MH 345: Music Since 1900
Spring 2005
Dr. Eric Hung
Class Assistant: Meegan Jesse
 
Syllabus    |    "isms" Project   |    Final Group Project
Test Information    |    Discussion Papers    |    Blackboard
Eric Hung's Courses    |    Eric Hung's Webpage
 

 

SYLLABUS
 
This syllabus is subject to change.
Class Meetings MWF 8:00 - 9:00am 
E-mail ehung@rider.edu
Phone (609) 921-7100 x8248
Office Hours MWF 9:10-10:10am, W 4:30-5:30pm, or by appointment
 
Caution
Some of the reading and listening assignments include strong language and graphic descriptions of sex and violence.  As college students and young adults, I expect you to approach these works seriously.  Our goals are to understand why and how this music is written, why this music appeals to its fans, how it challenges our assumptions about music, and how it affects society as a whole.  If you have genuine objections to this material, let me know.  ("I don't like this stuff" is not a genuine objection.)  
 
Some Aphoristic Thoughts About Music History
1.  Music History deals with facts, but is not primarily about facts.
2.  Music History is primarily concerned with why music matters to us both aesthetically and socially.
3.  A good article or discussion paper offers a point of view that is neither obvious nor really far-fetched.
4.  In class discussions, the primary goal is NOT to win the argument, but to understand different points of view.

Goals
1.  Through the listening assignments and the listening portion of tests, students in this course will get an overview of the many different types of music written during the past 105 years.
2.  Through some of the reading assignments and the "isms" project, students will gain some experience in primary document analysis.
3.  Through the reading assignments, the discussion papers and the tests, students will learn about the different types of questions that are raised by music and musical culture.  They will also acquire some experience in reading, critiquing, and writing about difficult academic articles.
4.  The Final Group Project Project will give students some experience in two major research methods used in studying recent music:  interviews and participant/observation.
 
Texts
The only text is the Course Reader.  Please buy it at the bookstore and bring it to each class.  The "split assignments" are on reserve in Talbott Library.  Listening assignments are on reserve in Talbott Library.

Workload 
The national standard for academic university courses is this:  to earn an “adequate” grade (C), the average student needs to spend three hours each week for each hour of credit.  Since this is a three-credit course, the average student would need to spend nine hours a week (three in class and six outside class) on this course to earn a C.  If you are an average student and want to earn an A or B, you might very well need to work more than nine hours a week.  If you are spending nine or more hours a week on this course, but are not earning appropriate grades, please talk to me.  We can devise study techniques that might help you achieve better results.
 
Assignments
"isms" Project
 10%
Final Group Project (Proposal = 5%, Paper and Presentation = 15%)
 20%
Five Tests (worth 5% each)
 25%
Two Discussion Papers (Deadline depends on chosen topic; worth 15% each) 30%
Class Participation and Quizzes 15%
To help the class run smoothly, there will be a few opportunities for "extra credit" assignments throughout the semester.  Each student can earn up to 5% of their final grade on these "extra credit" assignments.

A=94+, A-=90-93.9, B+=87-89.9, B=84-86.9, B-=80-83.9, C+=77-79.9, C=74-76.9, C-=70-73.9, D=65-69.9, F=64.9 or lower

E-mail and Blackboard Requirement
Blackboard is an important component of the course.  Lecture notes, discussion questions, review sheets and student presentations will be posted there.  Since Blackboard and e-mail are the only ways for me to contact you outside class, all students are required to check the announcement page on Blackboard and their Rider e-mail account each weekend. 
 
Disability 
If you need accommodations because of a disability, please talk to me as soon as possible.  I need at least one week’s notice for test accommodations.
 
Academic Honesty
All students must abide by the “Code of Academic Conduct.”  This code is available in the “Academic Guidelines” section of The Source (available from http://www.rider.edu/portalcurrent/currmain.htm).  Failure to abide by this code will result in severe penalties.  Common infractions of the “Code of Academic Conduct” include:
Incompletes
Incompletes will be granted only in extreme situations, such as serious illness and severe family emergency. 
 
Course Schedule
 PART I:  "ISMS" PROJECT
Wed., Jan. 12
Introduction to "isms" Project
Fri., Jan. 14
Each group checks in with Meegan Jesse to discuss their progress.  At this point, everyone should have completed Part One of the project.
8:00am:  "Impressionism" and "Symbolism" group
8:15am:  "Expressionism" group
8:30am:  "Primitivism" and "Exoticism" group
8:45am (if this group exists):  "Dadaism and Surrealism" group
Mon., Jan. 17
Each group checks in with Meegan Jesse to discuss their progress.  At this point, everyone should have completed Part Two of the project.
8:00am:  "Primitivism" and "Exoticism" group
8:15am:  "Expressionism" group
8:30am:  "Impressionism" and "Symbolism" group
8:45am: (if this group exists):  "Dadaism and Surrealism" group
Wed., Jan. 19
"isms" Project Presentations
Each group's presentation should last between 15 and 20 minutes (this includes the time you use to play audio examples).  It should cover all five questions on your assignment sheet, and include a handout.
Fri., Jan. 21
Part 1: "isms" Project Presentation/Post-mortem
Is there something that tie these "isms" together?


