WOMEN MAKING MUSIC

Professor:  Dr. J. Michele Edwards                                                         Music 51:01    Spring 2001

 

OVERVIEW

Required texts

McClary, Susan.  Feminine Endings. Music Gender, and Sexuality.  Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1991.

Whiteley, Sheila.  Women and Popular Music: Sexuality, Identity and Subjectivity.  London and New York: Routledge, 2000.

 

Readings

We will use materials from a wide range of additional books, anthologies, and journals.  These materials will be placed on Reserve in Wallace Library.

 

For historical/biographical information and overviews, especially of classical music, see for example the following on Reserve in Wallace Library:

Bowers, Jane, and Tick, Judith, eds.  Women Making Music. The Western Art Tradition, 1150-1950.  Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1986.

Citron, Marcia J.  Gender and the Musical Canon.  Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Pendle, Karin, ed.  Women and Music. A History.  Bloomington: Indiana University, 1991.

 

Listening/Viewing

Some assignments will include listening to specific music or viewing a videotape.  CDs and cassettes are on Reserve at Wallace Library (LibRes).  Please read liner notes and text translations. You can view videos at Media Services (HUM 4th floor).  Scores of some pieces will be available on LibRes.  In some cases, the music will be a frame of reference for greater understanding or will provide familiarity with compositions and performances by women.  At other times, we will discuss the music or its performance in greater detail during class.

 

Regarding Deadlines

Work received after the class session on the due date will not be given full credit.  In case of an emergency, contact me as soon as possible.  Only under exceptional circumstances and with my consent will any work be accepted after the last day of classes.

 

Grading

I hope our focus can be on learning and on working cooperatively in a supportive atmosphere.  I will not grade "on a curve"; thus, everyone can receive a top grade.

            %         Assignment

            25         Academic Journal

            30         Class Participation

            45         Individual Project (presentation/paper)

 

Class Participation

We are dependent on each other for the success of this class.  Regular attendance is assumed.  All of us—students, faculty, and guests—need to be prepared for each class meeting so that meaningful discussion and exploration can take place.  None of us have all the answers, but together we can participate in an exciting search.  Class participation means contributing beyond specific assignments and can take different forms.  It means asking questions as well as offering answers, and can include making space or drawing others into the discussion as well as contributing your own view.  It can include assisting colleagues outside class time or performing music in class, which relates to the course.  The class participation grade will take into account the substance, not just the quantity, of contributions.

 

 

COURSE WEBSITE

 


Women Making Music

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Last updated on 29 January 2001