CE4800: World Music: an Introduction

School Continuing and Professional Education
Department Code LEARN
Module Code CE4800
External Subject Code W390
Number of Credits 10
Level L4
Language of Delivery English
Module Leader Dr Nicholas Jones
Semester Autumn Semester
Academic Year 2013/4

Outline Description of Module

This course will offer a survey of musical traditions from around the world, analysing the role of music in its social and cultural context. Drawing upon relevant analytical and theoretical approaches in ethnomusicology, students will be introduced to a wide range of musics exploring how they are conceptualised and performed. Students will also be introduced to the many ways in which music operates in its social/cultural contexts, examining issues such as identity, nationalism, religion, gender and class 

On completion of the module a student should be able to

  • Identify different regional musical styles and characteristics [LO1]
  • Articulate the musical characteristics of a variety of musical styles using appropriate terminology learnt in the course [LO2]
  • Demonstrate an awareness of music’s place in its social and/or cultural context [LO3]
  • Employ listening, analytical and critical skills in relation to ethnomusicological enquiry [LO4]

  

How the module will be delivered

The course will be taught over 10 two-hour sessions, delivered on a weekly basis. This will involve:

 

  • Online provision: to help with the use of online resources, links to tutorials (e.g. on referencing, finding material on the web etc.) will be made available through Learning Central. PowerPoint and handouts from the weekly sessions will also be made available.
  • Tutor-led sessions: this forms the bulk of the teaching provision for the module. In these sessions, basic information will be delivered to the students utilising mediums such as PowerPoint, audio examples, aural analysis, Youtube examples and handouts where necessary.
  •  Student-led sessions: this will form two parts. First, each tutor-led session will begin with a discussion of a reading given out in the previous session. Here students will be encouraged to engage critically with the text, discussing it with reference to information learnt in tutor-led sessions. Second, some students may elect to give an oral presentation as part of their summative assessment (see assessment below), which will be delivered in week 10.

Skills that will be practised and developed

Discipline-specific Skills:

The ability to:

  • verbally articulate certain characteristics of musical style through the use of ethnomusicological terminology;
  • pursue independent ethnomusicological enquiry;
  • develop listening, analytical and critical skills;
  • demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationship between analytical and contextual aspects in the study of world music traditions.

 

Generic (transferable/employability) Skills:

The ability to:

  • find relevant resources in the library and online;
  • develop group discussion skills;
  • present views and arguments clearly;

structure a piece of writing effectively, and write with clarity and precision 

How the module will be assessed

 

Type of assessment

 

%

Contribution

Title

Duration
(if applicable)

Approx. date of Assessment

Formative assessment

 

Short group discussions based on a selected reading.

In-class activity (c. 15-20 mins)

Throughout the module.

Pathway 1

 

Summative Assessment

EITHER Essay

 

OR Oral presentation

100

Essay (c. 1500 words) [LO 1 – 4]

Students will be able to choose from a variety of essay titles or can propose their own (in consultation with the tutor).

 

Oral Presentation [LO 1 – 4]

Students will be able to choose from a variety of topics or can propose their own (in consultation with the tutor). The presentation will last 15mins and it will be expected that the student supports the presentation with a musical example(s) (CD, DVD or Youtube video), up to a maximum of four minutes. The presentation does not have to be scripted, but a short written outline must be provided to the tutor. The tutor will use the Humanities Oral Presentation Assessment Form.

n/a

 

 

 

 

15mins

Both assignments will be set in week 5 or 6. Essay submission will be shortly after the course and the presentations will be held in week 10.

Pathway 2

 

Summative assessment A

EITHER Essay

 

OR Oral presentation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summative assessment B

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summative assessment C

 

 

60

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20

 

 

Essay (c. 800 words) [LO 1 – 4]

Students will be able to choose from a variety of essay titles or can propose their own (in consultation with the tutor).

 

Oral Presentation [LO 1 – 4]

Students will be able to choose from a variety of topics or can propose their own (in consultation with the tutor). The presentation will last 5-10mins and it will be expected that the student supports the presentation with a musical example(s) (CD, DVD or Youtube video), up to a maximum of three minutes. The presentation does not have to be scripted, but a short written outline must be provided to the tutor. The tutor will use the Humanities Oral Presentation Assessment Form. 

 

 

Written exercise (c. 500 words) [LO 1+2 or 3]

Either a short written analysis of an audio example given in the course identifying the key musical characteristics (employing correct terminology) [LO 1+2] OR a short written reflection on a reading discussed during the course, particularly focusing on how music can be understood in its cultural context [LO 3].

 

 

 

Worksheet [LO 1 – 4]

A short set of questions related to the sessions already conducted. Students will be required to give short answers (c. 10 – 50 words).

 

 

n/a

 

 

 

5-10 mins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

n/a

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

n/a

Both assignments will be set in week 5 or 6. Essay submission will be shortly after the course and the presentations will be held in week 10.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Set in week 5 or 6 and submitted shortly after the course.

 

 

 

 

 

Set in week 3 and submitted in week 5 or 6. 

 

Assessment Breakdown

Type % Title Duration(hrs)
Written Assessment 100 World Music: An Introduction N/A

Syllabus content

This gives a general overview of the course content. Throughout each session, students will introduced to a particular geographical region and will focus on one or more specific musical tradition(s) unique to that region.

 

Week 1: Introduction to the course and ethnomusicology as a discipline

Week 2: The Music of Europe (folk music and nationalism)

Week 3: Flamenco and Spanish politics

Week 4: The Music of East Asia (with a focus on Japan)

Week 5: The Music of India (with a focus on Hindustani classical music)

Week 6: The Music of Indonesia (with a focus on the differences between Javanese and Balinese Gamelan)

Week 7: The Music of Africa (Mande and Pygmy)

Week 8: The Music of the Middle East (the middle-eastern ‘sound’)

Week 9: The Music of South America

Week 10: Summary of the course/presentations  

Essential Reading and Resource List

Essential texts

Nettl, Bruno (et. al), Excursions in World Music, 5thedn (Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008)

Bakan, Michael, World Music: Traditions and Transformations (McGraw Hill, 2007)

Bohlman, Philip V, World Music: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2002)

Merriam, Alan, The Anthropology of Music (Northwestern University Press, 1964)

Nettl, Bruno, The Study of Ethnomusicology: Thirty-one Issues and Concepts, 2nd rev. edn (University of Illinois Press, 2006)

Titon, Jeff T, Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World’s Peoples, 5thedn (Shirmer, 2009)

 

Recommended texts

Blacking, John, How Musical is Man? (University of Washington Press, 1974)

Merriam, Alan, The Anthropology of Music (Northwestern University Press, 1964 

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