Humanities, University of Southampton

This module looks at the female voice and the female performer in twentieth-century popular music, using both iconic and lesser-known figures as subjects for inquiry and analysis. 

Module Co-ordinator: Dr Laurie Stras

 Aims

The aims of this module are to:

• promote critical thinking about female performers in popular music
• introduce students to a wide range of historical popular music genres

Objectives (planned learning outcomes)

            Knowledge and understanding

            Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of: 

• the recent history of female vocality in western popular musics
• the relevance of significant cultural theories to the girl singer repertoire
• style and genre in the girl singer repertoire

       Cognitive (thinking) skills

      Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:

• apply current cultural theories, such as those of gender and race, to the girl singer repertoire
• evaluate technical and stylistic elements of female vocal performances
• locate female vocal performances in a historical and social context

            Key transferable skills

            Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:

• engage critically with cultural materials
• demonstrate your understanding of the topic through writing
• use appropriate bibliographical and research tools - recorded, printed and on-line
• annotate your writing in a logical and usable format

This module looks at the female voice and the female performer in twentieth-century popular music, using both iconic and lesser-known figures as subjects for inquiry and analysis.  Topics to be addressed will include "What is a pop singer?", "Technique or technology?", "Where is the singer?", "The singer and the body," "Representing sex," "Not all black and white," "Are (girl) singers musicians?", "Gender theories and the girl singer."  A wide range of artists and genres - from Ma Rainey to Madonna, and from parlour song to punk via jazz, blues and rock'n'roll - will be used in class discussion.

Teaching methods include

• weekly lectures

Learning activities include

• independent listening, watching and reading of materials
• independent preparation of essay

Innovative or special features of this unit

• you will engage with a wide range of materials (recorded sound, film, video, popular journalism, academic writing)
• you will be encouraged to reflect on your own opinions, preferences and value judgements at appropriate stages during the course

Friedwald, Will.  Jazz Singing, 2nd ed. (revised). New York, Da Capo Press, 1996.

Gaar, Gillian G.  She's a Rebel:  The History of Women in Rock and Roll.  London: Blandford, 1993.

O'Brien, Lucy.  She Bop II:  The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul.  London and New York: Continuum, 2002.