PART II:  CHARLES IVES

Fri., Jan. 21
 Part 2:  Lecture—Charles Ives and Modernism (Part 1)
Mon., Jan. 24
 Lecture—Charles Ives and Modernism, with special emphasis on the Second Symphony (Part 2)
Wed., Jan. 26
Ensemble Day—No Class
Fri., Jan. 28
Ensemble Day—No Class
Mon., Jan. 31
5-minute Quiz on J. Peter Burkholder's "'Quotation' and Paraphrase in Ives's Second Symphony"
Discussion—J. Peter Burkholder's "'Quotation' and Paraphrase in Ives's Second Symphony"
Wed., Feb. 2
Discussion—J. Peter Burkholder's "'Quotation' and Paraphrase in Ives's Second Symphony"
Practice Test
Fri., Feb. 4
TEST #1
Mon., Feb. 7
Part 1: Introduce Fieldwork Project and Initial Group Meeting
Part 2: Discussion—Ives's Writings (listed as Daniel Albright's Modernism and Music, pp. 154-162 in your Reader)
Wed., Feb. 9
5-minute Quiz on Judith Tick's "Ives and Gender Ideology"
Discussion—Judith Tick's "Ives and Gender Ideology"

 

PART III:  LUCIANO BERIO

Fri., Feb. 11
Lecture—The History of Serialism from Schoenberg to Darmstadt
Mon., Feb. 14
Part 1: Discussion—Luciano Berio's "The Composer on His Work: Meditation on a Twelve-Tone Horse"
Part 2: Lecture—The Music of Luciano Berio Up To Sinfonia
Wed., Feb. 16
5-minute Quiz on Michael Hicks's "Text, Music and Meaning in the Third Movement of Luciano Berio's Sinfonia"
Discussion—Michael Hicks's "Text, Music and Meaning in the Third Movement of Luciano Berio's Sinfonia"
Fri., Feb. 18
Discussion—Michael Hicks's "Text, Music and Meaning in the Third Movement of Luciano Berio's Sinfonia"
Group Meetings
Mon., Feb. 21
TEST #2
Wed., Feb. 23 Lecture—The Music of Luciano Berio After Sinfonia
Fri., Feb. 25
5-minute Quiz on David Metzer's "Musical Decay: Luciano Berio's Rendering and John Cage's Europera 5"
Discussion—David Metzer's "Musical Decay: Luciano Berio's Rendering and John Cage's Europera 5"
Mon., Feb. 28
Hand in Final Group Project Proposal
Discussion—David Metzer's "Musical Decay: Luciano Berio's Rendering and John Cage's Europera 5"


PART IV:  PUBLIC ENEMY

Wed., Mar. 2
Lecture—The History of Hip Hop/Rap Music
Fri., Mar. 4
Part 1: Discussion—Chuck D.'s Fight the Power: Rap, Race, and Reality (Chapter 1)
Part 2: Lecture—The Music of Public Enemy
Mon., Mar. 7
5-minute Quiz on Robert Walser's "Rhythm, Rhyme and Rhetoric in the Music of Public Enemy"
Discussion—Robert Walser's "Rhythm, Rhyme and Rhetoric in the Music of Public Enemy"
Wed., Mar. 9
Discussion—Robert Walser's "Rhythm, Rhyme and Rhetoric in the Music of Public Enemy"
Check in on Final Group Project
Fri., Mar. 11
TEST #3
Mon., Mar. 14
Spring Break—No Class
Wed., Mar. 16
Spring Break—No Class
Fri., Mar. 18
Spring Break—No Class
Mon., Mar. 21
Lecture—Music and Politics in the 20th Century
Wed., Mar. 23
5-minute Quiz on Simon Frith's "Representations of the People: Voices of Authority in Pop Music" and Todd F. Tietchen's Dissing Baudrillard: Public Enemy and Foucault's 'Masked Other'"
Discussion—Simon Frith's "Representations of the People: Voices of Authority in Pop Music" and Todd F. Tietchen's Dissing Baudrillard: Public Enemy and Foucault's 'Masked Other'"
Fri., Mar. 25
Good Friday—No Class
Mon., Mar. 28
Ensemble Week—No Class
Wed., Mar. 30
Ensemble Week—No Class
Fri., Apr. 1
Ensemble Week—No Class
Mon., Apr. 4
TEST #4

PART V:  TAN DUN

Wed., Apr. 6 Lecture—"Multicultural" Music
Fri., Apr. 8
5-minute Quiz on Michael Tenzer's "Western Music in the Context of World Music"
Discussion—Michael Tenzer's "Western Music in the Context of World Music"
Mon., Apr. 11
Lecture/Video—Tan Dun's Symphony 1997
Wed., Apr. 13
5-minute Quiz on Yu Siu Wah's "Two Practices Confused in One Composition: Tan Dun's Symphony 1997: Heaven, Earth, Man"
Discussion—Yu Siu Wah's "Two Practices Confused in One Composition: Tan Dun's Symphony 1997: Heaven, Earth, Man"
Fri., Apr. 15
 Video—Tan Dun's The Map
Mon., Apr. 18
 Discussion—Tan Dun's The Map
Wed., Apr. 20
 TEST #5

PART IV:  Fieldwork Project Presentations

Fri., Apr. 22 Equipment Testing
Mon., Apr. 25
 Fieldwork Project Presentations
Wed., Apr. 27
 Fieldwork Project Presentations
Fri., Apr. 29
 Fieldwork Project Presentations
Mon., May 2
 Fieldwork Project Presentations {Hand in Research Proposal}

Last Updated: January 4, 2004