Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Undergraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2010-2011 (archived)

Module RUSS1041: POPULAR MUSIC IN MODERN RUSSIAN

Department: Modern Language and Cultures (Russian)

RUSS1041: POPULAR MUSIC IN MODERN RUSSIAN

Type Open Level 1 Credits 20 Availability Available in 2010/11 Module Cap None. Location Durham

Prerequisites

  • None.

Corequisites

  • Russian Language 1A (RUSS1161) OR Russian Language 1B (RUSS1042).

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • None

Aims

  • to impart an understanding of developement of popular music in Russia from the 1920s to the present day
  • to examine the industrial, political and idealogical contexts in whcih Russian and Soviet popular music was produced, and its relationship with both official and unofficial culture
  • to develop linguistic facility with regard to both textual and aural sources through close analysis of specific examples of popular music

Content

  • The course will be structured as 10 'units' earch containing a lecture, seminar and practical. The outline programme is as follows:
  • Unit 1 - Music Hall and the Birth of Radio
  • Unit 2 - The Soviet Recording Industry
  • Unit 3 - The Cinema and Patriotic song
  • Unit 4 - The Guitar Poets of the 1950s and 1960s
  • Unit 5 - Vladimir Vysotskii
  • Unit 6 - Estrada
  • Unit 7 - Sentimental Songs in the 1970s
  • Unit 8 - Russian Rock I: Leningrad
  • Unit 9 - Russian Rock II: The Fall of the Soviet Union
  • Unit 10 - Contemporary Russian Popular Music

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • students will acquire a thorough knowledge of the main trends in the development of popular music in Russia, and a knowledge of the key genres and periods. They will also be introduced to colloquial verse form
Subject-specific Skills:
  • students will acquire the ability to evaluate popular songs in the original Russian, and to assess their cultural significance
Key Skills:
  • students will develop the ability to perform close analysis on song texts, and relate that analysis to the broader cultural context. Students will also develop the ability to present a cogent and structured argument in both oral and written form.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • Lectures are designed to set the historical and conceptual framework for the study of popular music in Russia, and will introduce methods of cultural and textual analysis. Seminars provide a forum for presentation of the results of independent study, while the practicals will be devoted to close analysis of individual song texts.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity Number Frequency Duration Total/Hours
Lectures 21 weekly 1 hour 21
Seminars 10 Fortnightly 1 hour 10
Preparation, reading and assessment 169
Total 200

Summative Assessment

Component: Commentary Component Weighting: 20%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Commentary 1000 words 100% Yes
Component: Essay Component Weighting: 30%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Essay 1500 words 100% Yes
Component: Examination Component Weighting: 50%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Examination 2 hours 100% Yes

Formative Assessment:

<enter text as appropriate for the module>

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University