Ragtime to Rap: Popular Music since 1900

This subject is not offered in 2015.

170 hours

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

This subject explores a range of popular musical styles (from dance crazes to pop songs) that have had widespread impact over the past century. It will analyse aspects of the music’s creation, dissemination and modes of consumption, drawing on key cultural theories and recent scholarship.

On completion of this subject students should be able to:

• undertake scholarly work using bibliographic tools
• discuss critically the creation and consumption of popular music in the twentieth century
• recognise, analyse and contextualise (from audio and audio-visual sources) different styles of popular music

• Five (5) tutorial assignments of 300 words each - Submitted throughout Semester (5 x 6% each: Total 30%)
• A 2,500-word essay - End of Semester (50%)
• A one-hour listening-based test - End of Semester (20%)

A reading pack will be available for purchase from the Melbourne University Bookshop before the start of semester

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of this subject students should possess:

• the ability to engage with new ideas and respond to them in a thoughtful, critical and personal way
• the capacity to extend existing skills and practices, and apply them to research-based writing
• an ability to examine and discuss popular music and its cultural contexts within an academic framework