SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS

Transcription

1 Spring 2013 Discipline: Music MUSI : Music Cultures (Section 1) MUSI : Music Cultures (Section 2) Division: Lower Division Faculty Name: Daniel Ferguson Pre-requisites: none SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS COURSE DESCRIPTION: "Music Cultures" This course will introduce students to traditional and contemporary musics from selected nations, peoples, societies, and cultural groups representing almost every region of our world. We will be ' circumnavigating' our globe westward, starting in East Asia, making stops in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Africa, and ending up in Europe. Music is CULTURE, OBJECT, and TOOL: Music is culture ideas, behavior, values, interaction, social organization and our goal will be to examine the ways in which music embodies, reveals, reflects, comments on, opposes, or buttresses the cultural practices and values of the people in each particular locale we will visit in the course of our Spring 2013 voyage. Music is object, and we will become familiar with the sounds, structures, and elements of particular musical styles and attempt to compare and contrast sound, structure, and stylistic features melody, rhythm, timbre, texture, etc. cross-culturally. Music also employs objects of 'material culture', and we will be introduced to an amazing variety of musical instruments that we will encounter in our many ports-of-call. Music is tool, and we will look closely at the uses and functions of music in differing cultural contexts in order to understand music as entertainment; music in religious ritual; in rites of passage; as a vehicle for narrative; as a partner to dance; as the structuring element in various forms of theater; as an expression of individual, group, or national identity; as a 'casualty of war'; as a facilitator of self-cultivation; and as a tool for protest and dissent.

2 Course Objectives: Students will: acquire an understanding of the concept of "culture" and will grasp how music is "culture" among the diverse peoples of the world acquire listening and analytical tools sufficient to distinguish, appreciate, compare, and discuss musical sounds from many different parts of the world experience music, music-making, and music culture first-hand through attending 'field labs' and performances as often as circumstances allow in each port-of-call above all, strive to acquire a deeper sensitivity to, and genuine appreciation for, the astonishing variety of musical sounds and music-related values and behavior that they experience during the Spring 2013 semester and for the remainder of their lives as 'citizens of the world' REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS Text: AUTHOR: Alves, William TITLE: Music of the Peoples of the World, 3rd ed. PUBLISHER: Schirmer (Cengage Learning) ISBN-10: ISBN-13: DATE/EDITION: 2013, 3rd ed. COST:? Recordings: AUTHOR: Alves, William TITLE: Music of the Peoples of the World, 3rd ed. 2 CD set PUBLISHER: Schirmer (Cengage Learning) ISBN-10:? ISBN-13:? DATE/EDITION: 2013, 3rd ed. COST:?

3 TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE SESSION TOPIC & ASSIGNMENTS FILM SERIES GENERAL ISSUES & CONCEPTS IN THE STUDY OF THE MUSICS OF THE WORLD 1 General Issues Solas - Live Course syllabus Alves: Chapters 2-5 'General' Folder video and audio clips 2 General Issues Bakan, "What, in the World, Is Music?" Alves: Preface ; Chapter 1 ; pp.78-83, , , Powerpoint Slideshow What Is Music? 'General' Folder video and audio clips HILO, HI, USA EAST ASIA 3 Korea Pansori [TBD] Powerpoint Slideshow Korea 'Korea' Folder video and audio clips 4 Japan Bunraku Alves: Chapter 15 Powerpoint Slideshow Japan (Bunraku) 'Japan' Folder video and audio clips 5 Japan Bunraku 6 China The Qin ('Guqin') Alves, Chapter 14 Powerpoint Slideshow China (Qin) Alves CD2:7 'China' folder video and audio clips Sopyonje Mt. Imo & Mt. Se YOKOHAMA & KOBE, JAPAN

4 EAST ASIA 7 China Xiju ('Opera') Alves, Chapter 14 Powerpoint Slideshow China (Xiju/Opera) 'China' folder video and audio clips The Runaway Maid (aka Searching the Academy) SHANGHAI & HONG KONG, CHINA 8 EXAM #1 GENERAL & EAST ASIA HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM SOUTHEAST ASIA 9 Vietnam Ca Trù ; Water Puppet Theater [TBD] Powerpoint Slideshow Vietnam 'Vietnam' Folder video and audio clips Ca Trù SINGAPORE SOUTHEAST ASIA 10 Malaysia/Singapore [TBD] [TBD] Powerpoint Slideshow Malaysia 'Malaysia' Folder video and audio clips PENANG, MALAYSIA SOUTH ASIA 11 India Bollywood ; Devotional Song Alves, Chapter 13 Powerpoint Slideshow India 'India' Folder video and audio clips 12 India Hindustani & Carnatic Classical Music Latcho Drom

