2016/17 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ENGL3397 Public Images: The Punk Lyric and Chorus, 1976-present

20 creditsClass Size: 20

School of English

Module manager: Dr Andrew Warnes
Email: a.warnes@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2016/17

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

At its inception punk culture sought a kind of utopian intensification of the present. Behind its rallying cry of "no future" was an equally powerful rejection of the cultures of the past; an insistence that 1976 was to be its Year Zero. Despite such rhetoric, however, the rich varieties of lyrical expression produced in the name of punk after this revolutionary beginning all, of course, drew on a range of existing philosophical, political and poetical traditions. In this module we delve into these hidden influences. Venturing beyond punk's familiar debts, from surrealism to Situationism, we harness earlier poetry modules to consider how this music's leading songwriters participate in much longer and canonical traditions of poetical expression. While seeking a literary language of our own to capture its vocal performances, our discussions will also place punk's language--its disobedient yet often impeccably metrical lines-into a much longer and even classical understanding of the lyric and the chorus as verse forms. Hence we consider how punk songwriters construct new lyrical personae as well as how they deal with the classical connection between the chorus and the voice of the people. Other leading poetry theories, including Jonathan Culler's recent definition of lyric poetry as "a public discourse made authoritative by its rhythmical structures," will be related to our archive of passionate and outraged verse. The result will be to rescue punk from its own frozen present; tutor and student alike, over the course of our seminar discussions, will gain new understanding of its deep relationship to far more venerable and prestigious forms of lyrical expression. Along the way, over the course of the module, we will have plenty of time to consider our lyricists in isolation, and we will also turn to literary narratives which coincide with or flow out of punk's revolutionary moment and which evoke its provocative and iconoclastic aesthetic. Our seminar discussions will also illuminate the many intense and overlapping connections between this archive and ongoing scholarly critiques of, for example, third wave feminism, US exceptionalism, neoliberal austerity, and the marketisation of public life.

Objectives

To explore what is now becoming a historic phenomenon, the diverse lyrical forms produced by punk acts since 1976.
To focus on these songs as lyrical forms, applying to them the tools of textual analysis acquired in our earlier studies and reflections on literature.
To reflect on the relationship between such "political" art and politics itself, considering different interpretations of its capacity to effect the change it seeks.

Learning outcomes
- Knowledge of leading cultural theories about the relationship between poetical expression and social hierarchies and power
- Knowledge of the long and wide history of lyric poetry and its complex relationship to the rise of the individual and the idea of the "people" in Western traditions
- Knowledge of recent intense political conflicts and the various cultural forms of resistance undertaken under the aegis of punk.
-Deepened knowledge of existing close analytical skills, here applied to a variety of associated media (music, videos, fashion, etc.) but most of all the language of the lyric itself..

Skills outcomes
Skills for effective communication, oral and written.
Capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse.
Ability to acquire quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way.
Capacity for independent thought and judgement.
Critical reasoning.
Research skills, including information retrieval skills, the organisation of material, and the evaluation of its importance.
IT skills.
Time management and organisational skills.
Independent learning.

Syllabus

At its inception punk culture sought a kind of utopian intensification of the present. Behind its rallying cry of "no future" was an equally powerful rejection of the cultures of the past; an insistence that 1976 was to be its Year Zero. Despite such rhetoric, however, the rich varieties of lyrical expression produced in the name of punk after this revolutionary beginning all, of course, drew on a range of existing philosophical, political and poetical traditions. In this module we delve into these hidden influences. Venturing beyond punk's familiar debts, from surrealism to Situationism, we harness earlier poetry modules to consider how this music's leading songwriters participate in much longer and canonical traditions of poetical expression. While seeking a literary language of our own to capture its vocal performances, our discussions will also place punk's language--its disobedient yet often impeccably metrical lines-into a much longer and even classical understanding of the lyric and the chorus as verse forms. Hence we consider how punk songwriters construct new lyrical personae as well as how they deal with the classical connection between the chorus and the voice of the people. Other leading poetry theories, including Jonathan Culler's recent definition of lyric poetry as "a public discourse made authoritative by its rhythmical structures," will be related to our archive of passionate and outraged verse. The result will be to rescue punk from its own frozen present; tutor and student alike, over the course of our seminar discussions, will gain new understanding of its deep relationship to far more venerable and prestigious forms of lyrical expression. Along the way, over the course of the module, we will have plenty of time to consider our lyricists in isolation, and we will also turn to literary narratives which coincide with or flow out of punk's revolutionary moment and which evoke its provocative and iconoclastic aesthetic. Our seminar discussions will also illuminate the many intense and overlapping connections between this archive and ongoing scholarly critiques of, for example, third wave feminism, US exceptionalism, neoliberal austerity, and the marketisation of public life.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Workshop	5	1.00	5.00
Seminar	10	1.00	10.00
Private study hours			185.00
Total Contact hours			15.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

Teaching will be through weekly seminars (10 x 1 hour). The five additional hours on this module will be used as song analysis workshops.

Private Study: Reading, seminar preparation and essay writing.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

- Contribution to Seminars
- Feedback on 2250 word essay
- Participation in workshops

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	2,250 words	50.00
Essay	2,250 words	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 01/04/2016

Disclaimer

Browse Other Catalogues

• Undergraduate module catalogue
• Taught Postgraduate module catalogue
• Undergraduate programme catalogue
• Taught Postgraduate programme catalogue

Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team.PROD