1 Salsa: Latino Diaspora, Music Industry, and Dance Leopoldo Tablante, PhD Office: BO 306 Office Hours: MWF 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm. (appointments recommended) E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (504) 865-3845 Course Description Salsa: Latino Diaspora, Music Industry, and Dance examines Salsa from an academic standpoint as a musical form and a commercial concept, as well as an urban cultural product that has evolved especially within the Puerto Rican community of New York City. The study of Salsa Music will be useful in explaining the connections between society and culture, enabling students to grasp the logic through which the recording industry interprets collective sensibilities and histories. Requirements Students are required to attend class not only to listen to the professor lecture, or to the music that will be our subject, but as critical thinkers. In this sense, you are responsible for conducting research in order to make informed opinions about the content and implications of the pieces of music we will be analyzing. In this class, music is the pretext to undertake research involving several disciplines: sociology, anthropology, ethnography, media economics, and cultural studies. The idea is to understand the importance of Latino Caribbean musical sources in the enrichment of American music as a whole and in the development of the show business and recording industry. 2 Course Outcomes - To grasp the sensibility corresponding to a relatively large repertoire of Afro-Latino popular music highlighting the historical, social, and cultural processes it implies; - To clarify the functions of one part of the cultural industries, the recording industry, in order to standardize the production, promotion, and distribution of cultural goods; - To understand Salsa’s contents as a representation of a Latino urban lifestyle and of a Latino interpretation of modernity; - To examine the global network of cultural industries through the challenges implied in Salsa conception, production, promotion, and distribution. Assessment and Grading → Class Attendance and Participation. There will be 42 classes. You may miss four (4) without penalty, but only two (2) before the mid semester. For every absence, you will receive a zero (0) for class participation. Each time you come unprepared, you will receive a zero (0) for class participation. Class participation implies having read the material (please, print them from Blackboard) as well as the exercises, exams, or quizzes presented in class. The professor will often propose a question for you to reflect and write about before beginning a discussion. Exercises requiring your presence in the classroom will be worth 30% of your final grade. → Presentation. Throughout the semester you will do, in groups of three persons, up to three (3) presentations about songs in our repertoire. These songs may be proposed by the professor or by yourselves. You will have to defend your selection relying on some basic information: 1) genre, 2) date of releasing, 3) biography of the recording artist, 4) record label, 5) aesthetic characteristics, 6) symbolic elements both in lyrics and music, 7) main audience, 8) critiques (if available), 9) statistics about its commercial performance (if available), and 10) historical value. YOUR CHOSEN SONG WILL BE THE STARTING POINT TO DISCUSS THE STATE OF THE SOCIETY RECEIVING IT WHEN IT WAS A FASHIONABLE PRODUCT. You can use any media available to support your statements. The purpose of these presentations is to motivate discussion and exchanges in the classroom. Presentations will be worth 25% of your final grade. → Essay Papers. You will turn in four (4) papers, three partial ones of four (4) pages each and a final one of up to twelve (12) pages. On Monday 01/20, you will have to submit a proposal of the theme you will be working on during the semester. This proposal must be presented formally in a document stating 1) why you are choosing that theme, 2) what specific aspects you want to cover, and 3) what the outcomes of your research will be. 3 Each partial paper must cover one specific aspect of the general topic you will be working on during the semester. If you decide to work on Tito Puente’s big band format during the 1950s and 1960s as a key factor of his commercial success, you are required to develop three different parts. For example: 1) Tito Puente’s biography and cultural identity, 2) Musical influences and familiarity with the American popular music of the swing era, and 3) conception of a commercial hybrid style combining traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms and American ballroom arrangements. Your final project will combine the previous three papers in an organic one including introduction and conclusions. In the introduction you will expose and justify your outline; in the conclusion you will highlight your major findings establishing logical associations between them. Each partial paper will be worth 10% of your final grade. The final paper will be worth 15% of your final grade. 