Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

• To encourage an interdisciplinary perspective into the study of both philosophy and music.
• To bring students from the two subject areas together in order to develop their understanding of both musical practice and philosophical thinking in ways that are mutually illuminating.
• To develop the musical understanding of philosophy students, and the philosophical understanding of music students, as well as broadening the understanding of students in their "home" discipline.
• To establish models of interdisciplinary teaching ahead of a possible tenth school.

Outline Of Syllabus

The module is delivered in four separate projects, co-led by members of staff from the departments of music and philosophy, and the module is available to students from both subject areas. Projects will include the study of philosophical and musicological texts, alongside guided debate, listenings, and practical exercises, and these will be predominantly in the areas of contemporary and popular music practices, though options will be able to be developed, in consultation with delivery staff, for practical elements outside of this area. Students will be introduced to key issues of the two disciplines through lectures, readings, and discussions, but there will also be space for practical responses, in terms of music and sound art practices, to be planned for and discussed with the module staff. For music students no formal knowledge of philosophy is required, and for philosophy students there is no pre-requisite for any formal musical training. By the end of the module students will have engaged with philosophical thinking and musical material, as well as gaining experience into how one discipline can inform and influence the other, leading to an enhanced understanding of how theory and practice can inter-relate. As well as having value in its own right, the module will be an enriching and useful preparation for postgraduate study in practical or theoretical music study, or in philosophy as a discrete discipline.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

• A1 - An understanding of some key philosophical texts as they apply to music.
• A2 - An understanding and appreciation of musicological texts, musical works, and music/sound art practices in terms of philosophical approaches.
• A3 - An experiential and interdisciplinary understanding of the relationship between musical practices and their theorisation.
• A4 - An understanding of the nature of knowledge and the different ways that music can constitute a system of knowing about ourselevs and the world around us.

Intended Skill Outcomes

• B1 - The ability to make connections between philosophical thought, musical practice, and musicological writing.
• B2 - The ability to negotiate from an informed perspective within different disciplines.
• B3 - The ability to apply philosophical thinking to music, and to explore ways in which musical practices might be considered to be "philosophical", particularly in the light of the emerging fields of "Sound Studies" and "Artistic Research/Practice-as-Research".

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures present students with key ideas and perspectives (outcomes A1, A2, B1 above)

Workshops develop these ideas and perspectives through direct engagement with musical and philosophical materials and practices encouraging students to develop inventive and imaginative ways in which to further their interdisciplinary understanding, and to see how such an approach deepens their understanding (outcomes A1, A2, A3, B1, B3 above).

Small group teaching has a seminar function where students negotiate theory and practice, philosophical texts and musical texts of various sorts (recordings, performances, musicological writings, music criticism, etc.), and gain a deeper understanding of interdisciplinary study (outcomes A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B2, and B3 above).

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Portfolio submissions will be focussed around "trigger questions" or specifically identified issues in both semesters allow for students to build up their coursework and devise suitable forms of submission to evidence the learning attained through each project, and to critically reflect on that learning. The aim is to preserve a degree of flexibility in how students respond to given "trigger questions" concerning music and philosophy, with a strong option towards interdisciplinary submissions that may combine theory and practice. The "project-related supervision" for each project factored in above is designed to ensure that there is a degree of equity across portfolios.

General Notes

N/A