This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.
Postgraduate Handbook 2007-2008 (archived)
Module MUSI51530: The Discipline of Ethnomusicology
Department: Music
MUSI51530: The Discipline of Ethnomusicology
| Type | Level | Credits | Availability | Module Cap | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 4 | 30 | Available in 2007/2008 | Durham |
Pre-requisites
- None
Corequisites
- None
Excluded Combinations
Aims
- This course introduces students to ethnomusicology and explores its history, theory and methodology through a close reading of major writings in the field, transcription assignments and field research. The aim is to be familiar with important trends that characterise the discipline and assess the significance of ethnomusicological approaches in the understanding of musical cultures. Students will develop an understanding of ethnomusicology as a process towards the study of music as a social phenomenon. Transcription and fieldwork projects will expand their aural and notation skills, and more importantly, the ability to critically assess the ethics involved in the study of musical cultures.
Content
- Topics may vary, but the following provides a framework: definition of ethnomusicology; music as an acoustic and social phenomenon; music and issues of human behaviour, social strucutre, cultural production, identity, power, ritual, mass media; concepts of 'universalism' and 'culture'; transcription and notation; fieldwork methods and ethics; music and cultural representation.
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge
- An understanding of ethnomusicology as a process towards the study of music as a social phenomenon.
Subject-specific Skills
- Aural and notation skills through transrciption and fieldwork projects.
- The ability to critically asess the ethics invovled in the study of musical cultures.
Key Skills
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total Hours | Attendance Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seminars | 19 | Weekly | 2 hours | 38 | |
| Tutorials | 0 | ||||
| Preparation and Reading | 262 | ||||
| Total | 300 |
Summative Assessment
| Component | Component Weighting | Element | Length/Duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam | 50% | Exam | 2 hours | 100% | |
| Project | 50% | Project | 3000 words | 100% |
Formative Assessment
Essays, literature reviews, transcription exercises and field reports.
Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods
and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative
assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress
procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be
required to leave the University.