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Rock Music and Representation: The Roles of Rock Culture AMS 311s // Unique No. 30518 Fall 2019 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.
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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 10/4): 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 11/1): This assignment asks you to put yourself into the shoes of a rock critic by evaluating an album of personal and/or 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 11/25) 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 to the class on your research, given during the final full week 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 Monday, December 2.
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. Any references to other people’s intellectual work must be cited properly to avoid committing plagiarism. If you have questions about proper citation methods or what constitutes plagiarism, please ask me. Students who commit plagiarism on their written assignments are subject to immediate failure of the class, in addition to the policies of the University.
University Resources: Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL): https://besafe.utexas.edu/behavior-concerns-advice- line Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC): https://cmhc.utexas.edu/ Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC): https://diversity.utexas.edu/genderandsexuality/ Multicultural Engagement Center (MEC): https://diversity.utexas.edu/multiculturalengagement/ Office of the Student Ombuds: https://ombuds.utexas.edu/student Page 5
Sanger Learning Center: https://ugs.utexas.edu/slc Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD): https://diversity.utexas.edu/disability/accommodations-and-services/ Student Emergency Services (SES): http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/emergency/ University Health Services (UHS): https://healthyhorns.utexas.edu/ University Writing Center (UWC): http://uwc.utexas.edu/
Accommodation: Any student with a documented disability who requires academic accommodations should contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at (512) 471-6259 (voice) or 512-410-6642 (video phone) as soon as possible to request an official letter outlining authorized accommodations. Please submit this official letter to me within the first two weeks of class. For more information regarding SSD and accommodations, please visit: https://diversity.utexas.edu/disability/accommodations-and-services/
Title IX: “The University of Texas at Austin is committed to maintaining learning and working environments that are free from discriminatory conduct based on gender. As required by Title IX, the University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in its education or employment programs and activities, and it encourages any student or non-student who thinks that he or she has been subjected to sex discrimination, sexual harassment (including sexual violence), or sexual misconduct by another student, member of the faculty or staff, or campus visitor or contractor, to immediately report the incident to any of the individuals or offices listed below.” (https://equity.utexas.edu/policies/title-ix/) Your instructors (including myself) are mandatory reporters, meaning we must report to the Title IX office anything you share with us along these lines.
Civility Code: This is a seminar course, so I encourage you to be critical, curious, and to share your opinions and experiences in class. Most importantly, I ask you to be respectful of others’ opinions and experiences. I hope that you’re in this course because you like rock, or because you are excited to learn about rock music and culture. So be enthusiastic! But always remember that each of us relates to course material differently. Treat your peers, and me, accordingly. Threats or insults will not be tolerated. Finally, in accordance with UT policy, please ask me about my policy regarding armaments in my office.
In Summary: Do the assigned readings, come to class, contribute to in-class discussion, take good notes, respect your peers, visit me in office hours, ask for help if you need it, try your best on assignments, and be curious! I look forward to working with you throughout the semester and hope you will join me in making our classroom a collaborative learning environment for all.
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Class Schedule Readings due in class on date listed. This schedule is subject to change as needed.
Week 1 – Getting Started
Wednesday, August 28 § What is rock music? What is rock culture? Why should we care about representation in rock?
Friday, August 30 § Read: “Introduction: Power Chords and Groupie Chicks” and “Chapter 1: Not Just Music: Studying Rock Culture,” from Gender and Rock (Mary Celeste Kearney, 2017)
Unit 1 Performing Rock, Performing Identity
Week 2 – Genre and its Discontents
Monday, September 2—No Class // Labor Day Holiday
Wednesday, September 4 § Read: “Chapter 3: Roll Over Beethoven: Rock’s Discursive and Ideological Roots” and “Chapter 5: Rock ‘n’ Roll Explodes: Rock Genres,” from Gender and Rock (Mary Celeste Kearney, 2017) § *Due in class: Syllabus Agreement (see last page of syllabus)*
Friday, September 6 § Read: “Reclaiming the Right to Rock,” from Right to Rock: The Black Rock Coalition and the Politics of Race (Maureen Mahon, 2004)
Week 3 – Music Videos
Monday, September 9 § Read: “Chapter 12: On-Screen: Rock Music Videos,” from Gender and Rock (Mary Celeste Kearney, 2017)
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Wednesday, September 11 § Read: “Forging Masculinity: Heavy Metal Sounds and Images of Gender,” from Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music (Robert Walser, 1993).
