| Module Code: MUS3046 |
Module Title: AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSIC |
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Module Provider: Music and Sound Recording
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Short Name: MUS3046
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Level: HE3
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Module Co-ordinator: HUGHES TS Dr (Music Record)
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Number of credits: 15
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Number of ECTS credits: 7.5
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| Module Availability |
| Semester 1 |
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| Assessment Pattern |
Coursework 1: A critique of no more than 1,500 words of a key text, due in week 5 - 30%
Coursework 2: A reflective listening diary, kept throughout the term, consisting of two parts:
• Weekly entries, submitted through Online resources, listing themusic you’ve listened to and any thoughts provoked by the music or subject(no more than 50 words each).
• A brief essay of 500-1,000 words in which you reflect upon the music you’ve heard, the concepts and repertoire you’ve learned in class, and how your thoughts may or may not have changed over the course of the term - 30%
Coursework 3: A final project chosen from one of the following:
• A research paper of no more than 3,000 words on a topic within African-American Music, or
• A pastiche of a song taken from the studied repertoire that must be approved in advance (i.e. a song performed in the style of specific existing piece of African-American music), accompanied by a descriptive/analytical essay of no more than 1,500 words - 40%
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| Module Overview |
| This module provides an introduction to the study of African-American Music and major issues arising in its study. These include race; African music; the collision of cultures that created and shaped African-American culture in general and music specifically; colonialism, slavery, and the diaspora; resistance both within and through the music; intertextual commentary; collective individuality; spontaneous expression; ecstatic expression; African nationalism; cultural memory; and signifyin(g). For the purposes of this module, “African-American Music” will refer both to the music and to the musical traditions created by African-Americans, particularly in the United States from 1800 to the present day. The module will also included some discussion of the role of musicians who are not African-American within African-American musical traditions, as well as the effect African-American music has had on other musics. |
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| Prerequisites/Co-requisites |
| None |
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| Module Aims |
• To develop further knowledge and understanding of African-American music.
• To interrogate and examine the economic, social, political, and cultural contexts in which African-American music originated, developed, and has proliferated.
• To understand and develop methods for studying African-American music.
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| Learning Outcomes |
Upon completion of this module you should be able to:
• Demonstrate awareness and familiarity with the musical genres and styles covered within this module.
• Demonstrate awareness of and familiarity with the contexts in which African-American music exists and the interrelation between those contexts and the music itself.
• Employ methods discussed in class to gain further knowledge and understanding of African-American music.
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| Module Content |
The content of this module will consist of four loosely interwreathed areas:
• An introduction to the collision of cultures between Africa and Europe that took place as a result of colonialism, particularly as it occurred in North America, and how that collision has manifested itself in African-American music up to the present day.
• An introduction to important elements in African-American music, especially those such as signifyin(g), call and response, and improvisation, that are of particular importance to the creation, transmission, reception, and/or interpretation of the music.
• The study of African-American musical repertoire.
• An examination of how African-American music and the societies in which it exists have shaped each other.
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| Methods of Teaching/Learning |
| The module consists of eleven two-hour lectures. Each lecture will engage a different issue, topic, and/or repertoire within the broadly defined subject of African-American music. There may be required reading and listening for each week in advance of the class meeting. A significant component of the module will include listening to music and watching videos outside of the classroom, in order to gain familiarity with the repertoire; participation in discussion both inside and outside of class; and maintaining a reflective diary throughout the term. |
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| Selected Texts/Journals |
Compulsory Reading:
Floyd, Samuel, Jr., 1995: The Power of Black Music: Interpreting Its History from Africa to the United States (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Ramsey, Guthrie, Jr., 2003: Race Music: Black Cultures from Bebop to Hip-Hop (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press).
Recommended Reading:
Burnim, Mellonee V. and Maultsby, Portia K., 2005: African American Music: An Introduction (New York: Routledge).
Hughes, Tim, 2003: Groove and Flow: Six Analytical Essays on the Music of Stevie Wonder, http://www3.surrey.ac.uk/Music/NewsGenInfo/AcademicStaff/Hughes/GrooveAndFlow.pdf.
Keil, Charlies and Feld, Steven, 1994: Music Grooves (Chicago: University of Chicago Press).
Rose, Tricia, 1994: Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America (Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press).
Ward, Brian, 1998: Just My Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness, and Race Relations (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press).
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| Last Updated |
| 11.04.11 |
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