5 COCHIN, INDIA SOUTH ASIA 13 India Hindustani & Carnatic Classical Music 14 EXAM #2 SOUTHEAST & SOUTH ASIA PORT LOUIS, MAURITIUS AFRICA 15 South Africa [TBD] Alves, Chapter 6 Powerpoint Slideshow South Africa 'South Africa' Folder video and audio clips 16 South Africa [TBD] 17 Zimbabwe Mbira Alves, Chapter 6 Powerpoint Slideshow Zimbabwe (Mbira) 'Zimbabwe' Folder video and audio clips Under African Skies Amandla! CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA AFRICA 18 Zimbabwe Mbira ; Thomas Mapfumo 19 Ghana West African Drumming Traditions Alves, Chapter 6 Powerpoint Slideshow Ghana 'Ghana' Folder video and audio clips 20 Ghana West African Drumming Traditions Fados Black Orpheus TEMA, GHANA AFRICA 21 Morocco Gnawa Music Crossing the Bridge

6 Alves, Chapter 7 Powerpoint Slideshow Morocco 'Morocco' Folder video and audio clips 22 Morocco Berber Folk Music Spain Flamenco Alves, Chapter 9 Powerpoint Slideshow Spain (Flamenco) 'Spain' Folder video and audio clips 23 Spain Flamenco Review & Wrap-Up Flamenco CASABLANCA, MOROCCO 24 EXAM #3 AFRICA & EUROPE BARCELONA, SPAIN

7 FIELD ASSIGNMENTS $ You are required to keep a Field Journal describing in detail the day-by-day 'soundscapes' that you encounter in each country that you visit. In it you will document your individual experiences both casually encountering and proactively seeking out and experiencing music-related activities throughout your stay in that country. Guidelines will be provided. $ You are required to participate in the Music Cultures 'Field Lab' during the Spring 2013 semester. You are expected to take very detailed notes in your Field Journal and then write a 5- page paper as a report on this field lab. Guidelines will be provided. Primary field lab: GHANA: Drumming and Dance Workshop We will attend a drumming and dance workshop in Tema (Accra) organized by the Afrique Dance Ensemble of Ghana with the participation of master drummers Cornelius Sekle and Edwin Tettey. Participants will be split into two groups. In the morning one group will be trained in drumming techniques while the other will receive coaching in dance movements. After lunch the two groups will swap places so that every participant will be trained in both drumming and dance techniques. Finally, our field lab participants will use their new-found skills to drum and dance together. Professor Ferguson's alternative field trips: $ CHINA: Cantonese Opera In Hong Kong [TBA] $ JAPAN: Bunraku Puppet Theater in Osaka, Japan [TBA]

8 ASSIGNMENTS & METHODS OF EVALUATION $ There will be a series of twenty (20) short "First Impression Videos" (FIVs) that you are assigned to watch prior to the first session of a new unit. The idea is to view a video clip representing the music of a particular place or group of people with no preparation or explanation, and then record your raw "first impressions" in the form of a one-page report for each of the 20 video clips. Guidelines will be provided. $ There will be three (3) exams covering the following units: 1. General & East Asia 2. Southeast Asia & South Asia 3. Africa & Europe These exams will include multiple choice questions, short answer questions, and audiovideo recognition questions. [Audio and video clips will be provided in electronic folders on the MV Explorer Intranet for each of the units of study and are keyed to class lectures. You are expected to spend a significant amount of time actively and attentively listening to or viewing (and becoming intimately familiar with) these audio and video clips. This is one of your primary 'homework' assignments. Exams will include listening/viewing sections designed to test your familiarity with these audio & video clips.] $ You are required to keep a Field Journal describing in detail the day-by-day 'soundscapes' that you encounter in each country that you visit. In it you will document your individual experiences both casually encountering and proactively seeking out and experiencing music-related activities throughout your stay in that country. Guidelines will be provided. $ You are required to participate in the Music Cultures 'Field Lab'. You are expected to take very detailed notes in your Field Journal and then write a 5-page paper as a report on this field lab. Guidelines will be provided. $ There will also be a Music Cultures Film Series' in conjunction with the Music Cultures course. Twelve films will be shown during the semester on the MV Explorer's 'Overnight Loop'; they will be scheduled to coincide with the relevant unit and the schedule will be made available at the beginning of the semester. You are strongly encouraged to watch all of these films since they are provided to enhance your total experience in the Music Cultures course, and each film is wonderful and very educational in its own way. BUT, you are only required to view and report on five (5) of the films over the course of the semester. Watch a film in its entirety and produce a three (3) page report on that film (very specific guidelines will be provided and must be followed with exactness in order to receive full credit). You may also take advantage of the film series to obtain extra credit points, if needed. The more films you watch and well-written reports you submit beyond the required five (5), the more possible extra credit points you can receive.

9 EVALUATION: First Impression Video Reports (20) = 20% Field Journal = 20% Field Lab Attendance and Paper = 20% Exam #1 = 10% Exam #2 = 10% Exam #3 = 10% Five (5) Music Cultures Film Reports = 10% TOTAL = 100%

10 RESERVE LIBRARY LIST [TBD] ELECTRONIC COURSE MATERIALS AUTHOR: Bakan, Michael B. ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Chapter 1: "What, in the world, is music?" JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: World Music: Traditions and Transformations, 2nd edition VOLUME: n.a. DATE: 2011 PAGES: 1-8 [Others TBD] ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Intranet Folders: $ General $ East Asia $ Southeast Asia $ South Asia $ Africa & West Asia $ Europe [These will contain audio and video clips that the instructor will provide.]