Rhetorical Approaches to Popular Music
Info • Assignments • Syllabus • Links • Bib    

Engl 472-001, Fall 2015


Course Information


  • Day/Time: TR 2:50-4:05
  • Room: Hamilton College 143
  • Professor: Byron Hawk
  • Email: byron [dot] hawk [at] gmail [dot] com
  • Office/hours: HUO 408, TR 4:00-5:30
  • Printable syllabus: PDF version

Description

This course will focus on understanding popular music from the perspectives of music criticism and rhetorical criticism--writing for both general and academic audiences. The course will address close listening for musical elements such as song structure and instrumentation; examine how lyrics operate rhetorically through troping, rhyming, and repeating; think about music from the perspectives of history and genre; work through the relationship between sub- and fan- culture; theorize the racial and gendered ramifications of musical expression; and discuss the economical and technological mediations that influence music production and consumption. Students will be expected to study the various approaches but will deploy those approaches through artists or genres based on their particular interests. Toward this end, students should do the readings diligently, keep up with all of the weekly writing for the mid-term and final portfolios, and develop a bibliography for their final research paper that critically analyzes a song, album, artist, scene, genre, or issue of their choice.

Back to the Top

Required Texts

  • Woodworth, Marc and Ally-Jane Grossman. How to Write About Music. Bloomsbury Press, 2015.
    ISBN: 978-1-6289-2043-7

  • Bennett, Andy, Barry Shank, and Jason Toynbee, eds. The Popular Music Studies Reader. New York: Routledge, 2006.
    ISBN: 0-415-30710-4

  • Negus, Keith. Popular Music in Theory: An Introduction. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan U P, 1996.
    ISBN: 0-8195-6310-2

Back to the Top

Course Goals

  • To understand and apply rhetorical approaches to writing about music.

  • To deepen the knowledge of the music students consume and/or produce.

  • To develop a research process that enhances the students ability to write and argue.

Back to the Top

SC Labs

The mid term project will allow the option for a "multimodal" approach (see assignments). I assume that students who choose to do media projects will have some technological background, so there will be no time spent in class on technology. If necessary, students should take advantage of the workshops and labs available on campus. Most of these labs should have many of the software programs needed. The labs typically have consultants on duty to assist students with projects. Many of these sites also have instructions or tutorials for the technologies they support and some have hardware available for checkout.

Back to the Top

Attendance

Each class we will discuss the readings and listen to samples. Consequently, attendance is extremely important and will count towards participation grades. If students need to miss a class, please submit any work due on that day via email and check the online syllabus for any potential changes in the schedule. In accordance with University policy, anyone who misses 25% of our scheduled class periods (7 of 28) will fail the course, and anyone who misses more than 10% (3 of 28) may receive a grade penalty. If you stop coming to class, it will be your responsibility to drop. Failure to do so will result in an 'F'.

Back to the Top

Office Hours

I will have office hours in HUO 408 on T and R from 4:00-5:30 (just after class). If a student cannot meet after class, then we can schedule a time that is convenient for both of us. I check my e-mail several times daily, so this will be the best way to contact me in a hurry with a question or problem.

Back to the Top

Grades

I will use this basic grading scale: A (90-95), B+ (85-89), B (80-84), C+ (75-89), C (70-74). The bulk of your grade will come at the mid-term and end of the semester (see assignments). This means that students may have a hard time sensing where they stand in the class as it progresses. Best advice is to focus on attendance, making sure to keep up with the weekly reading and writing, and starting on the research bibliography early (gather sources throughout the semester rather than cram it in at the last minute). I will not field "how am I doing in this class" questions: only students know whether or not they are keeping up with the work.

Back to the Top

Rewrite and Late Policy

Since the mid-term is the only primary grade during the semester, I will give students the option to rewrite or revise it based on my comments after I return grades. If students are concerned about overall grades, I recommend this revision. In order to have the option for revision, mid-terms will have to be turned in on time. The research bibliography and final paper will be developed over the last few weeks of class, so there should be plenty of time for feedback and revision even though there will be no time to rewrite. Best advice is to not put things off until the end of the semester.

Back to the Top
 



    USC • English Info • Assignments • Syllabus • Links • Bib