Friday, September 13 § Read: “Monster Metaphors: Notes on Michael Jackson’s Thriller,” from Welcome to the Jungle: New Positions in Black Cultural Studies (Kobena Mercer, 1994). § *Due before class: Week 3 Playlist Submission*
Week 4 – Guitar Gods and Other Rock Roles
Monday, September 16 § Read: “Chapter 6: In the Band: Rock Musician Roles and Training” and “Chapter 7: Gearing Up: Rock Technology” from Gender and Rock (Mary Celeste Kearney, 2017)
Wednesday, September 18 § Read: “Heavy Music: Cock Rock, Colonialism, and Led Zeppelin,” in Instruments of Desire: The Electric Guitar and the Shaping of Musical Experience (Steve Waksman, 1999)
Friday, September 20 § Read: “Women and the Electric Guitar” in Sexing the Groove: Popular Music and Gender, ed. Sheila Whiteley, 1997 (Mavis Bayton, 1997) § *Due before class: Week 4 Playlist Submission*
Week 5 – Sounds, Lyrics, and Voices
Monday, September 23 § Read: “Chapter 9: Up to Eleven: Rock Sounds” and “Chapter 10: Wordcraft: Rock Lyrics” from Gender and Rock (Mary Celeste Kearney, 2017)
Wednesday, September 25 § Read: “Rock’s Reconquista,” from Audiotopia: Music, Race, and America (Josh Kun, 2005)
Friday, September 27 § Watch: Twenty Feet from Stardom (Dir. Morgan Neville, 2013) § *Due Before Class: Week 5 Playlist Submission*
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Week 6 – Genre and Its Discontents, Part 2: Understanding Rockism
Monday, September 30 § Read: “The Rap Against Rockism,” The New York Times (Kelefa Sanneh, October 31, 2004)
Wednesday, October 2 § Read: “In Defense of Disco,” in Out in Culture: Gay, Lesbian, and Queer Essays on Popular Culture, eds. Corey Creekmur and Alexander Doty, 1995 (Richard Dyer, 1979) § Listen: “July 12, 1979: ‘The Night Disco Died’ – Or Didn’t,” NPR (2016), https://www.npr.org/2016/07/16/485873750/july-12-1979-the-night-disco-died-or- didnt
Friday, October 4 § Watch: A Star is Born (Dir. Bradley Cooper, 2018) § Read: “Eclipsing Fame: ‘A Star is Born’ Treats Pop Music as a Telltale Sign of Selling Out,” Bitch Media (Cate Young, October 5, 2018), https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/a-star- is-born-faux-dichotomy § *Due in class: Music Video Analysis*
Unit 2 Evaluating Rock: Writers, Critics, and Other Commentators
Week 7 – Albums and Rock’s Material Culture
Monday, October 7 § Read: “Chapter 11: On the Cover: Rock Print Images” from Gender and Rock (Mary Celeste Kearney, 2017)
Wednesday, October 9 § Read: “Sizing Up Record Collections: Gender and Connoisseurship in Rock Music Culture,” in Sexing the Groove: Popular Music and Gender, ed. Sheila Whiteley, 1997 (Will Straw, 1997)
Friday, October 11 § Read: “Weave My Disgust Into Fame: Liz Phair’s Girly-Sound to Guyville, reviewed,” Slate (Carl Wilson, 2018), https://slate.com/culture/2018/05/liz-phairs-girly-sound-to- guyville-reviewed.html § *Due Before Class: Week 7 Playlist Submission*
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Week 8 – The Roles of Rock Critics
Monday, October 14 § Read: “Chapter 13: Teenyboppers and Headbangers: Rock Consumers and Fandom,” and “Chapter 14: Evaluation and Interpretation: Rock Criticism,” from Gender and Rock (Mary Celeste Kearney, 2017)
Wednesday, October 16 § Read: “Chapter 2: Women Rockers on the Printed Page,” from Electric Ladyland: Women and Rock Culture (Lisa Rhodes, 2005) § Read: “Why We Can’t Forget Meg White – And the Sexist Way We Talked About Her,” Watt (Kayleigh Hughes, 2006), https://watt.cashmusic.org/writing/whywecantforgetmegwhite
Friday, October 18 § Read: “Feminist Rock: No More Balls and Chains,” Ms. magazine (Naomi Weisstein and Virginia Blaisdell, 1972) § *Due before class: Week 8 Playlist Submission*
Week 9 – Getting Personal: Music and Identity
Monday, October 21 § Read: Selections from Out of the Vinyl Deeps: Ellen Willis on Rock Music, ed. Nona Willis- Aronowitz (Ellen Willis, 2011)
Wednesday, October 23 § Read: Excerpts from Grace (Daphne Brooks, 2005)
