The impact of Western popular music transcends its origins in composition, recorded artefact and concert performance. Popular music and politics are inextricably linked. In just a few decades, popular music has [re]defined [sub]cultures, influenced politics & policy and empowered minority groups. Drawing upon extensive examples and contemporary scholarship, this course explores how and why contemporary popular music is one of the most widespread, meaningful, and influential cultural phenomena in the world today. Avoiding a chronological or historical approach, this course examines the political significance of popular music through a variety of cultural and contextual lens, including music aesthetics, textual analysis, race, gender and sexuality. Cultural-theoretical backdrops include a consideration of sound recording technology, ethnomusicology, feminism and 'queer theory'. Case study examples taken from broad genre spectra will illuminate the social impact of popular music and its relationship[s] to particular cultural themes such as identity, censorship and violence.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Describe the interrelationship[s] between popular music, culture and politics from several theoretical perspectives applying appropriate research methology;
2. Evaluate the role, significance and influence of popular music across cultural, sociological and political contexts;
   
3. Speculate on the potential influence of popular music on the culture[s] and politics of the future;
   
4. Critically analyse popular music using appropriate tools and descriptors specific to the discipline;
   
5. Demonstrate a high level of research, written and oral communication skills on the culture and politics of popular music

Research-Led Teaching

This course is delivered over 12 weeks in Semester 1. Each week, a key topic in popular music studies will be explored in depth via a lecture or seminar, with theoretical elements drawn from contemporary popular music scholarship. Additionally, relevant scholarly readings and specific track playlists accompany each session and are used to complement the class content by way of guided independent study. Furthermore, various online activities - to include discussion threads and wikis - will be used to encourage further engagement with the course.

Required Resources

• Bennett, A. (2001) Cultures of Popular Music. Open University Press.
• Middleton, R. (1990) Studying Popular Music. Open University Press.
• Moore, A. (2012) Song Means: Analysing and Interpreting Recorded Popular Song. Ashgate.
• Negus, K. (1996) Popular Music in Theory - An Introduction. Polity Press.

• A Spotify account is recommended

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• All feedback on assessments is provided via Turnitin
• Students may request verbal feedback in class, in tutorials and during student consultation hours

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

Guide to Weekly Course Sessions and Learning Resources

Week 1: Introduction & Course Outline/ Themes

Welcome to the course.

Key Concepts/ Issues:

• Course content
• Course structure
• Assessments
• Subject overview

General reading:

Reading 1: Machin, D. (2010) Analysing Popular Music: Image, Sound, Text. London: SAGE Publications. Chapter 1: Discourses of Popular Music

Reading 2: Hesmondhalgh, D. and Negus, K. (2002) Popular Music Studies. London: Hodder Education. Introduction – Popular Music Studies: Meaning, Power and Value.

Reading 3: Middleton, R. (1990) Studying Popular Music. Buckingham: Open University Press. Chapter 1 – ‘Roll Over Beethoven?’ Sites and Soundings on the Music-­Historical Map.

Viewing:

Walk on By – The Story of Popular Song:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a37EUHmT88s

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUp2ilRQN_0

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SKeEfNbFSc

Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s09k1ovS3k

Listening: Playlist TBC in class

Week 2: Text

Key Concepts/ Issues:

• Reading popular music
• The ‘text’ and the ‘intertext’
• Key themes in popular music studies
• Key scholarship

Pre Session reading:

Reading 1: Moore, A. (2001) Rock: The Primary Text. Aldershot: Ashgate. Introduction

General reading:

Reading 2: Frith, S. (1998) Performing Rites: Evaluating Popular Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 8 – Songs as Texts

Reading 3: Middleton, R. (2000) Reading Pop: Approaches to Textual Analysis in Popular Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Introduction – Locating the Popular Music Text [Richard Middleton]

Viewing: Howard Goodall’s 20th Century Greats – The Beatles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKK0bCSIR4E

Listening: Playlist TBC in class

Week 3: Guest Lecture – Dr Stephen Loy

Key Concepts/ Issues:

TBC

Pre Session reading:

TBC

General Reading:

TBC

Viewing:

TBC

Listening: Playlist TBC in class

Week 4: Phonography

Key Concepts/ Issues:

• Records
• Recorded music formats
• Playback devices
• Collections

Pre Session reading:

Reading 1: Bayley, A. (2010) Recorded Music: Performance, Culture and Technology. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 1: The Rise and Rise of Phonomusicology. [Stephen Cottrell]

General reading:

Reading 2: Eisenberg, E. (2005) The Recording Angel. New Haven: Yale University Press. Chapter 8 – Phonography.

