Issues in Latin American Popular Music and Culture

Module overview

The module aims to develop your critical awareness of Latin American music and dance cultures of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and the ways that scholars have approached them. Rather than a survey of Latin American music, the course will be thematically focussed on issues which may include indigeneity; social inequalities and marginality; gender and sexuality; migration; ‘race’ and racism; nation-building and cosmopolitanism; politics, dictatorship and social movements; exoticism, folklore and transnationalism; scenes and countercultures; religion; violence. Although the focus will be on Latin American and Latinx popular musics, students may opt to explore Latin American art musics and/or other cultural practices in assessments. Genres and music cultures that may be explored include bolero, bossa nova, corrido, cumbia, danzón, mambo, Nueva canción, punk, rap, reggaeton, rock and roll, salsa, samba, son cubano and tango. The module will be based on the study of books and articles, and close listening and viewing of audio-visual materials.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

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

aesthetic, social and ethical questions associated with Latin American music and musicians
a range of Latin American music genres within distinct social contexts across the continent
relevant theoretical approaches to the study of Latin American music cultures

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

engage critically with thematic ideas about Latin American music cultures and transfer these ideas effectively from one genre to another
transfer methodologies from the social sciences and humanities more broadly to the study of music

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

gather information independently from a cross-section of disciplinary resources
assemble case studies under a thematic umbrella and apply a unified theoretical approach

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include; - Lectures - Discussion - Sharing of ideas and materials via Blackboard and other electronic resources Learning activities include: - A wide range of reading (certain books and articles will be required reading) and listening/viewing of selected audio and video recordings - Individual research

Study time
Type	Hours
Lecture	24
Independent Study	126
Total study time	150

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Mendívil, Julio, and Christian Spencer Espinosa, eds. (2015). Made in Latin America: Studies in Popular Music. New York: Routledge.

Vargas, Deborah R. (2012). Dissonant Divas in Chicana Music: The Limits of La Onda. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

León, Javier F, and Helena Simonett, eds. (2016). A Latin American Music Reader: Views from the South. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

Assessment

Assessment strategy

Differentiation between Level 5 and Level 6 work: The assessment of skills will be the same as for Level 5 students. For Level 6 students taking this unit, expectations will be higher than those for Level 5 students, and the assessment criteria will be accordingly stricter. In particular: - Topics chosen should allow a greater degree of focus and detail, whether of analysis, examination of and commentary on facts, critical insight, independent argument, or other factors. - Conversely, assignments should demonstrate a broader knowledge and understanding of context, a more confident use of analytical and critical tools, and a more mature handling of argument, etc. - Optimal standards of presentation are required, in terms of spelling, punctuation, and grammar; sophistication of vocabulary; provision of footnotes; inclusion of full bibliographic and related details; physical appearance of work, etc.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Outline

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.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Essay	100%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Essay	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.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Essay	100%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External