Introduction to Ethnomusicology: Popular Musics of the World
Music 365. Introduction to Ethnomusicology: Popular Musics of the World
Classes: Tuesday & Thursday 9:30AM-10:50AM.
Location: V 102
Instructor: Dr. Federico Spinetti
Office: 3-34A Arts & Convocation Hall; office hours: Wednesday 10:00AM-12:00PM, or by appointment; tel. 492-7534; spinetti@ualberta.ca
Contents
Course description
This course provides an introduction to the field of ethnomusicology by focusing in particular on the study of popular music in a variety of locations outside the non Anglo-American world, including countries of continental Europe, the Near and Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America, and Africa. Issues addressed include popular musics in the homeland and in the context of transnational diasporic communities; the construction and negotiation of cultural identities in popular music worldwide; the study of popular musics of the world in their socio-historical, ideological and political contexts; traditional and popular musics vis-à-vis processes of modernization, westernization, commodification and globalization; contemporary music technologies and media. The course makes extensive use of audiovisual materials in addition to lectures and readings. No formal knowledge of music theory, analysis, history, notation or ethnomusicology is a prerequisite for taking this course.
Aims and objectives
- To provide an introduction to the field of ethnomusicology and familiarize with the variety of its methodological and theoretical approaches.
- To develop familiarity with the research resources available to students and scholars in ethnomusicology, including scholarly literature, audiovisual documents and multimedia resources.
- To explore the possibilities offered by a number of methods and tools/media to the process and the outcomes of research: fieldwork, analysis of texts and audiovisual documents, ethnographic writing, ethnographic filmmaking, field and studio recordings, etc.
- To become acquainted with a number of popular music genres practiced in a variety of countries worldwide.
- To study musical idioms and aesthetic perceptions in relation to their socio-historical contexts, and to develop a critical understanding of the role of music in identity construction and political-ideological processes.
- To become acquainted with the diversity of cultural practices, collective histories and identity perceptions in the societies and musical contexts under consideration.
Course requirements
- Class attendance and participation. This includes attending class, completing assigned weekly readings, and participating pertinently and actively in class discussions.
- Reading report. A written report on one assigned class reading of your choice. Your report should be concise (between 500 and 600 words) and polished. It should include 1) a short description/summary and 2) a contextualization of your reading. In the contextualization section of your report, please comment on the theoretical significance of your chosen reading for a wider understanding of worldwide popular musics (that is, aside from its specific focus, what does your chosen reading tell us about more general issues and processes in popular music?). Reports that do not respect the word limit set above will be downgraded by one full point on the letter grading scale (i.e. from A to A-, from A- to B+, etc). Likewise, unjustified late submissions will be penalized by one full point on the letter grading scale. Please submit your report both in hard copy and electronically (via email). DUE WEEK 4 (on Thursday January 28).
- Film review. A written review of two films of your choice, selected from those shown in class. Your review should be polished and between 700 and 800 words in length. You should briefly describe the content of your chosen films and comment on their making, on the type and method of representation conveyed by their authors, and on their significance to the scholarly study and public perception of popular musics in the world. Your review should also evaluate your chosen films with reference to the course topics/issues and raise some critical points. Reviews that do not respect the word limit set above will be downgraded by one full point on the letter grading scale (i.e. from A to A-, from A- to B+, etc). Likewise, unjustified late submissions will be penalized by one full point on the letter grading scale. Please submit your review both in hard copy and electronically (via email). DUE WEEK 14 (on Tuesday April 6).
- Midterm paper. A written response to one weekly issue/topic of your choice. Your paper should 1) present your chosen weekly topic by identifying its main/general research problems/questions; 2) drawing on course materials (class lecture; class discussion if applicable; assigned and additional readings) discuss how such questions and problems may been tackled; 3) formulate one or more original research questions that may encourage further exploration of the topic under consideration. Your paper should be polished and between 900 and 1,000 words in length. Papers that do not respect this word limit will be downgraded by one full point on the letter grading scale (i.e. from A to A-, from A- to B+, etc). Likewise, unjustified late submissions will be penalized by one full point on the letter grading scale. Please submit your paper both in hard copy and electronically (via email). DUE WEEK 8 (on Tuesday February 23).
- Final exam. A final in-class exam paper containing a list of questions related to each one of the course weekly topics. You will have 2 hours to answer three questions of your choice in essay-like form. Additional readings (see under Class Schedule & Readings) are required for this assignment. DATE of exam TBA (between April 16 & 29)