Reading 3: Zak, A. (2001) The Poetics of Rock: Cutting Tracks, Making Records. Berkeley: University of California Press. Chapter 1: Writing Records.

Viewing:

RCA Victor Presents ‘Sound and the Story’ [Documentary]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u8OpI6NZt8

The Alchemists of Sound: The BBC Radiophonic Workshop [BBC Documentary]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFznOcOOSec

Mellodrama – Documentary by Dianna Dilworth [Trailer]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCabuis6t2w

Listening: Playlist TBC in class

Week 5: Analysis and Meaning

Key Concepts/ Issues:

• Analysing Popular Music
• The ‘text’, the ‘intertext’ and the ‘context’
• Meaning

Pre Session reading:

Reading 1: Moore, A. (2012) Song Means: Analysing and Interpreting Recorded Popular Song. Farnham: Ashgate. Chapter 1: Methodology.

General reading:

Reading 2: Middleton, R. (2000) Reading Pop: Approaches to Textual Analysis in Popular Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 3 – Analysing Popular Music: Theory, Method and Practice. [Philip Tagg]

Reading 3: Frith, S. (1998) Performing Rites: Evaluating Popular Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 12 – The Meaning of Music

Viewing:

Krautrock – The Rebirth of Germany [BBC Documentary]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHUwkYkn_kA

Reggae: The Story of Jamaican Music [BBC Documentary]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvycRljrAH4

Listening: Playlist TBC in class

Week 6: [Sub] Culture

Key Concepts/ Issues:

• [Sub]cultural theory
• Tribes
• Semiotics

Pre Session reading:

Reading 1: Bennett, A., Shank, B. and Toynbee, J. (2006) The Popular Music Studies Reader. Oxon: Routledge. Chapter 12 – Subcultures or Neotribes? Rethinking the Relationship between Youth, Style and Musical Taste.

General reading:

Reading 2: Willis, S. (1993) Hardcore: Subculture American Style. In: Critical Enquiry. Vol. 19, #1, pp. 365-­383.

Reading 3: Brown, T. (2004) Subcultures, Pop Music and Politics: Skinheads and ‘Nazi Rock’ in England and Germany. In: Journal of Social History. Vol. 38, #1, pp. 157-­178.

Viewing:

National Geographic -­ Inside Straight Edge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcOMxtwnl8M

American Goth [Documentary by Ryan Rhea]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDjop4XuqRE

Listening: Playlist TBC in class

Week 7: Feminism

Key Concepts/ Issues:

• Women’s rights mediated through song
• Girls and masculinity
• The ‘girl group gimmick’
• Women and musicianship

Pre Session reading:

Reading 1: Burns, L. and Lafrance, M. (2002) Disruptive Divas. New York: Routledge. Chapter 4: Courtney Love (Hole), Live Through This [1994] Musical Force: Violence and

Resistance in ‘Violet’ [Lori Burns]

General reading:

Reading 2: O’Brien, L. (2012) She Bop. London: Jawbone. Chapter 1 – Riffin’ The Scotch: From Blues to the Jazz Age

Reading 3: Reddington, H. (2012) The Lost Women of Rock. Sheffield: Equinox. Chapter 6: The Social Context: Academic Writing on Subcultures, the Rock Press and ‘Women

in Music’.

Reading 4: Whiteley, S. (2000) Women in Popular Music: Sexuality, Identity and Subjectivity. London: Routledge. Chapter 7 – Daughters of Chaos: Patti Smith, Siouxsie Sioux and the feminisation of Rock

Viewing:

Billie Holliday – The Long Night of Lady Day [Documentary]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1XTIxAzHI0

The Spice Girls – Giving You Everything [Documentary]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-­c2y2xEZjUs

Listening: Playlist TBC in class

Week 8: Violence

Key Concepts/ Issues:

• Music, violence and media
• Crowd violence
• ‘Real life’ violence and popular song
• Popular music and incitement to violence

Pre Session reading:

Reading 1: Cloonan, M. and Johnson, B. (2009) Dark Side of the Tune: Popular Music and Violence. Farnham: Ashgate. Chapter 7 – Music as Violence

General reading:

Reading 2: Thorley, M. (2011) Assaulted by the iPod: The Link Between Passive Listening and Violence. In: Popular Music and Society. Vol. 34, #1, pp. 79-­96.

