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GEOG 433

GEOG 433. The Geography of Music. Welcome to 433!. My name is Don Alexander and some of you have had me before. If you love music, and want to get a geographical perspective on it, this is the course for you.

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GEOG 433

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  1. GEOG 433 The Geography of Music

  2. Welcome to 433! • My name is Don Alexander and some of you have had me before. • If you love music, and want to get a geographical perspective on it, this is the course for you. • We will cover a number of genres, though time won’t permit us to go in depth – ‘gypsy jazz,’ jazz, rhythm and blues/ rock n' roll, folk and punk, soul, reggae, and hip hop. Some of you will cover other genres in your assignments.

  3. Welcome to 433! • There are a number of themes we will use to look at the music: *colonialism *migration *diaspora *cultural hearths *cross-fertilization *adaptation/ innovation *'cultural appropriation' *urban vs. rural *technologies of communication *professional vs. amateur music production *instruments and recording technology *commercialization and role of mass media *racism and other forms of marginalization *music as a means for articulating/ asserting cultural and ethnic identity *music as a form of resistance/ agent of change.

  4. Simplified Diagram of Spatial Patterns of Musical Cross-Fertilization

  5. Examples • Roots of the blues and Afro-Cuban music in the music of West Africa; • Aki FarkaTouré and his son, Vieux FarkaTouré, guitarists from Mali; • The influence of James Brown on FelaKuti, the founder of Afrobeat; • The influence of Scottish and Irish immigrants on the formation of bluegrass, and the influence of forced Acadian refugees (‘Cajuns’) in the emergence of Cajun and zydeco music; • The impact of American blues and r and b on British rock, and the ‘British Invasion’ on American rock and pop. • The impact of American soul on Jamaican music and of reggae (and hip hop) on music around the world.

  6. Welcome to 433! • Required Text: package of courseware readings available at the bookstore. • For parts of the course, we will read chapters from 33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History of Protest Songs by Dorian Lynskey (New York: Ecco, 2011) and She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music by Lucy O’Brien (London: Penguin/ Jawbone, 1995/ 2012). The first is on reserve, and photocopies of the relevant chapters of the second will be.

  7. Welcome to 433! • Lynskey’s is a magnificent work, though there are some minor omissions: • no mention of “Volunteers” by Jefferson Airplane; • not enough credit given to John Lennon’s “Imagine” and “Working Class Hero,” and no mention of “Woman is the Nigger of the World”; • not enough credit given to the MC5, at one time the house band of the White Panther Party; • too much credit for Springsteen’s “Born in the USA,” and not enough for his brilliant album Darkness on the Edge of Town; • no mention of our own Bruce Cockburn, particularly the albums, The Trouble With Normal and Stealing Fire. • See also Alternatives Journal 37.4 (2011) in library.

  8. Welcome to 433! • Course Format: The course will feature a combination of lectures (available on my web site – see above]), guest speakers, videos, student presentations, and homework assignments. • Assignments: The breakdown of marks will be as follows: • attendance and participation- 10% • presentation on one musical genre (not necessarily one of the ones lectured on), or on a topic that complements the course (for instance, music and gender issues), or a 15-page journal on readings, lectures and videos- 20% • one quiz on the readings and lectures- 15% • major paper/ project- 30% (includes 5% for proposal); if time permits you will also be asked to talk about it in class • final exam- 25% (date TBA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ • 100%

  9. Overview of Assignments • Attendance and Participation- You will be responsible for carefully doing the reading and being able to participate in class discussions. Bringing resources to my attention and that of your fellow classmates is also a valid form of participation. (10%) • Genre Presentation or Journal- You will be responsible for one presentation on a musical genre (one of the ones profiled in the course or another – for instance, flamenco, salsa, or Cajun/ zydeco) using one or more of the themes outlined above or a15-page double-spaced cumulative journal, with references, consisting of reflections on the readings, lectures and videos. (20%)

  10. Overview of Assignments • Midterm Quiz- There will be one quiz on the readings (15%). • Major Paper/ Project- This assignment can either consist of an analytical essay delving into, or comparing, one or more genres, or something non-traditional like a short story, photo essay, song cycle, short video, or collection of poems. You will be required to turn in an outline/ proposal (worth 5%), with the final submission worth an additional 25%. A general rule is to always reference your sources parenthetically throughout your written work (I prefer University of Chicago). Also: print all assignments double-sided or on scrap paper. (30%) • Final Exam (date TBA)- This will mainly take the form of short answer and essay questions. (25%). More detail on other assignments will be provided early in the semester.

  11. Overview of Assignments • Alternatively, you can produce a paper on a specific theme, such as music and gender. There are many positive role models, and some less positive ones.

  12. Overview of Assignments and Course • I will be providing more detailed instructions very soon. • Any questions so far? • I had originally hoped to have a guest lecture by Myron Makepeace of the Music program, but he’s on leave this semester and he’s guarding his time carefully, so I don’t think we will be so lucky.

  13. Introductions • I would like to go around and get everyone’s name, why you took the course, if you have any special interests, and what your favourite genres of music are. Finally, what does music mean to you? • I’ll start with myself. I conceived of this course as a way to talk about and listen to music, to have a course that was fun because almost everyone loves music, and yet it also is an interesting window into human and cultural geography and the interaction of different cultures. • Growing up in the ‘60s and early 70s, I thrived on classic rock and soul, but became increasingly interested in blues and jazz and world beat. Since my early teens, I have been passionate about music, but have never had more than mediocre talent myself.

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