2016/17 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

MUSS2722 Music in Context B

20 creditsClass Size: 80

Module manager: Dr Karen Burland
Email: music-modules@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2016/17

Pre-requisite qualifications

Normally MUSS1030, or A-level Music, or appropriate equivalent

Module replaces

MUSI2721 Music in Context A

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

Topic 1 - Music in Restoration England: The English Restoration is generally considered to span the period between Charles II’s restoration to the throne in 1660 and the end of the seventeenth century. This was a period of great exuberance in the arts, in which music played a full and significant role. At court, in the church, in the theatre and in homes English music absorbed influences from abroad, particularly from Italy and France, while at the same time retaining a degree of independence based on inherited tradition and the particular social and cultural contexts of the ‘Fairest Isle’. Charles II’s love of the theatre and his Francophile tastes pushed music for the stage and church in new directions. A novel form of court propaganda, the musical ode, was developed, though it soon slipped the traces of the court to play a crucial role in the burgeoning public concert life of London. The role of women as performers and consumers of music changed quickly, especially in the theatre where singing actresses became stage stars and royal mistresses. Amongst a proliferation of talented composers, one rose to pre-eminence, Henry Purcell, the ‘English Orpheus’. He composed in all of the important genres of the day; his music, and its interactions with the political, social and cultural ferment of the period will serve as the core thread tying together this exploration of music in Restoration England.Topic 2 - Duke Ellington and the 20th-Century Jazz Environment: This course examines ways of responding to and writing about jazz and related musics, taking Duke Ellington as a figure attracting significant scholarly interest. In the last few years, coinciding approximately with the centenary of his very first compositions (‘Soda Fountain Rag’ onwards), writers such as John Howland (Ellington Uptown: Duke Ellington, James P. Johnson, and the Birth of Concert Jazz), Harvey G. Cohen (Duke Ellington’s America), and David Schiff (The Ellington Century) establish strong cases for a reassessment of his place in the history of twentieth-century music, in turn illuminating our understanding of jazz and genre relationships. Coverage will draw on a range of disciplinary approaches, critical and historical views (for instance on African American culture, relationships with film and literature, approaches to genre), as well as close reflection on Ellington and his music. Week-by-week readings will include contextual essays (for example from Signifyin(g), Sanctifyin', and Slam Dunking, ed. Gena Dagel Caponi) and more specific texts (such as Mark Tucker’s The Duke Ellington Reader, and Gunther Schuller’s work on early jazz). Student essays may focus on Ellington, his music and musical collaborators; or they may offer comparative or thematic studies of Ellington alongside other significant figures or stylistic movements. Provocations for more focused investigation are taken from statements such as this, in the introductory material to David Schiff’s book: “The Ellington Century demonstrates how Duke Ellington’s music is as vital to musical modernism as anything by Stravinsky and more influential than anything by Schoenberg, and how it has had a lasting impact on jazz and pop that reaches from Gershwin to contemporary R&B”.

Objectives

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
- demonstrate the broadening of their musical knowledge through study of a defined musicological area;
- apply appropriate historical, analytical, critical and comparative methodologies to the articulation and development of arguments;
- demonstrate the development of research, essay-writing and presentational skills;
- develop an awareness of contextual approaches applicable to a broad range of repertoire.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students will be able to:
- demonstrate the broadening of their musical knowledge through study of a defined musicological area;
- apply appropriate historical, analytical, critical and comparative methodologies to the articulation and development of arguments;
- demonstrate the development of research, essay-writing and presentational skills;
- develop an awareness of contextual approaches applicable to a broad range of repertoire.

Syllabus

Students will study one topic chosen from a range available. Topics offered will cover a spectrum of musicological areas in different musical disciplines and contexts, including art, commercial, popular and world musics. The module may be taught via a combination of lectures, seminars and tutorials.

The class will be split for at least one of the sessions to provide a small-group seminar during which students will present and discuss their ideas for their essays both orally and via the medium of a poster or (by negotiation with the tutor) an online Wiki. At least one class will be given over to individual tutorials.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	8	2.00	16.00
Seminar	2	1.00	1.00
Tutorial	1	0.25	0.00
Private study hours			183.00
Total Contact hours			17.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

- 4 hours evaluation of notes per lecture: 28 hours
- 6 hours reading and listening per lecture or seminar: 54 hours
- Essay writing: 74 hours.
- Seminar preparation, including poster or Wiki design: 29 hours.

The essay must be passed in order to get the module credits.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

- Contribution to round table discussion in seminar, including poster or similar presentation, and feedback.
- Tutorials.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	3600-4400 words. This component must be passed in orderto gain the module credits.	75.00
Poster Presentation	Poster presentation or similar during split-class seminar, the equivalent of 1,500-2,000 words’ work. The poster presentation may be in the form of a traditional poster, for which training will be provided during the course of one of the lectures. Or, by negotiation with the tutor, it may take the form of an online Wiki using the VLE, instructions for which will be provided by the module coordinator. These presentations may be related to the topic of the essay, and students will be required to explain their ideas orally as well as through the medium of the poster/Wiki during a seminar.	25.00
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: 29/03/2017

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