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MUSIC
136-80: Music of the World's Peoples
Topic for
Spring 2003: Tradition and Westernization in 20th-century Chinese and
Chinese-American Music
Instructor: Eric Hung
COURSE
SYLLABUS
This syllabus is subject to change.
General Information
Course Schedule
THE BASICS Meeting Time/Place: MWF 1:10pm – 2:00pm (MUS 105) {Can we meet once a week for three hours?} Credits: 3 Grading: Class Participation (30%), Two 3-page papers (30%), Final Project (40%) Course Webpage: http://eric.mandi-eric.com/sp2003/mus13680home.htm INSTRUCTOR'S INFORMATION Office Location: Music 209 Contact Information: eric.hung@mso.umt.edu, 406-243-6892 Office Hours: Mondays 2:10-3:30pm, Tuesdays 3:00-4:00pm, or by appointment DESCRIPTION This course will examine the impact of tradition, Western music and musical thought, national and racial politics, and social pressures on the musical cultures of China and Chinese-Americans during the 20th century. After a brief overview of Chinese history, we will examine various genres of traditional musics that are still performed in China today. We will discuss how these genres navigated through the tumultuous political pressures of 20th-century China (and Hong Kong), and the legacy of Abing—the most famous erhu and pipa player of this past century. In the next unit, we will examine the influence of Western music and musical thought in twentieth-century China and Hong Kong. We will pay particular attention to the “Yellow Music” of the 1920s, the effects of Mao, Chinese rock music, and music in Hong Kong at the time of the 1997 “handover.” The penultimate unit focuses on the musical cultures of Chinese people in the United States and Canada. Topics in this unit include the “preservation” of traditional Chinese musics in North America, Chinese popular music in North America, and the music of four Chinese-American/Chinese-Canadian composers. The course will conclude with two weeks of student presentations on immigrant musics in the United States. WORKLOAD Since this is a three-credit course, the workload (including class time) for the "average" student is approximately nine hours per week. CLASS FORMAT This is a research seminar. We will spend most of the class time discussing the reading, listening and viewing assignments. Class participation is worth 30% of your final grade. It is therefore imperative that all reading, listening and viewing assignments are completed before class on the date listed in the syllabus. TEXTS/RESERVE ASSIGNMENTS You are required to purchase the following: (1) Andrew F. Jones, Yellow Music; (2) Casey Man Kong Lum, In Search of a Voice; and (3) Ronald Takaki, Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans Other Assigned Readings are available on e-reserve and two-hour reserve in Mansfield Library. All listening and viewing assignments are on two-hour reserve in Mansfield Library. FINAL PROJECT Your final projects will focus on the musics of 20th- and 21st-century immigrants to the United States. You may focus on one specific person, or you may focus on a specific group of immigrants. Your project may involve library research, fieldwork, or both. The goal of this project is to get you to think about the experience of immigration and the roles that music plays in the lives of immigrants. We will devote at least an hour in class in Week 4 to getting you started on this final project. The deadlines for the final project are: Week 6: A short paragraph detailing your ideas for your project (5% of project grade) Week 8: Research Proposal (15% of project grade) Weeks 13-14: In-class Presentation (40% of project grade) One week after your presentation: Hand-in final project (8-10 pages; 40% of project grade) COURSE WEBPAGE The course webpage is an important component of this course. I will also use it to post discussion questions, to clarify assignments and to respond to your questions. Use it as often as you wish, but you are required to check this webpage for new postings before class every Friday. LATE PAPERS If you hand in your paper late but before I return your classmates’ papers, you will lose a full letter grade. If you hand in your paper after I return your classmates’ papers, your maximum grade will be 50%. DISABILITY If you need accommodations because of a disability, please talk to me and the Disability Services for Students (DSS) Office as soon as possible. I need at least one week’s notice for test accommodations. ACADEMIC HONESTY All students in this class must abide by the University’s “Academic Conduct” code. This code is available at http://www.umt.edu/studentaffairs/sccAcademicConduct.htm. Failure to abide by this code will result in severe penalties. INCOMPLETES Incompletes will be granted only in extreme situations, such as serious illness and severe family emergency. COURSE SCHEDULE PART 1—Introduction (Week 1)
Last updated: January 24, 2003 |