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UGS 303 Syllabus Draft 1

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UGS 303 Syllabus Draft 1 American Musicals and American Culture UGS 303 Fall 2017 T/Th, 12:30-2:00pm Lecture: MRH 2.634 Section: MRH 2.614 Unique Numbers: 62340 (Friday 9am section) 62345 (Friday 10am section) 62350 (Friday 11am section) Professor: Hannah Lewis Office: MRH 3.738 E-mail: [email protected] Office Hours: Tues. 2-3:30 (please notify me in advance), or by appointment SIGNATURE COURSE MISSION: The Signature Courses at the University of Texas at Austin will connect students with distinguished faculty members in unique learning environments. By way of this rigorous intellectual experience, students will develop college-level skills in research, writing, speaking, and discussion through an approach that is both interdisciplinary and contemporary. COURSE DESCRIPTION: For much of the 20th century, musicals stood at the center of American culture, producing tunes and tales that became the hits of their day. They commented on the ever-shifting social and political landscape, while pushing musical, dramatic, and choreographic boundaries, all within the confines of a commercial industry. This course explores the musical artistry and cultural resonances of several iconic shows, as rendered on stage and screen, including Shuffle Along (1922), Show Boat (1927), Oklahoma (1943), Singin’ in the Rain (1952), West Side Story (1957), Pacific Overtures (1976), Rent (1994), and Hamilton (2015). We will examine musical styles alongside broad cultural themes associated with the musical, including artistic collaboration, race and representation, gender, the role of dance, and adaptation across media. This course will serve as a window into the musical’s power to reflect and shape any given historical moment. Musical background is not required for this course. Regardless of musical skill level, you will be expected to listen closely to the works assigned for each class and to be prepared to discuss and write about the music in detail. During the semester, we will review any musical terms you will need for assignments. Together, we will listen to, analyze, and discuss musical styles, as well as the creation, reception, and impact of the musicals we study. 1 COURSE OBJECTIVES: By the end of the course, students will be able to: § understand the cultural context of several iconic musicals § recognize and describe influential musical and choreographic styles and identify influential works § gain deeper understanding of how the musical both reflects and shapes various identities and their voices in American culture – including gender, race, ethnicity, and class – and how these categories have shifted over time § learn about the interpretation and assessment of ideas, through an evaluation of primary and secondary sources § strengthen research and writing skills, and understand how in-depth historical research can enrich our appreciation of artistic works SIGNATURE COURSE ESSENTIALS: Information Literacy: Many of the shorter writing assignments will be devoted to the nuts and bolts of research. We will spend time in class learning about library resources, discussing how to evaluate primary and secondary sources, and learning how to cite them in a research paper. University GEM: Students will visit the Harry Ransom Center to see archival documents related to the West Side Story film adaptation (from the Ernest Lehman Collection). Additionally, we will attend the touring production of Rent at Texas Performing Arts. Writing: Writing is a substantial component of the course, including one review paper, one research paper, and shorter response papers. Over the course of the semester, we will discuss the importance of written communication, as well as what makes effective writing, and experiment with writing for different formats and audiences. Oral Communication: The Multimedia Audio/Video song analysis podcast assignment will be developed in pairs. This assignment will give students the opportunity to practice presentation skills as well as gain experience with media. Additionally, student discussion will occur regularly, both during lecture and in discussion sessions. University Lecture Series: In lieu of the University Lecture Series, students are required to attend one of the two lectures at the Butler School of Music listed on the syllabus (Elizabeth Craft on 10/23 and Raymond Knapp on 12/8) and write a brief response paper on the lecture attended. 