class assignment&endash;not
trying to steal their sales secrets. Based upon the
evidence you have gathered, do you think that the
American commercial music industry forms a musical
democracy? Why or why not? Tuesday, September 22 Discussion
Exercise B due
Thursday, September 24 Paper Two
due
Session 7: Jigsaw Day:
Questionnaire Project Brainstorming Session
Thursday, October 1 Paper 3 due
Go to any record store and
examine cover art for markers of race. How is race
represented? (Find at least 3 ways.) What kinds of
music seem to feature race as a selling point or as
a marker of authenticity? What kinds of music
appear to minimize race? Tuesday, October 6 Disc. Ex. C and
Peer Comment 3 due Thursday, October 8 Questionnaire
drafts due & presented Saturday, October 10 Watch MTV, MTV2, VH1, BMT or
CMT for a few minutes and make a list of the ways
in which women and men are depicted on screen. Are
they objects of desire or instruments of power?
Does this representation change from one video to
the next? Does it make a difference to your
perception if it is a male vocalist/narrator or a
female one? Tuesday, October 13 Discussion
Exercise D due Thursday, October 15: Recital
proposal and group progress report due Tuesday, October 20 Quiz 2 and
listening journal due Thursday, October 22 Tuesday, October 27 Questionnaire
projects and Peer Group Evaluations due
Thursday, October 29
Find a song in use during the
current election. Ideally, it would be a campaign
song performed at rallies or conventions, but you
may also use music that accompanies political
advertising on television or radio. Identify the
style and content of the song. In what genre
category might it be placed? What type of image
does this music create? Does it influence your
opinion of this candidate in any way? Tuesday, November 3 Discussion
Exercise E due
Is this Love
(Hate/Anger/Grief/etc.)? One of Simon Frith's claims
is that music makes emotions available to the
listener. Analyze a love song (or any other song
about or apparently about emotion) by transcribing
the lyrics and describing the plot of the song. How
does the song define love/etc.? For a paper about a
love song, the following questions might serve as
starting points for your discussion: What is the
relationship between the protagonists like? Is it
equal or unbalanced? Who does the talking during
the song? What do the participants in the story get
from the relationship? What do they put in? How
does the image of love portrayed here affect the
listener's view on relationships? (You might want
to review Frith's ideas about music and emotion in
the coursepack.) Please submit a cassette recording
of your song with your paper. If you'd like, you
may choose to write on any other emotion or
emotionally-charged subject expressed through
popular music: anger, depression, jealousy,
mourning, despair, violence. Beware of the way in
which composers sometimes use emotion and personal
narratives on a symbolic level to make a
political/social argument. Thursday, November 5 Paper 4 and
recital program info due
Tuesday, November 10 Peer Paper
Comments due
Wednesday, November 11
Thursday, November 12 Group
project idea reports
Tuesday, November 17 Listening
journal due and Quiz 3
Thursday, November 19 Paper 5
due
Watch MTV for 30 minutes and
analyze its content. Did you see music videos,
commentary, or a themed show? Did you notice any of
the themes of this course coming through: Gender,
Economics, Sensuality, etc? If you saw music
videos, what was the connection between music and
image? Do you understand the lyrics better when
heard against these images? Do the images obscure
and trivialize the words/music? What kind of
commercials are shown? If you did not see music
videos, what relationship does the show you did see
have to music or the supposed audience of
MTV? Tuesday, November 24 Disc. Ex. F
and Peer Paper Comment 4
Thursday, November 26
Tuesday, December 1 Group progress
reports due Thursday, December 3
Tuesday, December 8 Exhibit
project and project log due
As I find the traditional
course evaluation to be useful, but not specific
enough, I am offering a percentage point of extra
credit to students who write a brief prose
evaluation of the course. You can organize your
discussion in anyway you wish. One possibility
would be to discuss strengths, weaknesses, and
suggestions for improvement. Another is to write an
essay entitled "If I Taught This Course..." The
amount of extra credit awarded has nothing to do
with your opinion of the course, rather I'm looking
for thoughtful analysis and suggestions. Next
fall's students will greatly appreciate your
efforts. Thursday, December 10 Journal,
Quiz 4, and Course Evaluation due
There will be no final
exam for this class.
Note: If you are having trouble downloading, viewing, or printing the PDF version of this document, or do not know what a PDF file is, go to the Adobe Acrobat download site. If you need more information, email me: claguem@umich.edu. [Go back up.]
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