The Influence of David Bowie in Other Artists' Conceptualizations. an Elective Workshop for Freshmen Students
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Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso Instituto de Literatura y Ciencias del Lenguaje The influence of David Bowie in other artists’ conceptualizations. An elective workshop for freshmen students TRABAJO DE TITULACIÓN Para optar al grado de Licenciado en Educación y al Título de Profesor de Inglés Alumna: Josefa Jaramillo Geeregat Profesor: Ricardo Benitez Figari Segundo semestre 2016 1 INTRODUCTION Every language is part of a culture, so in language teaching, it is highly important to emphasize that there is more to learn than just the language itself; instead, every cultural aspect of each culture plays a role when teaching someone how to communicate in a foreign language. There is a context that must be understood by the learners in order for them to communicate accurately in another language: the culture alongside the language. As cited by Moran (2001), “Culture is viewed as civilization, the great achievements of a people as reflected in their history, social, institutions, works of art, architecture, music and literature -- commonly referred to as “big C” culture. Culture is also referred to as the customs, traditions, or practices that people carry out as part of their everyday lives -- “small c” culture” (Halverson, 1985). Culture is more than a language. It involves history, groups of people, art, relationships, and ways of living, among others. And it becomes quite relevant when the focus is to teach a language, as there are many factors that make the language the way it is and that make the language be used in a certain way. In order to explain what culture is, a possible approach can be made between one’s own culture and another one by explaining their similarities and differences. Brown (1991) mentions that culture can be examined in biological or psychological matters, 2 and Moran (2001:5), regarding this view, says that “many aspects are seen as universal to all members of humankind; derived from the nature and functions of the human brain. These universals as in language, music, or in the universal facial expressions associated with emotions are the shared basis of communication across cultures.” Taking this into consideration, it can be said that talking about something that is universal and reaches most people, could be a bridge that links language and knowledge, as feelings and emotions are part of what makes us interested in something. Following this idea, if students feel a connection to a certain topic, and there is interest in knowing more, it would bring motivation to participate in the activities they are part of during a workshop. Following the same reasoning, a possible approach to teaching students about a particular topic is to begin with something that evokes feelings and emotions, something that goes beyond cultures despite its origins, and one of the things that fulfill those requirements is a topic related to an influential musician. The present graduation project consists of a pedagogical proposal that develops an elective workshop in which students can learn about the English culture and language through a topic that covers not only the history of the iconic British artist David Bowie, but also about his influence in other artists’ conceptualizations. The objective of this workshop is that 3 students can distinguish the influence of David Bowie in different aspects of culture. Culture through icons Culture, as explained by Moran (2001), is built by different communities, or small groups of people that share beliefs, interests, etc. And it can -at the same time- influence people from other communities and can invite them to share and to be part of their groups. Artists have a community that often transcends aspects such as time and place, as art remains in the memory of society and can be appreciated by different generations. Also, artists invite people from all over the world to enjoy their work and to share it. In the music sphere, many musicians have achieved the ultimate goal they yearn for: to become influential in other artists, as well as to move the audience and to make them feel identified with their music. In other words, to become an icon. The influence that some icons have had in cultural aspects has been enormous; they can clearly have an effect on people’s ideas and behavior, all of these produced by the artistic proposal that artists have brought forward during their careers. In this workshop students will be able to understand how an iconic musician such as David Bowie was able to transcend 4 through generations of people and artists not only in the UK, but all over the world. For example, as Time magazine states in its article “4 Ways David Bowie Influenced Musicians Today”, there are notorious influences of Bowie’s conceptualizations of androgyny and sexuality, ever-changing image, theatricality, and sci-fi spirit in the pop star Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert, St. Vincent and Janelle Monáe. Also, Andre Trendell and Ashley Clement mentioned in Gigwise, a British online music news site, in its article “RIP David Bowie” other 29 artists who were influenced not only in musical aspects, but also in the conceptualizations of the artist, and described Bowie as “A master of all forms, his music and attitude broke barriers, set the agenda and both defined and defied genres. So much of the musical landscape looks as it does because of him, and pop would not be the same if it weren’t for The Thin White Duke. It stands to reason that he influenced and inspired countless artists.” In terms of cultural aspects, not only is his influence as an artist worth teaching, but also his life and way to live, as mentioned in The Independent “David Bowie was the most influential British pop artist ever and personified our culture throughout his life”, so it can be said that there is more for students to learn about British culture in David Bowie than just about his alter egos and musical influence, instead, there are cultural aspects of the British culture in his history and behavior. 5 There are certainly many aspects in which David Bowie also influenced and impregnated his new concepts and ideas in his audience. Topics like sexuality and being different were remarkably addressed during his career. As accurately described by The Independent “He was weird, and weird was good. He constantly experimented with identities and made it all right for teenagers to experiment too. Partly because of him, young people found they could be liberated as much by being different as by being part of the group. His fans often discovered his music as an intensely personal experience but knew, as he put it in “Rock’n’roll Suicide”, that they were “not alone.” His influence again, is not only restrained to his music, or the way he lived his life, but also in the way he managed to persuade the audience with his lyrics and to make a change in people’s life and ways of thinking, even in non-English-speaking countries where people still perceive his music as meaningful, and in countries where the cultural differences with Bowie’s culture are significant, he has had the opportunity to influence people. David Bowie was such an influential artist that has had an impact not only on other musicians, but also on artists in general: painters, actors, among others, who have said that their musical styles or sources of inspiration come from David Bowie; therefore, his relevance for cultural matters is worth being taught, especially for people who are learning a different culture and language. Bowie’s lyrics and artistic proposals can 6 reflect much about what people in different decades have lived and experienced. The objective of this workshop is that students can learn about the characteristics of a musical icon, the relevance of an artist through different generations of people around the world and the influences of a musical icon in cultural features such as the musical scene. This workshop has been designed for freshmen students because among the contents they cover at this school grade, there is a unit called “Music and Literature” in which the objective is for them to learn about different musical and literary genres, to learn about iconic pieces of art, musicians and books, as well as to assess and appreciate the value of music and literature and to develop respect for the role of music and literature as a means of communication. The text book “Teens Club” provided by the MINEDUC contains four units, but it must be mentioned that not all of the contents of the book are aligned with the contents in the “Planes y Programas”; therefore, the ministry of education plans and programs for this school grade differ mostly in terms of topics with the books provided to schools. Freshmen students are likely to get interested in topics related to art, and particularly music, so it is an engaging workshop in which they will be able to work on their communicative skills through the realization of several activities; to be aware of 7 the influence iconic musicians can have in cultural aspects; and to understand the importance of learning about a culture in order to learn about a language. As the Chilean curricula for the subject of English covers topics of art and music superficially, this workshop is a great opportunity for freshmen students to incorporate new concepts related to the topic of music and icons by learning about an iconic member of the artistic world. The Syllabus For this workshop, the most suitable type of syllabus is a content-based syllabus, for two reasons: students learn the language through the learning of the subject and that learners can understand and value the culture behind the language, which is the main focus of this graduation project.