module specification

In this module we will explores and seek to understand popular music with reference to its history, the local and global cultures that it has been produced in, and some critical theories that help to explain it. We will consider the history of popular music since the mid-twentieth century as well as discrete periods of its development - such as 1955-60, 1975-80 and the early 2000s - and the types of music that emerged and were popular during them, e.g. rock n’ roll, hip-hop, punk and EDM.

Different forms and phases of pop music will be thought about historically and factually, as well as in terms of the socio-cultural and socio-economic circumstances that accompanied them and that informed their musical and cultural features and styles. Theories that develop and deepen an understanding of all these aspects of pop music will be drawn on. We will, for example, examine both rock and rap with reference to theories of race and ethnicity, sociological theories and feminist theories. Non-Western as well as Western music forms, styles, cultures and subcultures will also be considered, including afrobeat, jungle, rai, highlife, reggae and K-pop. Less commercial or fashionable Western forms like folk, country and independent and experimental music will be considered too. Yet other theories will be applied to some or all of the above forms and will include music theory, genre theory, social and political theory, psychoanalysis and historical materialism.

Particular attention will be paid to certain historical and socio-cultural issues that are apparent and significant in contemporary pop music such as gender, ethnicity, sexuality and social class. We will also consider some or all of the following important aspects of popular music and culture: globalisation, the construction of star personas and celebrity, the nature of audiences (and fans and subcultures), economic and cultural convergence and integration and technological (especially digital) innovation and change, especially its effect on musical creation and distribution (streaming, home studios, social media, etc).

Module aims:
By the end of this module you will:
• be familiar with the general history of popular music
• be familiar with particular and significant periods in popular musical development
• have an informed and coherent sense of the significant socio-cultural and economic circumstances that both gave rise to and were affected by different periods and genres of popular history
• have a good general sense of global popular musical forms including non-Western ones
• be informed about and aware of the creative industries in which different musical forms are produced and used
• be able accurately and consistently apply theoretical ideas to popular musical phenomena
• have an accurate and informed sense of the way in which different musical forms have been affected by each other and by the wider culture they have been produced in, as well as the way that they might have affected that culture in turn
• have a good sense of the way in which popular music intersects with technology, especially how developments in the former change the latter

The module will involve study and exploration of the history, forms and culture of popular music from the mid-twentieth century to the present. These will be examined, discussed and written and spoken about with reference to related historical facts and trends in music, society and culture. Such facts and trends will be both empirically and analytically sourced and interpreted. Analysis of them will sometime be with reference to relevant critical and philosophical theories. Topics studied will include some or all of the following:

• Popular musical genres and sub-genres, e.g. (in no particular order) blues, rhythm n’ blues, rock n’ roll, rock, heavy rock, glam rock, beat music, hip-hop, rap, metal (of all sorts), punk, post-punk, reggae, dancehall, jungle ragga, soca, mento, drum n’ bass, drill, rai, highlife, afrobeat, jazz (of all sorts), funk, jazz-funk, soul, urban soul, disco, folk, country, swing, western swing, bluegrass, MOR, EDM, jit, bhangra, psychedelia, techno and ambient music.
• General and specific popular music history
• Discrete and significant periods in popular music history, e.g. 1957-60, 1965-70, 1977-80, 200-2010.
• Race and ethnicity in popular music
• The debate about cultural appropriation in popular music
• Cultural imperialism in popular music
• Hybridity in popular music
• Gender and sexuality in popular music
• The politcal economy of the music industry
• Technology, technological change and its effect on popular music (and vice versa)
• Transcultural and global trends in popular music
• The semiology and deconstruction of the languages, fashions, cultures and narratives of popular music
• Convergence in music industry and culture
• Music theory 
• Inequality and social class as they are manifest in the popular music industry and popular musical forms and styles

The module will involve lectures, seminars, discussions and workshops. It will be student centred and peer assisted where appropriate, which will involve individual and group presentations, workshops and tutorials.  Students are expected to attend lectures and seminars. They will sometimes produce playlists and/or reading lists as well as presentations (these activities will be formative rather than summative).

The module booklet will be available online, as will lectures and some readings. Links will be provided to playlists, relevant databases and other resources. Students will be directed to the very considerable learning and research resources available via the university library. Weblearn or its equivalent will be used for communication with students individually and as a cohort. In addition to guided reading, watching of relevant audio-visual items and listening to music, students are expected to read and to use va ariety of sources (primary and secondary) of their own choosing. They are expected to use seminars and tutorials to raise issues, questions and seek feedback.

On successful completion of the module students will be able to:

1. identify and speak knowledgeably about different phases in the development of popular music and the cultures associated with them
2. understand significant ways in which popular music and culture affect each other
3. demonstrate basic but coherent knowledge of global musical forms and cultures, including non-Western ones
4. accurately and consistently apply theoretical ideas to popular musical phenomena

https://rl.talis.com/3/londonmet/lists/B9617C7C-7BC7-7B5F-43E5-EF67B636DE26.html?lang=en-GB