Music 344—History & Literature
II
Syllabus 2002
Elmhurst College
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Course Goals
As we face the hustle and bustle of everyday life and make elaborate plans
for our futures, history can seem distant and at times even irrelevant.
Someone once said that history is an “old man’s” pursuit, and it makes
sense that the longer we live, the more “history” we remember. But even
at a young age, a sense of history can emerge quite naturally in our lives.
Sooner or later, most of us try to understand what life was like for our
parents, aunts, uncles, or grandparents. That’s history! And we enter the
realm of music history whenever we talk about the music we loved when we
were young.
In the examples above, history arises from a natural impulse to understand
ourselves and our families, and that impulse can extend just as naturally
to our home state, our nation, our cultural heritage...even our world.
This impulse itself is as ancient as humankind. Even a brief look at ancient
cultures reveals the importance attached to the elders, shamans, or priests
who served as keepers of a people’s history—often in the form of sacred
stories and songs—a history that gave the people a sense of identity, meaning,
and strength.
In the U.S. today, most keepers of the old stories and songs have lost
their religious standing, but they retain the same teaching function they
served long ago, borne of a need to “pass the torch” to the next generation.
So it is no surprise to find these “keepers of the flame” in today’s academic
institutions, from elementary schools to the world of higher education.
And courses that require the next generation to wrestle with an understanding
of history remain a rite of passage for students in today’s world.
This wrestling remains important. Encounters with the old stories and
songs serve several important purposes:
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They broaden our knowledge of music literature, introducing many unfamiliar
and wonderful musics
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They challenge us to find new and broader understandings of the nature
of music and culture
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They permit a glimpse of the processes that govern change in music and
musical styles
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They enrich and deepen our understanding of the music we know and love
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They encourage us to find our place in the web of historical relationships
and interconnections
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The provide new ideas that can inspire new compositions or change the way
we perform music
In music history courses, the “old stories and songs” remain the
basic object of study—the “primary source” material. These materials do
not give up their secrets easily, however. We must wrestle to discover
their meanings, an often painstaking process of study and interpretation
called “making history.” Further, interpretation of primary sources is
more than a matter of opinion or speculation; it is important to “get it
right.” Thus, the scholarly method used by musicologists today borrows
aspects of the lawyer’s “rules of evidence” and of modern scientific method.
We can take nothing for granted unless the eyewitnesses and the evidence
are credible, and our ideas and interpretations (hypotheses) must be tested
by the scholarly community.
In this course, our primary sources include all musical scores
written and/or published in western nations before 1750 as well as any
historical documents (books, manuscripts, scrolls, letters, criticism,
programs, advertisements, instruments, music dictionaries, works of art,
buildings, etc.) that provide firsthand (eyewitness) information about
the music and about composers, performers, instruments, performance venues,
music education, music business, patrons, and any other aspect of music
in society. Of course, it is impossible to study all of these primary sources
in one course. Instead, we will work to acquire the basic knowledge and
tools needed for the scholarly study of music, as summarized in the course
goals listed below.
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to acquire basic research skills as you gather, evaluate, and interpret
primary sources
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to communicate your research in varied styles and media
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to study important musical styles and composers (1750 to the present)
through reading, score study, and aural analysis
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to develop listening skills needed for stylistic analysis
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to look at events and cultures that influenced musical styles and composers
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to discover how the past touches and influences the present
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to achieve these goals with enough rigor to prepare you for graduate
school entrance exams or music education certification exams
Association of College and Research Libraries Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education
Quoted from http://www.ala.org/acrl/ilstandardlo.html
The information literate student...
- determines the nature and extent of the information needed.
- accesses needed information effectively and efficiently.
- evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.
- individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
- understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally.
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Materials you will need
Required Materials:
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K Marie Stolba. The Development of Western Music: A History,
3rd edition. McGraw-Hill, 1998.
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K Marie Stolba. The Development of Western Music: An Anthology,
Vol. II, 3rd edition. McGraw-Hill, 1998.
Strongly Recommended Materials:
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CDs or Cassettes to Accompany Stolbaís The Development of Western
Music: A History, Vol. II, 3rd edition. McGraw-Hill, 1998.
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Course Requirements
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Encounters
with Music History
Eight Encounters engage you in nine clusters of activities (reading, research,
discussion, listening, score study, and other creative tasks), each centered
around a particular topic. They are graded on promptness and completeness.
If all Encounters are completed and handed in on time, you receive an A+
for 27% of your final grade. Late Encounters receive a D (67%) and receive
no written feedback. Completed Encounters include thorough answers to questions
in the reading, research, and discussion modules, and reports for the listening
modules follow the standard
listening report format. Incomplete Encounters receive credit for the
percentage I judge completed. Click here for
more information about Encounters with music history.
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Quizzes
Five quizzes cover the reading and listening assignments from the current
encounter. The written portion covers lecture materials and assigned readings
in multiple choice format; the listening portion tests your ability to
identify important works and hear stylistic features. Listening reports
and in-class listening exercises will help you prepare for these quizzes.
No make-up quizzes will be given for lateness or unexcused absence.
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Paper
A paper in which you pose and answer a question of vital interest to you
is the most comprehensive research project of the term. You can choose
any topic that relates to music written and/or performed since 1750 as
long as you take a historic approach. Click here
for more information about the paper.
Unit Exams and
Final Exam
Three exams ask you to trace broad outlines and vital developments in an
important period in music history. They include essay and short answer
questions, with score excerpts and listening examples for stylistic analysis.
Make-up exams will not be given.
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Course Policies
Class Participation
Attendance and participation are important. Under normal circumstances,
tell me ahead of time if you must miss class. In emergencies, present a
note from your doctor, the college health service, or the Dean when you
return. You can be absent or late up to three times each without penalty;
further lateness or absences will count against your final grade.
Extra Credit
For extra credit, do extra listening and write listening reports on it
(identify these reports as extra credit and indicate total listening time).
Consistent attendance and participation will also help a borderline grade.
Academic Dishonesty
This course follows guidelines published in the E-Book. If you submit someone
else’s work, words, or ideas as if they were your own, that is plagiarism,
and it may result in a “zero” for the assignment, an “F” for the course,
or referral to the Dean of Students. Click
here to read the E-Book’s Code of Academic Integrity.
Disabilities Policy
Elmhurst College will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented
disabilities. If you have a disability that may have some impact on your
work in this course, please contact the Director of Advising at 103 Goebel
Hall (617-3450).
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Important URLs
Course
Discussion Board (in Blackboard)
EC Web-based Email
Music Department Web Page
Mark Harboldís Web Page
Library
Music History Page
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How to Find Me
If you need assistance of any kind in this course, please contact me. You
can see me during office hours or make an appointment.
| Office |
Irion 113 |
| Office Hours |
MW 1:30-2:30
TTh 2:30-3:30 |
| Email |
markh@elmhurst.edu |
| Phone |
630.617.3521 |
| Fax |
630.617.3738 |
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Page created 5/23/00 by Mark Harbold—last modified
2/06/02.