MUSC 103 - American Popular Music

Credits: 5
Discusses the study of the history and genesis of American popular music from its birth to the present day. Students study and listen to folk music, Dixieland and jazz, Broadway shows, rock and roll and current musical trends.

Satisfies Requirement: Humanities/Fine Arts/English and Diversity
Course Outcomes:
Students who successfully complete this class will be able to:

Discuss musical styles instrumental to the formation of American popular music (e.g. Appalachian folk music, blues, jazz, gospel, rock & roll, and bluegrass).
Identify the musical language and instrumentation of a selection of musical traditions (e.g. fiddle, banjo, and trumpet).
Identify the origins and influences of American popular music (e.g. West African diaspora, Irish jigs, European Christian hymns).
Investigate issues of marginalization, cultural appropriation, and oppression in the formation of racial identity and expression (e.g. blackface minstrelsy, soul, and rap).
Examine how music is used a resistance against oppression (e.g. abolition songs, protest music of the Vietnam era, funk, and hip-hop).
Discuss the influence of popular music globally in the post-Rock era as a form of globalization and Western cultural imperialism.
Demonstrate fluency with past and current innovations in the music industry (e.g. stage, recording industry, and digital media).

Program Outcomes

Demonstrate a knowledge of historical genres and styles beyond current trends in Performing Arts.
Demonstrate responsibility by one or more of the following: attendance, assignment completion, final project or performance completion.

College-wide Outcomes

Critical Thinking - Critical thinking finds expression in all disciplines and everyday life. It is characterized by an ability to reflect upon thinking patterns, including the role of emotions on thoughts, and to rigorously assess the quality of thought through its work products. Critical thinkers routinely evaluate thinking processes and alter them, as necessary, to facilitate an improvement in their thinking and potentially foster certain dispositions or intellectual traits over time.
Responsibility - Responsibility encompasses those behaviors and dispositions necessary for students to be effective members of a community. This outcome is designed to help students recognize the value of a commitment to those responsibilities which will enable them to work successfully individually and with others.