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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "CMS 316-1"
COURSE NAME: "Popular Music and Mass Culture"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2024
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Fiamma Mozzetta
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: MW 6:00 PM 7:15 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS: M/W 430-530pm by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
From the cylinders to MP3s, from Tin Pan Alley to death metal, this is a general survey course exploring and analyzing the history and meaning of popular recorded music within mass culture and society. It focuses on the historical, aesthetic, social, political-economic and technological developments that have shaped the very definition of the popular in the musical field. The course covers various aspects of recorded music from the history of the recording industry to the concept of the recorded, from rock and other nationally specific styles to the rise of MTV and beyond.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
Various historically determined techniques and styles of production, performance, dissemination and re-production are also investigated. Other topics covered are the use of recorded music as a tool of ideological production and as a site of resistance, the idea of commodification and reification of musical experience in the recorded object, the cross-cultural determinations of specific musical forms, the implications for creativity and politics of a global and highly concentrated industry, cultural negotiations, issues of copyright and questions relating to gender, ethnicity and race.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

The general conceptual framework –drawing from a variety of theoretical schools, from the Frankfurt School investigation of the culture industry to British Cultural Studies’ valorization of audience activity--will be accompanied by specific investigations of the workings of particular aspects of the field --the music press and the role of criticism, the impact of music videos, the workings of the industry, songs and genres, public performance and participation, fans and subcultures and the nature of the ‘pop star’. Even though the course will necessarily concentrate on Western produced music –specifically that produced in the US and the UK— a variety of non-Western popular music forms such as Jamaican reggae, Algerian rai, Brazilian bossa nova and MPB, Puerto Rican salsa and Nigerian afrobeat among others will be specifically looked at.

By the end of the course students will be able to approach popular recorded music through a highly nuanced and complex set of theoretical frameworks while at the same time be in the position of placing historically –both within the musical field and the wider cultural and social arena—the musical artifacts that they encounter as listeners.
TEXTBOOK:
NONE
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberComments
The Routledge Reader on the Sociology of Music John Shepherd, Kyle DevineRoutledge 9781138856363ML3916.R6762015 
The SAGE Handbook of Popular MusicAndy Bennett, Steve Waksman SAGE 9781446210857ML3470.S34 
The Cambridge Companion to Pop and RockSimon FrithCambridge University Press9781139002240ML 3470.C36 
The Routledge Research Companion to Popular Music and GenderStan HawkinsRoutledge9780367581312ML3470.R752020 
The Routledge companion to philosophy and musicTheodore Gracyk, Andrew KaniaRoutledge 9780203830376ML3800 .R624 2011 

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
 The course will articulate itself through a series of readings, lectures, class discussion and listening and screening sessions. Students will be encouraged to attend at least one live performance during the semester in order to complete a written assignment. Course grade will be determined one short paper (20%) a longer final paper (25%) , a midterm (20%) and a final exam (25%). Attendance and participation are also key factors in the course (10%). Unexcused absences will be penalized in accordance with the guidelines specified below. 

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
SCHEDULE

Week 1: Introduction: what is popular music?

Week 2: Adorno on popular music

Week 3: Histories of Popular Recorded Music I

Week 4: Histories of Popular Recorded Music II

Week 5: Identities and identification: music scenes, communities and subcultures

Case Study: Jamaican Soundsystems: Ska, Rocksteady and Reggae / Rave

Week 6: Identities and identification: race and gender

Case Study: Disco / Riot Girrrrrls

Week 7: Course Review + Mid-term / First paper due

Week 8: Power and politics: political participation, censorship, mass movements

Week 9: World of Music: postcolonialism, cultural imperialism, globalisation

Case Study: Cumbia / Algerian Rai

Week 10: The Music Business: copyright, digitalization, recordings, commercialization 

Case Study: Hip-Hop Culture and Plunderphonics / Spotify, You Tube / Live music

Week 11: Media and popular music: narratives, canons and representations I

Case study: Pop music criticism

Week 12: Media and popular music: narratives, canons and representations II

Case study: Pop music in the museum / Pop music on screen

Week 13: In class presentations or class discussion  

Week 14: Course Review / Final paper due

 

Basic reading

Baker, Sarah. Curating pop: exhibiting popular music in the museum

Baker, Geoffrey. “Digital Indigestion, Cumbia, class and a postdigital ethos in buenos aires”

Editors of Popular Music (2005) ‘Can we get rid of the ‘popular’ in popular music’, Popular Music, Vol 24, No 1, (2005) pp133-145 

Griffiths, D (1999) ‘The High Analysis of Low Music’, Music Analysis, Vol 18 No 3.  

Michelsen, Morten. 2004. ’Histories and Complexities: Popular Music History Writing and Danish Rock Historiography’. Popular Music History. 1/1. 19-36

Gayle Murchison. “Let's Flip It! Quare Emancipations Black Queer Traditions, Afrofuturisms, Janelle Monáe to Labelle”

David Hesmondhalgh, “Post-Punk's attempt to democratise the music industry: the success and failure of Rough Trade”

Hesmondhalgh, David, Ellis Jones, and Andreas Rauh. “Soundcloud and Bandcamp As Alternative Music Platforms.” Social Media Society 5, no. 4 (2019)

Fabbri, Franco & Goffredo Plastino, Made in Italy: Studies in Popular Music, Routledge: London-New York, 2014.

Frith, Simon. “‘The Magic That Can Set You Free’: The Ideology of Folk and the Myth of the Rock Community.” Popular Music 1 (1981): 159–68.

Pelly, Liz. “The Problem with Muzak: Spotify’s Bid to Remodel an Industry.” The Baffler, no. 37 (2017): 86–95.

Perchard, Tom. 2017. Growing Old Together: Pop Studies and Music Sociology Today. Twentieth-Century Music, 14(2), pp. 335-343.

ZUBERI, NABEEL. “Listening While Muslim.” Popular Music 36, no. 1 (2017): 33–42.

Whiteley, Sheila, ed. Sexing the Groove : Popular Music and Gender. London: Routledge, 1997.

Whiteley, Sheila, Andy Bennett, and Stan Hawkins, eds. Music, Space and Place : Popular Music and Cultural Identity. Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017.