Spring syllabus 09 mw9

Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music, CUNY Spring 2009 Semester

CORE CURRICULUM 1.3: Music: Its Language, History, and Culture.

3 credits. Section MW9 Instructor: Meetings: Office Hours: Mailbox: E-mail:

Prof. Toscha Turner M/W 9:30-10:15 AM, Room 372 Gershwin M 11:00-12:00 PM or by appointment, Room 505S Whitehead 420 Whitehead (across from the Conservatory Office, 422 Whitehead) toscha.turner@mac.com

Course Description CC 1.3 is an introduction to music through the study of works representing different times, places, and peoples. It is primarily designed for non-music majors who wish to take an introductory music course as part of their broader liberal arts education and is not open to students who have a specialization in music.

In this course, we will be looking at the anatomy and context of pieces in order to develop some preliminary analytic tools and knowledge of historical and cultural placement. Through exposure to a wide range of music, we will explore the grammar, syntax, and communicative purposes of music, as well as the musical dialects of different cultures and how these have changed over time.

Unit I – Music Theory Unit II – Musicology Unit III – Ethnomusicology Learning Goals • To understand music in its cultural and social context, and in relation to other arts • To learn how to discuss music, orally and in writing, on a more sophisticated level, applying terms and concepts used by musicians and music scholars • To become aware of a wide variety of musical styles, repertoires, and traditions • To learn how to listen more deeply and in a more complex way to music in daily life Course Materials: Allen, Ray, et al. 2007. Music: Its language, history, and culture. 2nd revised edition. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.

• Available for $55.00 at the Brooklyn College Bookstore (Boylan Hall basement) and at Shakespeare and Co. (14 Hillel Pl.). **MUST BE PURCHASED NEW** v Includes a four month subscription to Rhapsody, an online music streaming database that we will be using extensively in class. Inside your textbook, there will a membership card that will instruct you how to access the site. All sound files for the course will be available through this site. YOU WILL NEED TO HAVE THIS ACTIVATED BY FEBRUARY 2.

Listening, additional readings, and other materials posted on Blackboard.

• You will be expected to check it regularly, so make sure to become familiar with it. On this site, I will post announcements, assignments, class materials, grades, and supplementary materials. Blackboard is accessible from any of Brooklyn College’s computer labs and from any computer with internet access.

• To set up a BC portal account (needed to access Blackboard), go to http://portal.brooklyn.edu.

Click on Register Now, then click on Student. On the “User Validation” screen, enter your last name, Social Security Number, and birthday. Click the Next button. Confirm the accuracy of the information you have entered. Select a user name and password and click the Save button. Be sure to write down your user name and password. Forty-eight hours after

setting up the portal account, you will be able to set up your blackboard account. From any computer with internet access, visit the CUNY portal at http://portal.cuny.edu. Choose Login, enter your username and password, and click Log In. From “My Page�, click on the Blackboard link. Click on Student on the Brooklyn College line and you will be brought to your Blackboard page. To access texts for vocal music, supplementary bibliographies, and other materials, click on Course Documents. To access the sound files, click on the External Links, which will take you to Rhapsody where you will enter your membership code. A copy of the syllabus will also be posted under Course Information. If you are having problems, call the staff of ITS for help: (718) 677-6180; or click on Portal Help on the opening screen.

Calendar of Meetings No classes will be held on: Monday, February 16 Wednesday, April 8 Monday, April 13 Wednesday, April 15 Last day of class: Wednesday, May 13 Final IN CLASS Exam Date: Wednesday, May 13 Attendance and Tardiness Punctual attendance to all scheduled class sessions is required. You will be given information necessary for your successful completion of the course that will not be posted online. Students will be held responsible for the material covered in class and the assignments due whether or not they are present. Excessive tardiness will have a detrimental effect on your final grade.

Every student should make the effort to get to every class on time; to have students come in late is very disruptive to the class. If you are late and the door is open, you are welcome to come in quietly.

If the door is closed, do not knock or otherwise disturb the class in progress. You can join in at the next opportunity.

Official documentation is required for excused absences. If you miss a class (either excused or unexcused), do not email the instructor to ask her to summarize what she did or will do in class; or what the assignment is/was. Your absence will be known and the material covered in class will not be repeated. If you know you will be absent, find a classmate who is willing to share their notes with you for that day. Exchange phone numbers or email addresses with more than one classmate.

