Page 1 Rock Music and Representation: The Roles of Rock Culture AMS 311s // Unique No. 31080 Spring 2020 BUR 436A: M/W/F 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Instructor: Kate Grover // [email protected] // pronouns: she, her, hers Office Hours: BUR 408 // Monday & Wednesday, 1 pm – 2:30 pm, or by appointment Course Description What is a guitar god? Who gets to be one, and why? What are the “roles” of rock music and culture? What is rock, anyway? This is not your average rock history course. Instead, this course positions 20th and 21st century American rock music and culture as a crucial site for ongoing struggles over identity, belonging, and power. We will explore how race, class, gender, sexuality, age, and ability have shaped how various groups of people engage with rock and what insights these engagements provide about “the American experience” over time. How do rock artists, critics, filmmakers, and fans represent themselves and others? What do these representational strategies reveal about inclusion and exclusion in rock culture, and in American society at large? While examining rock’s players, we will also consider the roles of different rock media and institutions such as MTV, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Rolling Stone magazine. As such, our course is divided into three units exploring different areas of representation within rock music and culture. Unit 1: Performing Rock, Performing Identity, provides an introduction to studying rock’s sounds, visuals, and texts by investigating various issues of identity within rock music and culture. Unit 2: Evaluating Rock: Writers, Critics, and Other Commentators focuses on the roles of rock critics and the stakes of writing about music. Unit 3: Historicizing Rock and Its Players considers how scholars, filmmakers, and artists shape our understanding of rock history, American history, and “who matters” in rock overall. An important goal of this class is to build students’ critical thinking and writing skills while developing a sense of intellectual curiosity about music and popular culture. To engage a variety of texts and methodologies, students will analyze music videos, write their own album reviews, contribute to weekly class playlists, and design their own independent research project (see “Assignments and Grading” for further information). The combination of these written assignments, along with consistent attendance and participation, comprises a student’s final grade. Page 2 Other Useful Information Required Texts: This class has one required text, Mary Celeste Kearney’s Gender and Rock (Oxford University Press, 2017). This book is available for purchase at the University Co-Op and at various online retailers. In addition, I have placed one copy of Gender and Rock on reserve at the PCL (library use only) to ensure everyone’s access. Other weekly readings will be posted on our class Canvas page, with the exception of online sources. Please note: the first few readings from Gender and Rock will be posted on Canvas. Occasionally, you will be required to watch films outside of class. I will provide more information about how to access these films on your own. If there is enough interest, I will arrange class screenings on campus outside of our scheduled class times. Assignments and Grading: Your final grade in this course will be comprised of four assessments: 1) a Music Video Analysis paper, 2) an Album Review, 3) a Participation Grade, including in-class participation and Weekly Playlist Contributions, and 4) a Final Research Project. I will provide further information and instruction on these assignments throughout the semester. Music Video Analysis (due 2/28): This assignment asks you to analyze the representational strategies of one music video. How does the artist or group portray their identity and/or the identities of others? How does the music video reinforce or contradict the messages in the song, and what are the effects? In what ways does the music video reflect larger events or social issues within American history? Album Review (due 4/3): This assignment asks you to put yourself into the shoes of a rock critic by evaluating an album of personal and cultural significance. What story do the songs on the album tell? How do you understand this album based on your identity and experiences? What insights does the album provide on American life and culture at both the time of its release and today? Final Research Project: This assignment allows you to design an independent research project on any topic regarding rock music and representation. The project has three main components: 1) an abstract (due 4/24) outlining your chosen topic, its significance, and your research plan, which you will then workshop in class on the due date, 2) a short presentation (PowerPoint due 5/1) to the class on your research given during the last two weeks of classes, and 3) a final research paper of 10 pages (due date TBA). I encourage you to meet with me in office hours early in the semester to discuss project ideas. Participation Grade and Weekly Playlist Contributions: Participation takes many forms, so one of the ways you will earn your participation grade is by contributing to a “class playlist” Page 3 discussion on our Canvas page. For this assignment, you will reflect on the central theme of the week and choose one song that you believe encapsulates or expands upon an idea from our readings or class discussion. Write a paragraph (4-5 sentences) connecting your song to the week’s content and provide a link to a YouTube video so everyone can access your song. (Note: You may not write about a song covered in the week’s readings. Introduce the class to a new song!) You will complete 10 weekly playlist contributions throughout the semester, due by class time on the Friday of that week. You will not have playlist contributions on short weeks or on weeks when you turn in other assignments. The remainder of your participation grade will come from active class participation, including consistent attendance (see “Attendance Policy” for more information). Writing Flag and Revisions: This course carries the Writing Flag. Writing Flag courses are designed to give students experience with writing in an academic discipline. In this class, you can expect to write regularly during the semester, complete substantial writing projects, and receive feedback from me to help you improve your writing. I will also provide you the opportunity to revise either the Music Video Analysis or the Album Review. If you choose to revise one of these assignments, I reserve the right to raise or lower your final assignment score based on the quality of your revision. Revisions will be due by the beginning of class on the last class day, Friday May 8. A note on writing: since written argumentation and analysis is a skill that takes time and practice to develop, I will provide in-class opportunities to practice writing strategies for each major assignment. I also encourage you to discuss writing questions and concerns with me at my office hours. Additionally, the University Writing Center (UWC) is an excellent on campus resource for writing support. The UWC offers no-cost, one-on-one consultations with UT students on any piece of writing. You may visit up to three times per assignment. Grade breakdown: Participation: 20% § In-class and attendance (10%) § Weekly playlist contributions (10%) Music Video Analysis: 20% Album Review: 20% Research Project: 40% § Abstract and research plan workshop (10%) § Presentation (5%) § Final Paper (25%) Grading Scale: 93-100 = A 90-92 = A- 87-89 = B+ 83-86 = B 80-82 = B- 77-79 = C+ 73-76 = C 70-72 = C- 67-69 = D+ 63-66 = D 60-62 = D- 0-59 = F Page 4 Attendance Policy: Attendance in seminar is mandatory and crucial to your success in class. But sometimes, life happens. As such, you are permitted three unexcused absences throughout the semester—no questions asked. You will lose two points from your final grade for each additional absence after three. You will be marked absent if you arrive more than 15 minutes late to class without a valid excuse. I will provide excused absences for religious holidays, university-sponsored events, and serious health matters only. Technology Policy: Generally, be respectful with technology use. Keep phones tucked away, and only use laptops or tablets for note taking and other class-related activities. I won’t stop you from using laptops and tablets, but I will provide evidence as to why writing notes by hand helps you better retain information: http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-case-for-banning-laptops-in-the- classroom Extensions/Late Policies: Writing assignments must be turned in to me, in-person, at the beginning of the class period on which they are due. I will only provide extensions on written assignments in the case of emergencies or other extenuating circumstances. In any case, you must notify me before the due date. Failure to do so will result in the automatic subtraction of a letter grade from your assignment score. Assignments turned in late without an allowable excuse will lose one letter grade for each class day past the due date. Academic Dishonesty: Using someone else’s work in your own writing without giving proper credit is considered plagiarism, a serious form of academic dishonesty that can result in severe penalties. Copying someone else’s work, buying a paper and submitting it as your own, copying and pasting text (even with changes), or borrowing images from an online source, are some examples of plagiarism. Even if you plagiarize accidentally, you can be held responsible and penalized. All assignments that you produce in this class must be your own original intellectual work.