Studies in Musicology 2

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2008:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

A detailed examination of an aspect of Western music history or theory .

Available subject areas:

Semester 1, 2008:

Music of the Manuscript Tradition (Co-ordinator: Professor John Griffiths)

Through studies of selected medieval manuscript sources, students will develop their own understanding of the nature, the role, and the functions of music in selected areas of European society in the 12th to 14th centuries. Students will engage in a directed exploration of the processes of gathering materials and manuscript compilation, the relevant notation and scribal practices, illumination and decoration. Students will also make critical studies of the repertoire contained in each manuscript and its sociocultural context, performance issues, relevant theoretical writings, and contemporary scholarship.

Music Psychology (Co-ordinator: Dr Katrina McFerran)

This subject will encompass an initial exploration of music psychology research. Selected researchers within the field, including music therapists, behavioural neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, and experimental psychologists will outline recent and current practical research involving music across the lifespan. Information will be provided on the relationship between music and the brain, as well as music and the body. The development of musical skills at different life stages will be outlined, from birth to old age. Each seminar will incorporate didactic teaching paired with class discussion, followed up by weekly on-line quizzes and development of music research concepts

Sex, Death and the Ecstatic in Music (Co-ordinator: Dr Linda Kouvaras)

An examination of examples of Western music from Hildegaard to the present, including some twentieth-century "popular" songs, which contain one or all of the themes of sex, death, and the ecstatic in their compositional circumstances, title, pre-compositional intent, or lyrics (if song or aria). Consideration of these works will be viewed through perspectives from key cultural theories of the late-twentieth or early twenty-first century.

Stravinsky & the Music of the 20th Century (Co-ordinator: Dr Michael Christoforidis)

Students will develop an understanding of the music of Igor Stravinsky and be able to relate it to the composer's creative process and the broader cultural context. The impact of Stravinsky's music will also be explored through the study of selected works by other 20th-century composers. Topics covered will include a study of Stravinsky's output in relation to nationalism, impressionism, neoclassicism, collage and serial techniques, minimalist structures and scenic considerations.

Semester 2, 2008:

Baroque Music of the German World (Co-ordinator: Dr Janice Stockigt)

A study of representative works by composers employed in a variety of situations throughout the German-speaking lands, 1700-1750

Music and Health (Co-ordinator: Dr Katrina McFerran)

This subject will provide an overview of the ways that music can be used to promote physical health and healthy behaviours for a range of people, including musicians. Topics covered will include music for expression, relaxation, anxiety reduction and communication. Students will be involved in experiential activities underpinned by theoretical knowledge. They will also contribute to weekly web-based discussion that furthers understanding of topics covered in class.

Notation and Music Editing (Co-ordinator: Professor John Griffiths)

Students will be able to demonstrate skill in the transcription from early notations to modern notation in line with current standards of scholarly practice. The subject will introduce the criteria and principles of modern editorial practice, and enable students to acquire basic skills in computerised notation programs for the production of scholarly editions. The subject covers selected major styles of notation used in Western music. Seminars will be based around the production of editions of works from manuscript and printed sources.

Studies in Opera (Co-ordinator: Associate Professor Kerry Murphy)

The subject is not an introduction to opera but aims to stimulate those who are already interested in the genre. It examines issues that relate to the interdisciplinary nature of opera (such as the importance of the text and staging) alongside a study of selected works from the operatic genre with particular emphasis on their social and historical significance. The course encourages you to think about the future of the genre and also its role in Australia at the present time.

The Idea of Beethoven (Co-ordinator: Dr Peter Tregear)

This subject offers students the opportunity to examine the popular and scholarly reception of Ludwig van Beethoven as composer and as a mythic persona. It explores the variety of ways through which we come to know Beethoven and understand his music, engaging with the ideas of heroism, deafness, revolution and genius, and through diverse critical approaches including E.T.A. Hoffmann, Richard Wagner, Theodor Adorno, Chuck Berry, Susan McClary, Peanuts and Hollywood film such as A Clockwork Orange, Immortal Beloved and Copying Beethoven.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of this subject, students should have developed:

• high-level cognitive skills;
• a critical knowledge of the literature, and;
• a capacity for independent critical thought.