Module overview
This module is based on a selection of recent and innovative scholarly writings on music, which challenge the reader to examine their assumptions about the nature of both scholarship and music as cultural practices. It is taught together with MUSI6022 Adventures in Musical Research, which is designed for students on Music's MMUS pathways. Students in the undergraduate version will attend the same seminars and do the same reading assignments, but write shorter essays for assessment.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- understand and employ terms derived from a variety of critical perspectives in discussions of the arts
- actively participate in debates about scholarly practices
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- the applicability of different critical practices to different repertories
- some of the current critical practices in musicology
- the methodological and ideological frameworks of a range of recent scholarly writings on music
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- read and understand a variety of scholarly literature on music from diverse critical perspectives, for example reception theory, cultural studies, critical theory, gender studies, sound studies, Science and Technology Studies, postcolonial studies, critical race theory and global history
- explain a range of critical approaches to the academic study of music employed since the late eighteenth century
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- use vocabulary derived from a range of critical approaches as part of a detailed study of a musical work and its contexts
- explain the essential methodological features of a specific piece of musical scholarship
Syllabus
This module is based on a selection of recent and innovative scholarly writings on music, which challenge the reader to examine their assumptions about the nature of both scholarship and music as cultural practices.
Indicative topics might include:
Musicology Now (Identities, Genders, Race, the Body)
Music and History (Narrative and Difference)
Ethnomusicology
Value(s) (From Reception Theory to Public Policy)
Ecomusicology
Analysis, Dead or Alive?
Culture Transfer
Global Music History
Music and Artificial Intelligence
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching:
formal teaching in seminars
structured discussion seminars, in which course tutor acts as moderator
Learning:
reading about the discipline of musicology
following, in a step-by-step fashion, some innovative writings on music
preparing oral summaries and evaluations of critical writings
The seminars are designed to clarify the principles underlying critical approaches, and to show how they may be applied to specific contexts. The background reading will enable you to study in greater depth matters that are introduced in the seminars but not explored in detail. The week-to-week study of critical methods, together with the longer-term application of these methods in formal assessment, will give you the competence to undertake critical acts of your own, and the confidence to share your insights into music with your tutors, your peers, and your own students.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Independent Study | 114 |
| Seminar | 36 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Assessment
Assessment strategy
The module is assessed through two 2000-word review essays based on content from the module reading list.Formative
This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.
Assignment
- Assessment Type: Formative
- Feedback:
- Final Assessment: No
- Group Work: No
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Assignment | 100% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Assignment | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Assignment | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External