During these 8 weeks we will study the multiple ways in which music has meaning for people, both as members of social units and as individuals. The weekly readings – most of them from Turino’s classic 2007 text Music as Social Life – will be discussed in relation to actual examples of music, and the assigned tasks will draw upon diverse musical experiences (as listeners/fans, learners, performers or even composers of music) among members of the class.
Students will acquire the following knowledge in this course:
* Various representative viewpoints on the question 'why does music matter?'
* A set of terms and analytical concepts for thinking about how music has meaning for those who play or respond to it.
* How music functions to 'produce' individual and group or community identities.
society, participation, performance, identity, interpersonal and intercultural experience
Specialist skills | ✔ Intercultural skills | ✔ Communication skills | ✔ Critical thinking skills | Practical and/or problem-solving skills |
1. Students must read the assigned writings and listen to assigned music extracts in advance of each class, and each week 1 or 2 students are assigned to prepare their own set of comments and questions.
2. A short discussion will be held at the start of each session about overall impressions of what students have heard and read, and the questions or points of argument they have prepared.
3. Depending on student numbers, in Week 7 and/or Week 8 all students will make a short presentation about the application of key concepts from the reading materials to one or more music examples of their own choosing (but as discussed in advance with the instructor).
4. A final paper on the material of the session (7-) 8 individual presentations must be submitted within a week after that session.
Course schedule | Required learning | |
---|---|---|
Class 1 | Introduction to the course; key concepts; music in their lives. | Grasp course objectives. Discussion of one or more ‘music communities’ they have felt part of or are now involved in. |
Class 2 | Turino 2007, Chapter 1 | This week ALL class members will have been assigned pages from the reading so as to prepare questions for discussion. |
Class 3 | Turino Chapter 2, pp23-51 | From this week individuals or pairs who have been assigned page numbers in the reading will bring questions and lead discussion. |
Class 4 | Turino Chapter 2, pp51-65 | Individuals or pairs who have been assigned page numbers in the reading will bring questions and lead discussion. |
Class 5 | Turino Chapter 4 | Individuals or pairs who have been assigned page numbers in the reading will bring questions and lead discussion. |
Class 6 | Turino Chapter 8, pp225-234 | Individuals or pairs who have been assigned page numbers in the reading will bring questions and lead discussion. |
Class 7 | Presentations I | Individuals should demonstrate understanding of some of the concepts and methods studied in texts by Turino and others. Then prepare a revised written version of the presentation for submission within a week |
Class 8 | Presentations II | Individuals should demonstrate understanding of some of the concepts and methods studied in texts by Turino and others. Then prepare a revised written version of the presentation for submission within a week |
Music as Social Life, by Thomas Turino (University of Chicago Press, 2007)
Copies of any additional and optional reading materials will be provided by the instructor.
weekly participation 30%
final paper 30%
presentation 40%
Neither prior experience of the discipline of Musicology nor advanced knowledge of music theory is required. (If you are uncertain about this aspect, please ask the instructor by email before the class begins.) What IS required is an ability to listen deeply, a genuine love of music and an earnest desire to understand why human beings cannot live without it, as well as how we can think, talk and write about music coherently. Ability to read and discuss academic texts in English is also needed.