MUSIC 162 A Su'24

Course Description

Welcome to Music 162: American Popular Song! The purpose of this online survey course is to familiarize you with the history and sounds of “American” popular song, with a focus on the United States. The course will emphasize the period starting from the early twentieth century until the present day.

You will develop listening skills to enhance your appreciation and understanding of allmusic, not just   popular music. These skills will enable you to become a more sophisticated and critical listener to—    and a more savvy consumer of—popular music. Equally important are the insights into U.S. American history, culture, and society that will emerge from this survey.

There are no specific prerequisites for this course, and you do not need previous musical training to learn how to listen critically to music or to understand basic elements of musical form and style.

Required Text and Materials

Garofalo/Waksman Rockin’ Out: Popular Music in the U.S.A., Updated Sixth Edition (Boston: Pearson, 2017.)

Please note that your textbook is only available only as an eBook/digital access book, unless you request a hard copy directly from the publisher. The textbook is available through the UW Bookstore

here: https://www.ubookstore.com/Revel-T-A-Rockin-Out-6E-17 (https://www.ubookstore.com/Revel-T-A-Rockin-Out-6E-17) .

After obtaining the code to rent or purchase the digital textbook, you will be able to redeem your code and access your textbook through the “Pearson Revel” tab on our Canvas site. You will be required to create a free Pearson account to redeem your code and access the textbook.

Also note that library copies, older editions, and used copies of the textbook that have been altered  may not align with the most recent edition (though, there is little difference between the sixth edition and the updated sixth edition other than the digital format of the latter). Online exams are open-book, so having access to the current edition of the textbook is critical for your success in this course!

All other reading material and listening material will be available on Canvas or through the library. We will also be utilizing Spotify playlists for listening examples. Please note that while Spotify playlists do require an account for access, it is FREE to make an account. (Trust us, we share your distaste for having to create all these accounts, but at least they’re free). Spotify can be used on a computer or  mobile device.

It is essential to use all of the many available resources to succeed in this course, both for enriching learning outcomes, and in order to earn a good grade in this course.

Work load and the online format

Music 162 has been administered online for several years now. The online course will thus require a   greater degree of responsibility and independence from you than an “in-person” course. Keep in mind that the “in-person” version of this 5-unit course meets for five hours each week during regular, 10-week quarters in the academic year, with additional expectations of out-of-class-time reading, listening, viewing,and studying. Thus, while it is an introductory course, there is a significant expectation for the amount of independent work time. Moreover, given that the course has been condensed from its normal 10-week structure, you should budget a significant amount of time to keep up with the materials in the summer course.

This is a reading-intensive course—you can expect to be reading several chapters of your textbook each week, with occasional additional materials for assignments. Simply reviewing material on the website will not suffice as a method to succeed on your exams. Please also be in the habit of reading ALL e-mails from your instructors (delivered to your UW account once a week). This includes reading the entire syllabus.

Course Tasks

Tasks will include the following:

· Regularly reading the textbook and any additional assigned readings.

· Regularly viewing required weekly Panopto lectures for each unit (available on Canvas now)

· Critically listening to the musical examples provided on the course website and Spotify. This

requires listening multiple times to each song as you study and review the course material.

· Completing two introductory assignments, including a “Getting to Know Each Other” discussion assignment and taking the AIA quiz (see below for details).

· Completing two discussion-based assignments, based on your responses to readings/videos from a list selected by your instructors (see below for details).

· Taking four quizzes.  These quizzes are untimed

· Taking two scheduled exams. Combined, the exams account for almost 2/3 of your final grade.

Assignment Descriptions

Introductory activities

Getting to Know Each Other Discussion Thread (5 points)

During the first week of the course, you will be asked to upload a brief bio to the “Getting to Know Each Other” discussion thread and to add a picture to your Canvas profile.  Since most of our interactions will be via the Canvas site, we ask you to take this opportunity to introduce yourselves to each other and your instructors to make our online interactions more personable.

Academic Integrity Expectations (AIE) and Syllabus Quiz (5 points)

During the first few days of the course, you will complete a short quiz on the “Academic Integrity Expectations” (AIE). The AIE (see section above for the full text) is our way of making sure that we have clearly outlined what is expected of our students from the beginning of the quarter. You are encouraged to contact one of your instructors if you have any questions about the AIE or AIE quiz. This quiz is untimed and you will get 3 attempts to take it; therefore, this should be an easy 5 points for everyone. Everyone should be able to get a perfect score on the AIE quiz: it is open note and you are allowed to take the quiz up to 3 times if you do not get a perfect score on the first try.

