HIST-UA9175.G1.001 Class code

Name: Dean Vuletic NYUHome Email Address: [email protected] Instructor Details Office Hours: By appointment Villa Ulivi Office Location: TBA Villa Ulivi Office Extension: TBA

For fieldtrips refer to the email with trip instructions and trip assistant’s cell phone number

Semester: Spring Class Details Full Title of Course: Eurovision: European Politics through Popular Music Meeting Days and Times: Monday, 4.30pm-7.15pm Classroom Location: TBA

Not applicable Prerequisites

The Eurovision Song Contest is the world's biggest popular music event: held annually in May, it Class Description includes entries from almost every European country and attracts over a hundred million viewers, making it one of the most-watched television events in Europe. Eurovision is organised by the European Broadcasting Union, whose membership comprises public television broadcasters from European countries. In the contest, the public television broadcasters send a singer and song to represent their countries, and audiences from each of them submit their votes to select the winner, whose country then earns the right to host the event the following year.

Eurovision was established in 1956 in order to promote cultural cooperation among Western European countries that were then pursuing their first steps towards economic and political integration through the European Coal and Steel Community, Euratom and the European Economic Community. During the Cold War, its participants also included Israel, Turkey and Yugoslavia. Other eastern European countries boycotted it as their governments viewed it as "capitalist" propaganda, but since 1989 all Central and East European states have entered the contest.

Although Eurovision was initially conceived by the European Broadcasting Union as an event that would promote European cultural cooperation, the fact that it is based on national entries has meant that it has been a stage upon which national interests and identities have been articulated – much like within the European Union itself. Indeed, every Eurovision is accompanied by intense media reporting in which performers and songs are analysed for their political meaning. The entries thus provide case studies of how nations construct, imagine and brand themselves to an international audience, while the voting results have also been used as a measure of how different national publics perceive each other. At the same time, issues such as minority rights have been highlighted at Eurovision through the performances of gay and transsexual singers or members of ethnic minorities, while other Eurovision entries have taken the causes of

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environmental destruction or international peace as their theme.

This course uses Eurovision to examine major political issues that have accompanied European integration since 1945. In doing so, it requires students to analyse the cultural, political and social significance of entries through their lyrics, music, costumes and dances, as well as the media commentary that accompanied them. Students will look at how countries use the contest to define themselves within a European context, be it to assert their national distinctiveness or to affirm their "Europeanness." Some of the questions that are addressed throughout the course are: * How has European integration been promoted through popular culture, and how has popular music become one of the prime cultural phenomena connecting Europeans? * How are Europe and "Europeanness" defined through Eurovision in cultural, geographic, political and social terms, especially as some of its participants are not members of the European Union? * How has Eurovision been used to promote issues concerning environmental awareness, gay rights, ethnic minorities and peace campaigns, and what effect has it had on these in Europe?

On completion of this course, students should: Desired Outcomes • Have improved their ability to think critically, engage in complex reasoning and express their thoughts clearly through their written work • Have improved their understanding of the methodologies of contemporary European history. • Have mastered a basic understanding of how to research questions in contemporary European history using a variety of multimedia sources. • Recognize works by the principal protagonists of European popular music and understand why they are significant for contemporary European history.

Attendance and Participation: 20% Assessment Map Quiz: 5% Components First Oral Presentation (3 minutes in length): 10% Second Oral Presentation (15 minutes in length): 15% Midterm Exam: 25% Research Essay (7-10 pages in length): 25%

For the first oral presentation, students are required to present a song from Eurovision at the beginning of one class and discuss it in relation to the week’s topic and readings.

Failure to submit or fulfill any required course component results in failure of the class.

Assessment Grade A: The student’s work demonstrates an understanding of the subject that goes beyond Expectations assigned course readings. The student writes essays/exam questions that are an original synthesis of source materials, demonstrating the ability to evaluate source material critically. Written

arguments are clear, well-organized and well-presented; oral presentations are concise, incisive and supplemented by appropriate visual materials. The student has distinguished himself/herself throughout the course of the semester for his/her contributions to class discussion.

Grade B: The student’s work shows a clear understanding of assigned readings and materials covered in class. The student writes clear, well-organized and well-presented essays/exam questions; oral presentations are concise, incisive and supplemented by appropriate visual

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materials. The student is prepared in class and asks relevant questions.

Grade C: The student’s work shows a basic understanding of the subject treated in assigned readings and covered in class. However, written and/or oral work is deficient in one or more of the following areas: clarity, organization or content. The student’s work is generally in need of improvement

Grade D: The student’s work shows occasional understanding of the subject treated in assigned readings and covered in class. Written and/or oral work is deficient in one of more of the follow areas: clarity, organization or content. The student does not participate in class discussion and has not frequented the instructor’s office hours.

Grade F: The student’s work does not demonstrate understanding of the subject treated in assigned readings and covered in class. Written and/or oral work are either insufficient or are not submitted. The student appears unprepared in class and has not frequented the instructor’s office hours.