Three unexcused absences will reduce your final grade by 10 points, every absence after that will reduce it by a further 10 points. Three late arrivals is the equivalent of one absence. **Please note that as a courtesy to your instructor and other students in the class, cell phones MUST be put away. No calls, no texting, no websurfing, no IM's are permitted during class time or exams.

Homework Assignments will be posted on Blackboard after the class in which they are assigned. In most cases, I will not hand out printed copies; students should print their own copies from Blackboard, if needed.

If you have a question about the requirements for a specific assignment, do not wait until the due date to inquire about it, email the instructor with your questions.

Homework must be completed promptly. You will generally be given a week to prepare an assignment. Late homework will be marked down a full letter grade per day late, unless special arrangements with the instructor have been made.

If a student believes that a particular assignment has received a grade that is unfair, he/she should present a request for grade review in writing, along with a copy of the assignment, no later than one week after the assignment has been handed back.

Email Contact There are a number of protocols that must be followed when emailing the instructor. The subject line of the email must clearly contain the following information: full name, class section [MW8 or MW9], topic of email (assignment question, absence notification, etc). In the body of the email, please refrain from using informal (ie. shorthand or text) language. It is expected that any correspondence will have proper sentences and suitable tone. At the conclusion of the email, you must have your full name and section number.)

Also, keep in mind that any requests you might make may not be answered immediately. There is a very large total number of students, and replies will be issued to requests based on the order that they were received.

Please be advised that emails that do not follow the above format will not be answered.

Grading A+, A, AB+, B, BC+, C, CD+, D, DF

90 – 100 PERCENT 80 – 89 PERCENT 70 – 79 PERCENT 60 – 69 PERCENT 0 – 59 PERCENT

CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity Academic Dishonesty is prohibited in the City University of New York and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion, as provided herein. Students registered in Brooklyn College are expected to be fully aware of CUNY’s academic policies considering the following items: •

Cheating is the unauthorized use or attempted use of material, information, notes, study aids, devices or communication during an academic exercise.

•

Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas, research or writings as your own.

Internet plagiarism includes submitting downloaded term papers or parts of term papers, paraphrasing or copying information from the internet without citing the source, and “cutting & pasting” from various sources without proper attribution.

•

Obtaining Unfair Advantage is any activity that intentionally or unintentionally gives a student an unfair advantage in his/her academic work over another student.

Lack of awareness of these policies is not an acceptable excuse for their violation. Please go to http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies/ for further information about: • CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity • BC Procedures for Implementing the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity • Flow Chart of the BC Procedures for Implementing the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity.

Student Assessment There will be three exams, one for each unit of the class. All exams will have a section based on the material covered in class (terms, readings, discussions, etc.) and another part where audio excerpts will be identified and the music described using terminology and concepts studied through the course.

The materials section (terms, etc.) of each exam is always cumulative while the listening portion will only cover the music in that unit. Only the highest two exam marks will be calculated into each student’s final grade. Students who take both unit exams, and have achieved an average of 80% or better for the class, need not take the final exam. No makeup exams will be given except for emergency circumstances supported by documentation, and will be at the discretion of the instructor.

Students will be required to work in groups to create a 20-minute presentation on a genre of world music and its roots in New York City.

Each student is required to attend two approved concerts during the term and write a detailed, two-part concert report comparing the events.

A weekly music journal commenting on class materials and other listening experiences during the week will be handed in at the beginning of the last class of each month. Other assignments will be explained in class.

Grading will be based on exams (20% each), group project (25%), concert report (15%), music journal and other assignments (20%). **EXTRA CREDIT - Interested students should speak to the instructor. It is possible to add up to 10 points to your final grade by: • Attending another approved concert and doing a creative response project (5 points – DUE: December 8) • Giving an in-class presentation on a topic selected with the instructor (5 points – DUE BEFORE November 3) Class Schedule January 26 January 28 February 23 February 25 March 2 March 16 March 30 April 8 April 20 April 27 April 29 May 6 May 13

Introduction Begin Unit I Exam on Unit I Music Journal Due Begin Unit II Pre-concert Draft Due IN CLASS for Peer Review Pre-concert Report Due Music Journal Due Exam on Unit II Begin Unit III Group Project Outline/Exam Questions/Annotated Bibliography Due Music Journal Due Post Concert Report Due Exam on Unit III