Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 10 |
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
- To introduce a much deeper and broader historical perspective on marginal music cultures which, though marginal, have had a significant cultural impact
- To examine marginal and popular music cultures through critical lenses that illuminate their importance and broader significance
- To bring into the popular and contemporary curriculum a greater understanding and appreciation for cutting edge scenes that derive from relevantly topical current discourses around music performance and art practice.
The module’s lecture series operates on two levels: on the one hand the introduction and discussion of key critical concepts relating to contemporary cultural theory (e.g. seductive commodification of new music vs. open-ended, critically challenging music), and applying them to specific moments and movements in the evolution of popular music, such as Punk, Techno, Black Arts Movement and the UK Hardcore continuum. Seminars will be grounded in set listening and applied reading. The module will be supplemented by a series of optional weekly film screenings that enhance and enrich students’ understanding and knowledge of contemporary vernacular music.
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structured Guided Learning | Lecture materials | 10 | 2:00 | 20:00 | Online lecture material with associated tasks – non-synchronous |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 10 | 1:00 | 10:00 | Online and synchronous |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 164:00 | 164:00 | N/A |
| Total | 200:00 |
The study of popular music at HE level is still a relatively new field and has in its short history so far been dominated by prioritising what one terms ‘mainstream’, commercial music that tends to be corporate-driven. Yet the mainstream has always relied on grass-roots, DIY social movements in popular music to keep being able to draw on fresh material. Too often popular music studies at HE focus on the foreground, surface level that we see (and consume) at the end point of that evolution. This module situates the student themselves (as consumer, listener, critic) at the centre of its exploration and enquiry, reinforcing an awareness of the music’s original impetus and meaning. The rationale of its teaching methods and their relationship to learning outcomes therefore concerns a reversal of the regular approach to studying music history and its culture, placing the student’s own subjectivity (listening, absorbing and embracing aesthetics) at the start of the process and negotiating critical frameworks from there. The two essays will this help the student to forge a position that they have themselves conceived through their intuitive response to extending, immersive listening, forging critical insight from it.
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 1 | A | 30 | 1500 words |
| Essay | 2 | A | 70 | 3000 words/weighted equivalent |
- The essays will provide the opportunity to apply critical and analytical concepts and strategies to specific areas of work to be selected by the student from options provided at the start of the module
- It will demonstrate a critical engagement with the material based on concepts discussed during the course
- It will illustrate development in the student's capacity to apply critical thinking to specifically identified source material and examples