MUS 757 : Special Topic: Studies in Historical Musicology

Creative Arts and Industries

2021 Semester One (1213) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

No prescription

Course Overview

This year's course has the topic of The String Quartet in the Eighteenth Century: Models of Language and Social Behaviour.

If language models - the sense of music as speech, as a reasoned discourse - were a dominant factor in the contemporary reception of later eighteenth-century music, so by association were models of social behaviour. Just as speech rhythms seem to be evoked by the musical syntax, so sociability seems to have been a guiding spirit. However, this was not too often articulated and has rarely been since. Indeed, although we may all have sensed this aspect of the music of the time, it has hardly been investigated. If such ideals as reciprocity, politeness, accessibility and exchange of ideas were embodied in the sociable musical syntax of the Enlightenment, how precisely was this enacted and how might we tie it down analytically? The string quartet, long understood as involving a conversation between the four players, will be our primary focus, with a particular concentration on texture, but the purview will ultimately be wider than that.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: Departmental approval

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate a command of the issues involved in the cultural interpretation of music (Capability 1 and 2)
  2. Demonstrate a familiarity with the repertoire on which the course focusses (Capability 1 and 2)
  3. Apply appropriate analytical and historical skills (Capability 1 and 2)
  4. Demonstrate familiarity with and understanding of relevant critical literature (Capability 1)
  5. Show an understanding of the approaches and terms adopted during the course (Capability 1 and 2)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Report 5% Individual Coursework
Assignments 70% Individual Coursework
Test 25% Individual Test
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5
Report
Assignments
Test

Assignments are to be submitted, according to submission type specified on CANVAS, by the due date. In the event of illness or other circumstances that prevent your completing an assignment, please contact the course coordinator with evidence as appropriate before the due date. Late assignments that do not have an approved extension will be penalized 10% for each day or part thereof. No assignment will be accepted after that assignment has been returned to students.

Teaching & Learning Methods

Students are asked to study specific movements and works from the repertoire and read relevant critical and musicological literature as directed; it is also expected that they will range beyond these materials in the course of their own research, and this should be demonstrated in the choice of work on which their first essay will be written and in their broader approach to the topic of the second essay. The aim is to learn both new music and new ideas and approaches, and for familiar music (ultimately not just string quartets, but that of the later eighteenth century altogether) to be thought about in different ways.

The course will consist of seminar presentations, normally relatively brief, by both teacher and students, and responses and discussions arising from these. There will be two guided listening sessions. Materials will be handed out at each session for future seminars.

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard fifteen-point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 36 hours of seminars, 94 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 20 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at sseminars.
Attendance on campus is required for the test.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

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

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.

In the event of 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. In the event of a disruption, the University and your course coordinators will make every effort to provide you with up to date information via Canvas and the University website.

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 17/12/2020 02:50 p.m.