This course will be a survey of the various styles and cultural contexts of American popular music from the Colonial period through the twentieth century. The course will be taught chronologically and will cover popular musical styles of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (including balladry, music of the theatre, dance music, blackface minstrelsy, the brass band movement, and the rise of Tin Pan Alley) as well as the better-known styles that arose in the twentieth (ragtime and jazz, “hillbilly” and country music, bluegrass, folk, musical theatre, and various kinds of rock). The focus will be the different styles of popular music within the cultural contexts that produced them, and the historical development and function of popular music in American society of the various time periods covered. Students will be expected to read selections either from a text or posted on the course webpage and to listen carefully to recordings, which also will be posted on Blackboard. Musical literacy is not required.
Timetable
The timetable will be available from June 1st on the Internet.
Method of Instruction
Lecture and discussion.
A la carte and contract teaching
More information for students who are interested in taking this course as a Contract student (with exam).
This class is not available as A la carte course.
Course objectives
In this course students will be introduced to the different styles of music that were popular in America from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries. They will learn how and why musical styles reflect the cultural values of the periods and places from which it emanated. Regular listening assignments will be an important part of the course load; students will learn to distinguish aurally the dissimilar characteristics of various popular styles. They will also learn to critique performances and to understand the varied functions that music plays in society.
Required reading
Michael Campbell: American Popular Music: And the Beat Goes On Wadsworth Publishers, 2004) Paperback, revised second edition. ISBN: 9780534555344.
5 cd set to accompany the text. Publisher: Wadsworth, Nov 2005. ISBN: 9780534628215
Examination
one short concert report (1,5 page)
a few listening quizes
one paper (2500-3000 words)
Information
This course is available for second- and third-year students
Dr. Joke Kardux, English dept., P.N. van Eyckhof 4, kamer 204c, Postbus 9515, 2300 RA Leiden; 071-5272236
j.c.kardux@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Blackboard/webpage
This course is supported by blackboard.