Exams and Review Sessions

There will be two exams (a Midterm and a Final Exam) taken through our class Canvas website.

These exams will enable you to demonstrate your understanding of basic musical concepts and of the historical development of American popular music; and to identify essential elements of musical style and form in listening examples (chosen from the course materials) presented in the exams.

Exams are open-book and open-note, however, you must take the exams on your own and you may not consult any other materials except those listed here. (It is easy for us to see which tests were taken together and if they contain the exact same answers. This rarely occurs unless cheating/collaboration is taking place.)

Each exam will consist of 50 multiple-choice questions (with a maximum score is 100 points total for both exams) and they will be available on our Canvas website for a 48-hour period. You will have 90 minutes to complete each exam. Please take a moment to mark these times in your calendar so you can plan blocks of time where you can take your exams without disruption. Once you begin your exam, you must complete it in the time allotted.

· Midterm: Covers Units 1–5. It opens on Tuesday, July 2nd at 12:00 am and closes on Wednesday, July 3rd at 11:59 PM. You will have 90 minutes to complete the exam once started. A Midterm study guide will be posted online by Friday, June 28th.

· Final Exam: Covers Units 6–10. It will open on Tuesday, July 16th at 12:00 am and close on Wednesday, July 17th at 11:59 PM. You will have 90 minutes to complete the exam once started. A study guide will be posted online by Friday, July 12th.

Assignments 1 and 2 (10 points each, or 20 points total)

As a part of this course, you will have to complete two discussion-based assignments. Assignment 1 concerns Units 1–5, and Assignment 2 concerns Units 6-10. The assignments are designed to get you to think about the material in ways that go beyond the textbook, and they encourage you to interact with your classmates directly.

Quizzes (5 points each, for a total of 20 points)

There are four quizzes for this course based on the textbook readings, which are untimed, and allow only one attempt. All four quizzes will be open at the start of the quarter.

Important Dates

· NOTE: Unless otherwise stated, all times are in Pacific Standard Time (PST).

· NOTE: U.S. Independence Day is a University Holiday and will be observed on Tuesday, July 4. There will be no class requirements on thisday.

· NOTE: Juneteenth is a University Holiday and will be observed on Wednesday, June 19th. There will be no class requirements on thisday.

Instructor Support

Your instructors are advanced graduate students in ethnomusicology with years of teaching and performance experience in many genres. We have a breadth and depth of knowledge surrounding these topics and wish to augment your learning as best we are able.

The online format offers few opportunities for us to support you in your individual learning process.

We nonetheless aim to be consistent and reliable resources for you throughout the quarter. We will offer office hours via Zoom by appointment (see instructor info). We have found that this system allows us more flexibility with meeting our students’ needs.

Please send one of us an email to set up a Zoom meeting if you have any questions about the course material. If at any point you notice that you are not absorbing the material or are not performing well on assignments or exams, please contact us to set up a time to meet as soon as possible. We encourage you to be proactive about your success in this course.

Late Policy

Because everything except exams is available now, and due to the large number of students enrolled in this course, late work will not be accepted for any reason . Barring cases of extreme hardship accompanied by direct contact from the student’s academic advisor, deadlines for this class will not be extended.

If you find that you are struggling, please feel free to contact one of the instructors and discuss your situation with us. We would be happy to help you come up with a plan that works for you to help you be successful in this course.

Extra Credit

There is no extra credit offered for this course.  Please plan accordingly for the required assignments.

Grading

Your final grade will be an accumulation of points earned out of a total of 150 points. Grading is done on a percentage-based system. We do not curve or round the grades. If you are not performing well on the assignments or are struggling in your preparations for the exams, we encourage you to seek help from the instructors as soon as possible.

Final grades will be calculated based on the scale below:

Getting to Know Each Other & AIE quiz, 5 points each = 10 points

2 Assignments, 10 points each = 20 points

4 Quizzes, 5 points each = 20 points Midterm = 50 points

Final Exam = 50 points

Total: 150 points

Grade Scale

We will calculate your grades based on the following grading scale. Fractions of a percent will not be rounded up.

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