2 COURSE MATERIALS: Readings: Most readings are available as PDFs under “Files” on Canvas; other readings are available online. Please print them out so you can take notes on them while you read, read them in advance of class, and bring them with you to lecture and section. Viewing/Listening Assignments: In order to get the most out of lecture and to fully participate in class discussion, you are required to complete all viewing/listening assignments BEFORE coming to class. You may complete the assigned viewing in any of the following ways: § Attend the scheduled screening in the Fine Arts Library § View the DVD on reserve at the Fine Arts Library § Many (but not all) of the required films are available to stream for rent or purchase on Amazon or iTunes. § You are also always welcome to purchase the DVDs. Regardless of how you watch, please make sure that your viewing experience is a focused one. Listen on headphones or good speakers (not laptop speakers), and try to watch on as big a screen as possible. Viewing is always more fun with friends, so if you cannot attend the scheduled screenings, consider planning your own smaller screening on your own time! Listening assignments are available on Spotify and/or YouTube. You can find a link to the Spotify playlist under “Pages” on the course’s Canvas page. Additional Materials: I will use Canvas to post slides, handouts, assignments, and assignment prompts. Please check the site regularly. ASSIGNMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS: Grade breakdown: 15% Attendance and Class Participation in Lecture and Section 20% Short Response Papers and Listening Quizzes 10% Multimedia Audio/Video Project (song analysis) 15% Paper 1: Review of Rent (1000 words) 20% Paper 2: Research Paper (1500 words) 10% Midterm Exam 10% Final Exam (Take-Home) A=94-100 B=83-86 C=73-76 F=59 and below A-=90-93 B-=80-82 C-=70-72 B+=87-89 C+=77-79 D=60-69 3 Attendance and Participation: You are expected to attend all classes (both lecture and section), complete all reading, listening, and viewing assigned before each class, and participate in class discussion. You will be allowed TWO unexcused absences, and after that, your attendance grade will be negatively affected. There may be occasional in-class short writing assignments, which will be factored into your participation grade. No make-up in-class assignments will be accepted. We will work in class on many of the details pertaining to the larger assignments; therefore, it is crucial to your success in the course that you make attendance a priority. Short Response Papers and Listening Quizzes: There will be several brief (~1 page single-spaced) response papers due over the course of the semester. The response papers are intended to help you dig deeper into the course topics, give you a chance to practice your writing regularly throughout the semester, and help prepare you for the midterm and final. Response papers must be printed out and handed in at the beginning of class on the day they are due. Unless you have an excused absence, no late assignments will be accepted. (Any response papers missed for an excused absence may be given an extension of up to one week, at my discretion, if I am notified in advance of the absence.) Response papers will be graded on a scale of check, check minus, or zero. There will also be several short quizzes during section over the course of the semester. The quizzes are intended to keep you up to date on your reading and listening. For each excerpt, you will be asked to identify the composer/lyricist, the musical from which the excerpt came, and the date (within 3 years), as well as to complete short answer prompts about key concepts from the assigned listening and reading. Quizzes will only cover material covered in class since the previous quiz. There are no make-up quizzes, but I will drop your lowest quiz grade. Multimedia Audio/Video Project: due Friday, 9/29 (5pm): During the first few weeks of class, we will examine numerous examples of how musicals reflect or comment on the political landscape of the United States. This assignment is an opportunity for you to build creatively upon these observations. Working in pairs, each of you will take part in producing a five-minute audio or video presentation of any single song from the musicals covered so far; choose a song that has not been discussed in depth in lecture or section. Each project should at a minimum contextualize the song under consideration, offer specific analysis of the music and lyrics, and discuss selected readings as they pertain to the issues that the song raises for you. Regardless of the creative direction taken by your multi-media project, the content is of the utmost importance. Write out a script and edit your prose vigorously. But this is also a chance to let your creative impulses shine through! More details will be provided closer to the due date. 4 Written Assignments: Paper 1: Review of Rent (1000 words): due Friday, 10/27 (5pm) By this point in the semester we have seen how opening-night reviews can shape our understanding of a new musical and its reception. The priorities (dramatic, musical, social, political, etc.) of each critic emerge amidst descriptive language conveying their experience of the show. Although reviews from the New York Times tend to dominate musical theater discourse, valuable insight also comes from the observations of those writing for less prominent publications.
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