Friday, October 25 § Listen: “Join the Black Parade: My Chemical Romance and the Politics of Taste,” NPR (Daoud Tyler-Ameen, October 21, 2016) https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2016/10/21/498852294/join-the-black- parade-my-chemical-romance-and-the-politics-of-taste § *Due before class: Week 9 Playlist Submission*
Week 10 – Class, Labor, and the Cultural Work of Songs
Monday, October 28 § Read: “Dead Man’s Town: ‘Born in the U.S.A.,’ Social History, and Working Class Identity,” American Quarterly 58.2 (Jefferson Cowie and Lauren Boehm, June 2007)
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Wednesday, October 30 § Read: “Is It Worth It To Work It?” NPR (Ann Powers, May 8, 2014), https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2014/05/08/310703564/is-it-worth-it-to- work-it § Read: “Songs We Love: Alice Bag, ‘77’” NPR (Stefanie Fernández, February 27, 2018), https://www.npr.org/2018/02/27/588247674/songs-we-love-alice-bag-77
Friday, November 1 § In-class: Album Review Workshop § *Due in class: Album Review*
Unit 3 Historicizing Rock and its Players
Week 11 – Lost Legacies
Monday, November 4 § Read: Excerpts from Kika Kila: How the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Changed the Sound of Modern Music (John W. Troutman, 2016).
Wednesday, November 6—Guest Instructor // Kate at ASA Annual Meeting § Watch in class: RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked The World (Dir. Catherine Bainbridge, 2017)
Friday, November 8—Guest Instructor // Kate at ASA Annual Meeting § Continue in class: RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked The World (Dir. Catherine Bainbridge, 2017)
Week 12 – Creating & Remembering Icons
Monday, November 11 § Read: “Rosetta Tharpe and Feminist ‘Un-Forgetting,’” Journal of Women’s History 21.4 (Gayle Wald, 2009). § Read: Excerpts from Shout, Sister Shout!: The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Gayle Wald, 2007).
Wednesday, November 13 § Read: Excerpts from Why Karen Carpenter Matters (Karen Tongson, 2019)
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Friday, November 15 § Read: “There Are Not Enough Women in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” Lenny Letter (Courtney E. Smith, April 27, 2016), https://www.lennyletter.com/story/there-are-not- enough-women-in-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame § Read: “A New Canon: In Pop Music, Women Belong at the Center of the Story,” NPR (Ann Powers, July 24, 2017), https://www.npr.org/2017/07/24/538601651/a-new- canon-in-pop-music-women-belong-at-the-center-of-the-story § *Due before class: Week 12 Playlist Submission*
Week 13 – Memoir
Monday, November 18 § Read: Excerpts from Violence Girl: East L.A. Rage to Hollywood Stage, A Chicana Punk Story (Alice Bag, 2011)
Wednesday, November 20 § Read: Excerpts from Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl (Carrie Brownstein, 2015)
Friday, November 22 § Read: Excerpts from Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock’s Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout (Laura Jane Grace, 2016) § *Due before class: Week 13 Playlist Submission*
Week 14 – Research Plans
Monday, November 25 § In class: Research Plan Workshop § *Due in class: Abstract*
Wednesday, November 27—No Class // Thanksgiving Holiday
Friday, November 29—No Class // Thanksgiving Holiday
Week 15 – Research Presentations
Monday, December 2 § In class: Group 1 presentations § *Due in class: Revisions*
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Wednesday, December 4 § In class: Group 2 presentations
Friday, December 6 § In class: Group 3 presentations
Week 16 – The End
Monday, December 9 § In class: Final wrap-up § *Due before class: Final Playlist Submission*
*Due Date TBA: Final Paper*
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AMS 311s: Rock Music & Representation Fall 2019 Syllabus Agreement
I, ______(print name), confirm that I have read through the syllabus and understand what is required of me in class this semester. Should I have questions regarding the class schedule, assignments, or class policies, I will address them to Kate in a timely manner.
Signature: ______
Date: ______