Reading 3: Herd, D. (2009) Changing Images of Violence in Rap Music Lyrics: 1979-­1997. In: Journal of Public Health Policy. Vol. 30, #4, pp. 395-­406. ISSN 0197-­5897

Viewing:

The Death Metal Murders [Documentary]:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1grzDvPROM

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-­P-­xNZ7MuUk

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5vvryW9Xzk

Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5vvryW9Xzk

Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdynGKQ2DAY

Listening: Playlist TBC in class

Week 9: Audience

Key Concepts/ Issues:

• Reception studies
• Listening to popular music
• Live performance contexts
• Music and mass mediation

Pre Session reading:

Reading 1: Negus, K. (1996) Popular Music in Theory – An Introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press. Chapter 1 -­ Audiences

Viewing:

Psy – ‘Gangnam Style’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0

Queen at Live Aid [1985]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQsM6u0a038

Listening: Playlist TBC in class

Week 10: Sexuality

Key Concepts/ Issues:

• Queer Theory
• Androgyny
• Hetero-­normativity in popular music
• ‘Gayness’ and ‘borrowing’

Pre Session reading:

Reading 1: Smith, R. (1995) Seduced and Abandoned: Essays on Gay Men and Popular Music. London: Cassell. Chapter 3 – Ambisexuality.

Reading 2: Gill, J. (1995) Queer Noises: Male and Female Homosexuality in Twentieth-­Century Music. London: Cassell. Chapter 11: Dire Straights – Ziggy, Iggy, Marc, Lou.

Additional reading:

Reading 3: Baker, S., Bennett, A. and Taylor, J. (2013) Redefining Mainstream Popular Music. New York: Routledge. Chapter 4: Lesbian Musicalities, Queer Strains and Celesbian Pop. [Jodie Taylor]

Reading 4: Bennett, A., Shank, B. and Toynbee, J. (2006) The Popular Music Studies Reader. Oxon: Routledge. Chapter 41: Rethinking Issues of Gender and Sexuality in Led Zeppelin – A Woman’s View of Pleasure and Power in Hard Rock. [Susan Fast]

Listening/ Watching:

Rob Halford [Judas Priest] on MTV ‘15 15’ [News Item]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo_sTzE6Tck

Beth Ditto and The Gossip on LGBT Youth [The Open Artist Interview]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=karhbkLO_oM

Listening: Playlist TBC in class

Week 11: Race

Key Concepts/ Issues:

• Race relations mediated through popular song
• Civil rights and protest
• Lyrical usage in hip hop
• Mixed race musicians: image and ideology

Pre Session reading:

Reading 1: Longhurst, B. (2008) Popular Music & Society. Cambridge: Polity Press. Chapter 4: ‘Black Music’: Genres and Social Constructions.

General reading:

Reading 2: Bennett, A. (2003) Cultures of Popular Music. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Chapter 5 – Reggae and Rasta Culture.

Reading 3: Frith, S., Straw, W. and Street, J. (2001) The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 12 – From Rice to Ice: The Face of Race in Rock and Pop [Barry Shank]

Viewing:

Martin Scorceses’s ‘The Blues’ Part 1: Feel Like Goin’ Home: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1Sx6bvxRfI&list=PLQpIYh-­cj9fJFnbsjcWfx-­T-­XYrLK7I8c

CNN: Chuck D on Trayvon Martin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Orlns6mHN5s

Soul Deep: The Birth of Soul: Ray Charles [BBC Documentary]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCVuV_2ZMxI

Listening: Playlist TBC in class

Week 12: e-­Presentation

Compulsory attendance

e-­Presentation deadline

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Lecture: Course Introduction Tutorial: Assessment 1 brief	1 - Brief
2	Lecture: Text Tutorial: Subject Tutorial
3	Lecture: Guest Lecture – TBC Tutorial: Subject Tutorial
4	Lecture: Phonography Tutorial: Subject Tutorial
5	Lecture: Analysis & Meaning Tutorial: Subject Tutorial
6	Lecture: [Sub]Culture Tutorial: Assessment 2 brief	1 - Deadline: Friday April 5th 2 - Brief
7	Lecture: Feminism Tutorial: Subject Tutorial
8	Lecture: Violence Tutorial: Subject Tutorial
9	Lecture: Audience Tutorial: Subject Tutorial
10	Lecture: Sexuality Tutorial: Assessment 2 tutorials / feedback
11	Lecture: Race Tutorial: Assessment 2 tutorials / feedback
12	Lecture: e-Presentations Tutorial: Reflection & SELT	2 - Deadline: Wednesday May 29th (In class)

