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2011/2 Provisional Module Catalogue - UNDER CONSTRUCTION & SUBJECT TO CHANGE
 Module Code: SOC3044 Module Title: POPULAR MUSIC AND SOCIETY
Module Provider: Sociology Short Name: SOC3044
Level: HE3 Module Co-ordinator: HODKINSON PE Dr (Sociology)
Number of credits: 15 Number of ECTS credits: 7.5
 
Module Availability
Semester 1
Assessment Pattern

Unit(s) of Assessment

 
Weighting Towards Module Mark( %)

 

2 hour examination

 

90

 

ULearn participation

 

10

 

Qualifying Condition(s) 

 

A weighted aggregate mark of 40% is required to pass the module.

 
Module Overview
This module focuses upon the significance of popular music in contemporary societies. We examine the global popular music industry, its connection to other media/culture industries and arguments about the standardisation of music itself. We go on to consider different perspectives on the experiences and identities of music consumers and on the ways in which popular music relates to divisions such as class, gender and ethnicity.
Prerequisites/Co-requisites
None
Module Aims

·         To provide an overview of role and significance of popular music in contemporary societies

·         To elucidate and differentiate between approaches related to music in relation to texts, technologies, industry and audiences

 

  • To identify and relate to one another a range of theoretical and empirical studies relating to specialist topics relating to popular music studies
Learning Outcomes

Having completed this module, students should be able to:

 

·         Demonstrate a familiarity with key terms and concepts used in the study of popular music

·         Appreciate the different ways in which popular music can be studied, notably as an industry, as cultural text, as technology and in terms of its consumption

·         Apply to the case of music, broader theories about the relationship between media, culture and society

·         Discuss popular music theories and research in relation to contemporary examples in class and online

 

  • Draw on the range of material covered on the module in order to construct arguments and explanations under exam conditions
Module Content

·         The significance of notions of authenticity across a range of topics in popular music studies

 

·         The global music industry and arguments about the commercial standardisation of music

 

·         The interplay of the global and the local in studies of popular music

 

·         Subcultural and post-subcultural theories as approaches to the understanding of popular music consumption

 

·         Studies of the role of popular music in individual everyday life

 

·         The significance of class, gender and ethnicity in relation to the popular music

 
Methods of Teaching/Learning

11 x 2 hour sessions, each integrating lecture material with interactive discussions and exercises

Weekly reading and seminar preparation

ULearn discussions
Selected Texts/Journals

Frith, S. and Goodwin, A. (1990), On Record: Rock, Pop and the Written Word, London: Routledge. 

Lull, J. (ed.) Popular Music and Communication. Newbury Park CA: Sage.

Negus, K. (1996), Popular Music in Theory, Cambridge: Polity.

Bennett, A., Shank, B. and Toynbee, J. (eds.), The Popular Music Studies Reader, London: Routledge.

Hesmondhalgh, D. and Negus, K. (eds.) (2002), Popular Music Studies, London: Arnold. 

Bennett, A. (2001), Cultures of Popular Music, Buckingham: OU Press. 

Longhurst, B. (1995), Popular Music and Society, Cambridge: Polity.

 
Last Updated
April 2011