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Course MUV280

Popular Music Studie

Course offered :

Current programmes of study

Number of credits 15
Course offered (semester) Fall
Subject overlap None
Schedule Schedule
Reading list Reading list

Language of Instruction

English

Pre-requirements

None

Learning Outcomes

Students who have completed the course

- can account for how cultural and historical conditions can affect the development of popular music genres and styles.

- recognize a broad selection of popular music genres and styles.

Contact Information

Grieg Academy - Department of Music. E-mail: studierettleiar@grieg.uib.no

Course offered (semester)

Fall

Exam offered (semester)

Fall

Language of Instruction

English

Course Unit Level

Bachelor

Access to the Course Unit

None

Aim and Content

The course aims to give a broad basis for the study of popular music.

 

The course gives an introduction to central approaches in popular music studies. The course takes as a point of departure theoretical perspectives from both the social sciences and the humanities. Specific topics to be explored and discussed include the music industry; readings of popular music texts in relation to race, class, age and gender; music video and popular music in film; ethnographic and historical approaches; world music and world beat; and issues related to globalization.

Learning Outcomes

Students who have completed the course

- can account for how cultural and historical conditions can affect the development of popular music genres and styles.

- recognize a broad selection of popular music genres and styles.

Pre-requirements

None

Subject Overlap

None

Teaching Methods

Teaching takes place in the form of lectures. There is also an obligatory seminar for presentation of the term paper.

Compulsory Requirements

Attendance at lectures and seminars.

The students will present their drafts of their term papers orally in seminar form.

 

All instruction is obligatory. Absence of more than 20% leads to loss of right to take the exam. All mandatory instruction must be completed and approved of before the exam. Approved obligatory activities are valid for 2 semesters after they are completed.

Assessment methods

Term paper of ca. 5000-6000 words. This paper will be either a reading (analysis/interpretation) of a specific musical text, or a discussion of a research question in which the task is to set the music within a specific cultural, social or historical context. The term paper can be written in Norwegian or English.

 

Internal evaluation with at least two examiners.

Grading Scale

Letter grade from A to F.

Reading List

Reading list of approximately 1200 pages, of which some will be core readings (2/3), and the rest supporting literature. The students will themselves choose texts to use as supporting literature.

Place of Teaching

Bergen

Course Unit Evaluation

The teaching will be evaluated in accordance with the University of Bergen's quality assurance system.

Contact Information

Grieg Academy - Department of Music. E-mail: studierettleiar@grieg.uib.no