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
33 1/3 Book Review & Corresponding Album Analysis	50 %	05/04/2019	26/04/2019	1,4,5
Individual Research Paper and e-­Presentation	50 %	29/05/2019	12/06/2019	2,3,5

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

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Assessment Requirements

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Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Assessment Task 1

33 1/3 Book Review & Corresponding Album Analysis

The 33 1/3 series of books is published by Bloomsbury Academic. There are currently more than 120 titles in the series; each book deals with one album from the popular music and rock repertoire. Author approaches vary significantly throughout the series, thus complementing the teaching and learning content featured in this module.

Using appropriate analytical tools specific to the study of popular music, as well as reference to scholarly sources, students will conduct an individual, 3000-­word critique of a 33 1/3 series book and the corresponding album.

Length: 3500 words.

Weighting: 50%

Deadline: Friday April 5th 2019

Assessment delivery method: upload to Wattle

See rubric below.

Rubric

Criteria	HD [80-­100]	D [70-­79]	CR [60-­69]	P [50-­59]	N [0-­49]
	Work of exceptional quality, which demonstrates comprehensive understanding of the subject matter, mastery of relevant skills, sophisticated or original critical and conceptual analysis, and outstanding quality in clarity, precision and presentation of work.	Work of superior quality, which demonstrates a thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, proficiency in relevant skills, and analytical and conceptual ability of a high order.	Work of good quality, which displays a good understanding of the subject matter and a sound grasp of relevant skills.	Work of satisfactory quality, which displays an adequate understanding of most of the subject matter and a sufficient grasp of relevant skills.	Work which is incomplete or displays an inadequate understanding of the subject matter or an inadequate grasp of relevant skills.
Criteria 1 Evidence of an individual investigation, understanding and interpretation of existing scholarly enquiry.
Criteria 2 Application of relevant analytical tools and descriptors specific to the study of the set topic.
Criteria 3 Synthesis of research, both theoretical and analytical, into a structured and coherent body of work.
Criteria 4 Articulation of argument, depth of investigation and level of criticality.

Assessment Task 2

Individual Research Paper and e-­Presentation

Convincing scholarly audiences of the importance of popular music studies is an important, ongoing issue for academics working in the discipline. The ways in which we articulate the importance of our topic is vital.

In pairs, students will research their own choice of narrow topic on a popular music, culture and/ or political theme. Students will synthesise their research into an e-­presentation to contain multimedia elements [eg. images, film, audio, web links] Presentations will be conducted to the class cohort and assessor, with time allocated for questioning.

Presentation length: 20 minutes + Q&A.

Word count: 2000

Weighting: 50%

Deadline: Wednesday May 29th 2019 (Final week)

Assessment delivery method: in class

Rubric

Criteria	HD [80-­100]	D [70-­79]	CR [60-­69]	P [50-­59]	N [0-­49]
	Work of exceptional quality, which demonstrates comprehensive understanding of the subject matter, mastery of relevant skills, sophisticated or original critical and conceptual analysis, and outstanding quality in clarity, precision and presentation of work.	Work of superior quality, which demonstrates a thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, proficiency in relevant skills, and analytical and conceptual ability of a high order.	Work of good quality, which displays a good understanding of the subject matter and a sound grasp of relevant skills	Work of satisfactory quality, which displays an adequate understanding of most of the subject matter and a sufficient grasp of relevant skills.	Work which is incomplete or displays an inadequate understanding of the subject matter or an inadequate grasp of relevant skills.
Criteria 1 Evidence of an individual investigation, understanding and interpretation of existing scholarly enquiry.
Criteria 2 Application of relevant analytical tools and descriptors specific to the study of the set topic.
Criteria 3 Synthesis of research, both theoretical and analytical, into a structured and coherent body of work.
Criteria 4 Articulation of argument, depth of investigation and level of criticality.

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OR

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