2022/23 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

MUSS2722 Music in Context B

20 creditsClass Size: 35

Module manager: Ross Cole
Email: r.cole@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2022/23

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

The popular is a notoriously difficult concept to pin down, and yet one that is fundamental to the experience of modernity. This course will introduce a wide range of theoretical approaches to popular culture, covering topics such as media theory and technology; the Frankfurt School; semiotics and taste; questions of identity as they relate to race, gender, sexuality, and class; the politics of resistance (including counterculture, subculture, counterpublics, and postcolonialism); and music’s pervasive role in everyday life. On the module you will encounter and critique a number of key writers representing a variety of perspectives – thinkers such as Theodor Adorno, Roland Barthes, Walter Benjamin, Judith Butler, Michel de Certeau, W. E. B. DuBois, Angela Davis, Frantz Fanon, Paul Gilroy, Stuart Hall, bell hooks, Fredric Jameson, Karl Marx, Marshall McLuhan, George Orwell, Camille Paglia, Jacques Rancière, Susan Sontag, Gayatri Spivak, and Oscar Wilde, among others – but no prior knowledge of these figures is necessary. Ultimately, the course will theorize the popular, equipping you with a clear understanding of complex ideas surrounding the history of mass culture from the 19th century to our present age of social media and surveillance capitalism.

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 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, and essay-writing 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. Plenary lectures and associated seminars will support students in developing their skills in the literature review and essay writing. At least one class will be given over to individual tutorials.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lectures	3	1.00	3.00
Lecture	7	2.00	14.00
Seminar	2	1.00	1.00
Tutorial	1	0.25	0.25
Private study hours			181.75
Total Contact hours			18.25
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

4 hours evaluation of notes per topic lecture: 28 hours;
6 hours reading and listening per topic lecture or seminar: 54 hours;
Essay writing: 74 hours;
Plenary lectures and Seminar preparation: 26 hours.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

- Contribution to round table discussion in seminars, and feedback.
- Tutorials.

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 website

Last updated: 06/05/2022

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