A=94-100 Grade conversion A-=90-93 B+=87-89 B=84-86 B-=80-83 C+=77-79 C=74-76 C-=70-73 D+=67-69 D=65-66 F=below 65

Please refer to Assessment Expectations and the policy on late submission of work Grading Policy

Attendance: Attendance Policy Attendance is expected and required of all students. Any absences will negatively impact upon your course grade

Absences: In case of absence, regardless of the reason, the student is responsible for completing missed assignments, getting notes and making up missed work in a timely manner based upon a schedule that is mutually agreed upon between the faculty member and the student

Absence Due to Illness ● If you are sick, please see a doctor (contact the OSL for information). ● Only a medical certificate from a local medical professional will be accepted to justify an absence due to illness ● Within 24 hours of your return to class you must bring this note to the Office of Academic Support, located on the ground floor of Villa Ulivi. We will review the medical certificate and we will notify your faculty via email about your justified absence due to illness ● Absences for short term illness without a medical certificate are not justified and count as unjustified absences. We will not accept a student email or

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telephone call regarding an absence due to illness. We will not notify your faculty about these absences ● The Office of Student Life, when assisting you in cases of severe or extended illness, will coordinate with the Office of Academic Support to properly record your absences Due to Religious Observance ● Students observing a religious holiday during regularly scheduled class time are entitled to miss class without any penalty to their grade. This is for the holiday only and does not include the days of travel that may come before and/or after the holiday ● Students must notify their professor and the Office of Academic Support in writing via email one week in advance before being absent for this purpose Due to a class conflict with a program sponsored lecture, event, or activity ● All students are entitled to miss one class period without any penalty to their grade in order to attend a lecture, event or activity that is sponsored by NYU Florence or La Pietra Dialogues, Acton Miscellany or the Graduate Lecture series. ● Students must notify their professor and the Office of Academic Support in writing via email one week in advance before being absent for this purpose

Late Submission of

Work ● All course work must be submitted on time, in class on the date specified on the syllabus. ● To request an extension on a deadline for an assignment, students must speak to the professor one week prior to the due date ● To receive an incomplete for a course at the end of the semester, two weeks before final exams, both the student and the faculty member must meet with the Assistant Director of Academic Affairs to review the request and if granted, they must both sign an Incomplete Contract detailing the terms for completing missing coursework.

Plagiarism Policy PLAGIARISM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED IN ANY FORM: The presentation of another person’s words, ideas, judgment, images or data as though they were your own, whether intentionally or unintentionally, constitutes an act of plagiarism.

In the event of suspected or confirmed cases of plagiarism, The faculty member will consult first with the Assistant Director for Academic Affairs as definitions and procedures vary from school to school. Please consult the “Academic Guidelines for Success” distributed on your USB key at Check-in and on the NYU Florence Global Wiki.

For a detailed description of some possible forms of plagiarism and cheating please consult the Community Compact that you signed at Orientation, a copy of which is on the above mentioned Wiki and USB key.

The readings include academic studies on aspects of Eurovision that have been published in Required Text(s) journals and volumes, as well as media commentaries from a variety of European countries. They are all available on the course website.

Tony Judt, Postwar: Europe since 1945 (New York: Penguin, 2005). Supplemental Texts(s)

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(not required to purchase as copies are in NYU-L Library or available on line)

A selection of songs from the Eurovision Song Contest is played in each class, and students can Internet Research also access recordings of the contest and its entries on www.youtube.com and their lyrics and Guidelines translations on www.diggiloo.net. Students will also monitor media reports about the preparations for the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden, and discuss them in class. One source for current news on the Eurovision Song Contest is its official website, www.eurovision.tv. The careful use of internet resources for research is encouraged, and failure to cite internet and other non-traditional media sources in your written work constitutes plagiarism.

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Not applicable Additional Required Equipment

Popular Music and Identity Film: Session 1 What is Europe and what is Eurovision? • The Eurovision Song Contest, Baku 2012 (Universal Music, 2012). February 1

Popular Music and Identity Assignment: Session 2 Popular Music and Nationalism • Establish schedule for first oral presentations February 4 Readings: • Philip V. Bohlman, “Music before the Nation, Music after Nationalism,” Musicology Australia 31:1 (2009), 79-100. • Martin Cloonan, "Pop and the Nation-State: Towards a Theorisation," Popular Music 18:2 (1999), 193-207.

Popular Music and Identity Readings: Session 3 Popular Music and Europeanism • Paul Allatson, "'Antes cursi que sencilla': Eurovision Song Contests February 11 and the Kitsch-Drive to Euro- Unity," Culture, Theory and Critique 48:1 (2007), 87-98. • Simon Frith, "Euro pop," Cultural Studies 3:2 (1989), 166-172. • Cornel Sandvoss, "On the Couch with Europe: The Eurovision Song Contest, the European Broadcasting Union and Belonging to the Old Continent," Popular Communications 6:3 (2008), 190- 207.