4 Grading Criteria for Final Papers a. Title (10 1. Excellent to very good: It conveys clearly and succinctly the 10 points) subject of the essay; 2. Good to average: Although it presents the problem the essay 6-9 deals with, it fails to address a specific problem; 3. Fair to poor: The title is too broad. It does not give the reader a 2-5 precise idea of the essay´s argument nor helps to anticipate the intellectual perspective chosen by author. 4. Very Poor: The title is too general or vague. 1 b. 1. Excellent to very good: Presents precisely and succinctly the 20 Introduction problem chosen and explains the topical outline; (20 points) 2. Good to average: Presents the problem chosen by the author but 14-19 it fails to precisely establish the topical outline; 3. Fair to poor: The introduction is merely a section throughout 7-13 which the author refers to her/his theme in general terms; 4. Very Poor: The introduction seems to be merely a formal 1-6 requisite in the document. c. Body of 1. Excellent to very good: The author defines and contextualizes the 37-40 the Essay issue. Ideas are clearly expressed, with pertinent theoretical (40 points) references cited formally (MLA protocol). Logical transitions between the different sections of the essay are utilized; 2. Good to average: The author defines and contextualizes the 25-36 argument but fails in supporting her/his statements with the appropriate documented references or does not cite them properly. Although the ideas are presented clearly enough, the logical transition between the different parts of the essay are not explicit; 3. Fair to poor: The author’s statements are merely impressionistic. 15-24 There are conceptual gaps from one section to another; 4. Very Poor: The essay is a reunion of scattered or isolated 1-14 impressionistic considerations. The lack of logical connection between each part conveys to the reader the idea that the essay does not have a goal. d. 1. Excellent to very good: By means of a brief recapitulation, the 20 Conclusion author explains the implicit logic of the subject, associates it with (20 points) more complex processes, or presents a new research problem; 2. Good to average: The author recapitulates the material without 14-19 establishing further associations; 3. Fair to poor: The author repeats statements coming from the 7-13 body of the essay; 4. Very Poor: The conclusion is just a text written with the goal of 1-6 filling a formality but without any useful function. e. List of 1. Acceptable: The references match those cited throughout the 6-10 References essay and are listed using MLA format; (10 points) 2. Unacceptable: The references do not match those cited 1-5 throughout the essay and do not fit the MLA format. 5 Notice about the Assignments and Readings YOU ARE REQUIRED TO CHECK BLACKBOARD PERIODICALLY AND CONSULT THE ANNOUNCEMENTS. CHANGES MIGHT OCCUR DEPENDING ON CLASS DISCUSSIONS. NEW READINGS, NOT POSTED IN THE PRESENT SYLLABUS, MAY BE ADDED. Late Work Any assignment that is submitted late will incur a grade reduction for each day it is late. The definition of “late work” is any work that is received after midnight on the date it is due. (For example, if a paper with a grade of a B+ is submitted two days late, then the resulting grade will be a B-). Final Grade Breakdown 1. Class Attendance and Participation 30% 2. Presentations 25% 3. Three (3) partial papers 30% 4. Final paper 15% Total 100% Texts All readings will be posted on Blackboard. 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+ 60-66 D 59 or below F If you do not turn in your work, you will not get an F. You will get a zero (0). Note on Cheating and Plagiarism Cheating in any form, including plagiarism (the uncited use of direct quotes, paraphrasing, and reworking of an author’s work) is strictly prohibited. Any offense will be reported to the Dean’s office and you will receive a failing grade for the assignment that you cheated on. Parenthetical citations (American Sociological 6 Association format) are the accepted form for citations in this course [for ex.: (Feagin 2001:45)]; see http://www.calstatela.edu/library/bi/rsalina/asa.styleguide.html. Film Screenings Each film forming part of our selection will be available on Blackboard at least two days before our discussion session. It will be possible to stream them during a whole week. It is your responsibility to watch these films in order to be able to participate in class.