Instructor: David J. Keeling Office EST 431, Phone 745-5986
Office Hours: TR(F) 0800-0900, 1300-1400, TR 1530-1700, or by appointment.
EMAIL: KEELING or DAVID.KEELING@WKU.EDU
** Required textbook available at the College Bookstore: George Carney (1994) The Sounds of People and Places: A Geography of American Folk and Popular Music Third Edition. Rowman and Littlefield. Plus a packet of readings available from Lemox.
** Student Assessment: A midterm review (30%), a Research Paper (20%), a Final Review (40%), and Attendance, Quizzes, and Participation (10%).
** Graduate students, in addition to the above requirements, are required to do EITHER a book review OR a detailed analysis of an assigned research article.
** Students are strongly encouraged to use the research material generated in this course as part of their Senior Assessment Portfolio. Part of the University's Academic Improvement strategy requires that Seniors be assessed before graduation on the general principles gained from their major program of study. The Department REQUIRES that you develop a portfolio containing your research papers, skill course outputs, and other material relevant to your program of study. See your advisor for more information about Senior Assessment.
** All students should have an email account on campus and must be prepared to access and "surf" the Information Superhighway.
** NOTE: The Department of Geography & Geology strictly adheres to the course drop policy found in the Undergraduate and Graduate catalogs. It is the sole responsibility of individual students to meet the cited deadlines for dropping a course. In exceptional cases the deadline for schedule changes (dropping a course) may be waived. The successful waiver will require a written description of extenuating circumstances and relevant documentation. Poor academic performance, general malaise, or undocumented general stress factors are NOT considered legitimate extenuating circumstances. Since the granting of such waivers is rare, we urge you to follow the established guidelines.
** This course requires a commitment of 2.75 hours of class time each Thursday night plus 5 hours of outside reading and research every week. More than one unexcused absence from the course will result in the loss of at least a full letter grade for the course.
** Please make every effort to come to class on time. The class ends at 8 pm, so do not begin packing up materials until the appropriate time as it disturbs other students. Those students who attend regularly generally get more from the course than students who miss class. Unexcused absences will affect the final grade negatively. Attendance is MANDATORY. All papers, assignments, and other materials must be completed ON TIME in order to pass the course.
Week Two (8/28): The Birth of Rock and Roll April 12, 1954. Popular music in the U.S. 1950s-early 1960s context, Bill Haley, "White Trash" music, and societal response mechanisms to popular music. Readings: Carney, pp. 1-62; Packet: Lily Kong article,
Week Three (9/4): A Comparative Perspective: Popular Music in the U.K. 1950s-early 1960s.
Post-WWII decline and a changing society.
Readings: Packet: Brauer, Rodnitzky, Auslander, and Frith articles. Carney book, pp. 115-189.
Week Four (9/11): The regional identities of American popular music. East coast vs. West coast, 1962-1968. Cuba and Race. Readings: Carney, pp. 63-112; Packet: Mosher article.
Week Five (9/18): The globalization of English-language popular music. The Beatles phenomenon. Why Liverpool? Exploring the Merseybeat/Beatles experience. NO readings.
Week Six (9/25): On the threshold of change/crisis? The U.S. in 1968. Politics and Rock 'n' Roll, Vietnam, Assassination. Readings: Carney, pp. 191-249;
Week Seven (10/2): Woodstock, Counterculture, and the End of a Dream. The San Francisco Movement, hippies, drugs, and the counterculture. Woodstock and cultural revolution. Readings: Carney book pp. 250-313;
Week Eight (10/9): Fall Break--No Class.
Week Ten (10/23): Late 1960s Europe. The commercialization of rock and roll and the emergence of new musical styles. Fashion and the social construction of identities. No readings.
Week Eleven (10/30): The early 1970s. Changing social values, the emergence of disco music and the genesis of urban punk. Readings: Let It Be, Mooney articles.
Week Twelve (11/6): The Late 1970s. Watergate, EEC expansion,and the emergence of non-
western musical styles. Readings: Packet: Tanner, Winders articles.
Week Thirteen (11/13): Ronald Reagan and the conservative movement during the 1980s. Punk and MTV - reshaping the social relationships of a nation. Readings: Packet: Mooney, Geyrhalter articles.
** Research/Journal Paper Due--NO Late Papers Accepted **
Week Fourteen (11/20): Europe during the Margaret Thatcher years and the move toward European socioeconomic integration. Urban musical forms and the homogenization of global rock and roll. Readings: Packet: Cloonan article.
Week Fifteen (11/27): NO CLASS - THANKSGIVING BREAK
Week Sixteen (12/4): Global music and the New World Order. 1990s urban lifestyles and the emergence of Rap music. The rise of country music as an art form. Conclusion and summary. World music, politics, and social change. An agenda for the 21st century. Readings: Packet: Chye and Kong, Connor articles.
To find out about more exciting Geography courses, visit the Geography Department Homepage.
You can email the instructor directly about this course. Just click on: david.keeling@wku.edu
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Last updated on 8/9/98.