The Cold War Assignment: Session 4 Cultural Integration in Western Europe • Map quiz Readings: February 18 • Roberto Agostini, "The Italian canzone and the Sanremo Festival: Change and Continuity in Italian Mainstream Pop of the 1960s," Popular Music 26:3 (2007), 389- 408. • Michael Baumgartner, "Chanson,

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canzone, Schlager, and Song: Switzerland's Identity Struggle in the Eurovision Song Contest," in A Song for Europe: Popular Music and Politics in the Eurovision Song Contest, eds. Ivan Raykoff and Robert Deam Tobin (Aldershot, Hampshire, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2007), 37-48. • Thorsten Hindrichs, "Chasing the "Magic Formula" for Success: Ralph Siegel and the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson," in A Song for Europe, 49-60.

The Cold War Readings: Session 5 Cultural Infiltration in Eastern Europe • Tony Mitchell, "Mixing Pop and Politics: Rock Music in February 25 Czechoslovakia before and after the Velvet Revolution," Popular Music 11:2 (1992), 187-203. • Mari Pajala, "Finland, Zero Points: Nationality, Failure, and Shame in the Finnish Media," in A Song for Europe, 71-82. • Dean Vuletic, "European Sounds, Yugoslav Visions: Performing Yugoslavia at the Eurovision Song Contest," in Remembering Utopia: The Culture of Everyday Life in Yugoslavia, eds. Breda Luthar and Maruša Pušnik (Washington, DC: New Academia), 121-144.

Mutual Perceptions Readings: Session 6 Voting Blocs • Daniel Fenn et al., "How Does Europe Make Its Mind Up? March 4 Connections, Cliques, and Compatibility between Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications 360:2 (2006), 576-598. • Victor Ginsburgh and Abdul G. Noury, "The Eurovision Song Contest: Is Voting Political or Cultural?" European Journal of Political Economy 24:1 (2008), 41- 52. • Gad Yair, "'Unite Unite Europe': The Political and Cultural Structures of Europe as Reflected

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in the Eurovision Song Contest," Social Networks 17:2 (1995), 147- 161.

Mutual Perceptions Readings: Session 7 Branding Nations in East Europe • Paul Jordan, "Eurovision in Moscow: Re-Imaging Russia on the March 11 Global Stage," 1:14 (2009), 39-61. • Marijana Mitrović, "'New Face of Serbia' at the Eurovision Song Contest: International Media Spectacle and National Identity," European Review of History 17:2 (2010), 171-185. • Václav Štětka, "Media Events and European Visions: Czech Republic in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest," Communications 34:4 (2009), 21-38.

Midterm Exams Assignment: Session 8 • Midterm exam

March 18

Mutual Perceptions Readings: Session 9 How "European" are Israel and Turkey? • Motti Regev and Edwin Seroussi, "'And the Winner Is…': Popular April 8 Song Festivals," Popular Music and National Culture in Israel (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2004), 113-136. • Miyase Christensen and Christian Christensen, "The After-Life of Eurovision 2003: Turkish and European Social Imaginaries and Ephemeral Communicative Space," Popular Communication: The International Journal of Media and Culture, 6:3 (2008), 155-172.

The Politics of Minorities Readings: Session 10 Eurovision as a Queer Event • Dana Heller, "t.A.T.u. You! Russia, the Global Politics of Eurovision, April 15 and Lesbian Pop," Popular Music 26:2 (2007), 195-210. • Dafna Lemish, ""My Kind of Campfire": The Eurovision Song Contest and Israeli Gay Men," Popular Communication: The International Journal of Media and

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Culture, 2:1 (2004), 41-63.

The Politics of Minorities Readings: Session 11 Voices of Ethnic and Racial Minorities • William Lee Adams, "Ukraine's Eurovision Selection Marred by April 22 Right-Wing Racism," Time (5 March 2012), globalspin.blogs.time.com. • Lutgard Mutsaers, "Fernando, Filippo, and Milly: Bringing Blackness to the Eurovision Stage," in A Song for Europe, 61-70. • Andy Markowitz, "A Roma Vision for Eurovision," Transitions Online (12 May 2009), www.tol.org.

Current Affairs Readings: Session 12 Political Issues at Eurovision 2013 • A selection of reports from various European media outlets April 29

Assignment: Session 13 • Second oral presentations An Ode to Europe May 6 So, What is Europe Now?

Final exams Assignment: Session 14 • Submit research essays

May 13

● Eating is not permitted in the classrooms. Bottled water is permitted. Classroom Etiquette ● Cell phones should be turned off during class time. ● The use of personal laptops and other electronic handheld devices are prohibited in the classroom unless otherwise specified by the professor. ● We recycle! So keep it green! Please dispose of trash in the clearly marked recycle bins located throughout the on campus buildings

A field trip will be organized to a concert by the Italian entry in the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest. Required Co-curricular Activities

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Suggested optional co-curricular activities will be announced in class and/or via email by the Suggested Co- professor throughout the semester. curricular Activities

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