2024/25 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
MUSS2121 Music: Power, Protest, Politics
20 creditsClass Size: 30
Module manager: Dr Ariana Phillips-Hutton
Email: a.phillips-hutton@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2024/25
Module replaces
MUSS2721 Music in Context AThis module is not approved as a discovery module
Module summary
Music, argues Tia DeNora, is a ‘medium of social order’ connecting the people and the polis. Art is – and always has been – political. But what is this relationship between sound and social order? How can we see it at work today? In this module, you will explore theories of power and examine questions of musical diplomacy, citizenship, censorship, and the nature of protest across the 20th and 21st centuries. Along the way, you will think through examples drawn from around the globe, from the EU’s ‘Anthem of Europe’ to ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrica’ in apartheid South Africa, and from protests in Chile and China to the rallying cry of ‘Hell You Talmbout’ in the Movement for Black Lives.Objectives
On completion of this module, students should be able to ...Explore the relationship between sound and social order;
Engage with theories of power;
Using specific examples, explore questions of musical diplomacy, citizenship, censorship and protest in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries
Learning outcomes
Subject-Specific Learning Outcomes
1. Demonstrate the broadening of musical knowledge through musicological study of relevant areas
2. Apply appropriate historical, analytical, critical and comparative methodologies to the articulation and development of arguments.
Skills Learning Outcomes
3. Evaluate sources critically
4. Demonstrate research, and essay-writing skills.
Syllabus
The module introduces students to a body of research and repertoire associated with music, power, and politics understood in a global 21st century context. Students will engage with relevant scholarship to develop critical and analytical skills appropriate to the study of these musics and their contexts. Interactive taught sessions aim to synthesize historical and political contexts with focused analysis of musical and sonic events. Plenary lectures and associated seminars will support students in developing their skills in literature review and essay writing.
Teaching methods
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
| Lecture | 2 | 1.00 | 2.00 |
| Lecture | 7 | 2.00 | 14.00 |
| Seminar | 3 | 2.00 | 6.00 |
| Tutorial | 1 | 0.30 | 0.30 |
| Private study hours | 177.70 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 22.30 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200.00 | ||
Private study
4 hours evaluation of notes per topic lecture: 28 hours7 hours reading and listening per topic lecture or seminar: 70 hours
Skills lectures preparation: 12 hours
Work towards assessment: 70.75 hours
Opportunities for Formative Feedback
Formative feedback will be provided on the literature review assignment through a plenary feedback seminar session, enabling all students to benefit from knowledge about common errors and examples of best practice from across the cohort. Formative feedback will also be provided through contribution to class discussions in lectures and seminars, and in the module tutorial.Methods of assessment
Coursework
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
| Essay | 3800-4200 words | 70.00 |
| Literature Review | 1400-1600 words | 30.00 |
| 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 websiteLast updated: 20/05/2024
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