MEDIA 331 : Recorded Music and Media Formats

Arts

2021 Semester One (1213) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Cultural studies of the sounds and significance of popular recorded music through the media formats in which it has been manufactured, distributed and consumed. Provides a critical introduction to the role of technologies and industries, studios and producers, musicians, music scenes and everyday listening in relation to vinyl records, radio, cassettes, CDs, the MP3 and streaming music.

Course Overview

This course explores the relationships between

  • the sounds of recorded music  
  • the formats in which musicians and media industries have produced and distributed recorded music e.g. shellac and vinyl records, radio, cassettes, CDs, MP3s and streaming services, and 
  • the ways in which people have listened to recorded music. 
We consider music media in their wider contexts, and relate them to debates about culture and aesthetics, technology and political economy. We will listen to a wide range of music styles and genres from the past and present and from around the world. Students will have the opportunity to research and write about music and media that interest them. The course will enhance your understanding of issues and debates in the interdisciplinary scholarship on music in media and communication studies, popular music studies, sound studies, cultural studies and technology studies.  

Students are not expected to have prior specialist or technical knowledge of music, sound recording or media technologies. 

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II in Media, Film and Television or Anthropology Restriction: FTVMS 229, 331, MEDIA 229

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking
Capability 4: Communication and Engagement
Capability 5: Independence and Integrity
Capability 6: Social and Environmental Responsibilities
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Arts

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Understand and analyse the development of listening technologies in media industries (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.3, 3.1, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3)
  2. Connect and contextualise the sound of music with its media formats (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.2, 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3)
  3. Understand and analyse how people have listened to recorded music (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.2, 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Tutorial participation 10% Individual Coursework
Reflection 30% Individual Coursework
Research essay 30% Individual Coursework
Quizzes 30% Individual Coursework

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15-point course for which students are expected to spend 10 hours per week. For this course, you can expect 2 hours of a lecture, a 1-hour tutorial, 4 hours of reading and thinking about the content, and 3 hours of work on assignments and quiz preparation.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at scheduled activities including lectures and tutorials, unless you are a student overseas.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Tutorials will not be recorded.

Learning Resources

Weekly required reading will be available via Canvas/Talis.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Digital Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894, which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Published on 22/12/2020 04:46 p.m.