Introductory description

This module will explore the relationship between music and history, including the way history is represented in music, and the way music itself became part of history. It will take a broad historical and musicological perspective.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Session 1: Opera as art form in Venice:' L’Incoronazione di Poppea'
Session 2: Monarchy: 'Gloriana'
Session 3: War: 'The Leningrad Symphony'
Session 4: Revolutionary change: 'Hamilton'
Session 5: The colour line: Showboat
Session 6: Nostalgia and ruralism: The Kinks, Neil Young, Paul Simon
Session 7;: Slavery and Imperialism: Reggae, Rastafarianism and History
Session 8: Vietnam, War and America: Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Country Joe and the Fish
Session 9: Black Power and Black Lives Matter: Nina Simone, Gil Scott Heron, Public Enemy, Kendrick Lamar
Session 10: Heavy Metal and History: Rammstein and Iron Maiden

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• To evaluate and critique the relationship between music and history
• To understand how the study of music can be accessed through a range of written and audio-visual sources.
• To engage with historiographical debates and think about the history and legacy of different historical concepts
• To encourage independent research, historiographical engagement, and the development of critical analysis
• To gain interpersonal and communication skills through the delivery of a presentation

Indicative reading list

Jessica C. E. Gienow-Hecht (ed.) Music and international history in the twentieth century.[New York: Berghahn, 2015.] library ebook

Richard D. Wetzel The globalization of music in history [electronic resource] /.
[New York : Routledge, 2012.]

Jeffrey H. Jackson and Stanley C. Pelkey (eds) Music and history : bridging the disciplines / [Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 2010.] library ebook

Hesmondhalgh, David. Why Music Matters. John Wiley and Sons, Incorporated, Newark, 2013.

Wall, Tim. Studying Popular Music Culture. SAGE, Los Angeles, 2013, doi:10.4135/9781526401960.

Wendy Heller “Tacitus Incognito: Opera as History in "L'incoronazione di Poppea"” Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 52, No. 1 (Spring, 1999), pp. 39-96

Edward B. Savage ‘Love and Infamy: The Paradox of Monteverdi's "L'Incoronazione di Poppea"’ Comparative Drama, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Fall 1970), pp. 197-207

Heather Wiebe 'Now and England': Britten's "Gloriana" and the 'New Elizabethans'
Cambridge Opera Journal, Vol. 17, No. 2 (Jul., 2005), pp. 141-172

Colleen Renihan “Take These Tokens That You May Feel Us Near”: Remembrance and Renewed Citizenship in Britten’s Gloriana’ From: Benjamin Britten Studies: Essays on An Inexplicit Art, Boydell Press (2017) (pp. 236-258)

David Gow ‘Shostakovich's 'War' Symphonies’ The Musical Times, Vol. 105, No. 1453 (Mar., 1964), pp. 191-193

David B. Greene ‘SHOSTAKOVICH AND THE PURSUIT OF THE COMMON GOOD: A Musical Contribution to Civic Republicanism’ Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 92, No. 3/4, Arts of Democracy (Fall/Winter 2009), pp. 239-257

Elissa Harbert ‘Hamilton and History Musicals’ American Music, Vol. 36, No. 4, Hamilton (Winter 2018), pp. 412-428

Loren Kajikawa “Young, Scrappy, and Hungry”: Hamilton, Hip Hop, and Race
American Music, Vol. 36, No. 4, Hamilton (Winter 2018), pp. 467-486

Special issue American Music, Vol. 36, No. 4, Hamilton (Winter 2018)

Warren Hoffman ‘Only Make Believe: Performing Race in Show Boat’ From: The Great White Way: Race and the Broadway Musical, Rutgers University Press (2014) (pp. 31-55)

Robin Breon ‘Show Boat: The Revival, the Racism’ TDR (1988-), Vol. 39, No. 2 (Summer, 1995), pp. 86-105

Bradley, Doug, and Craig Werner. We Gotta Get Out of This Place : The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War, University of Massachusetts Press, 2015. Ebook

Edwards, Nadi. "states of Emergency: Reggae Representations of the Jamaican Nation State." Social and Economic Studies, vol. 47, no. 1, 1998, pp. 21-32

Feldstein, Ruth. "“I Don't Trust You Anymore”: Nina Simone, Culture, and Black Activism in the 1960s." The Journal of American History (Bloomington, Ind.), vol. 91, no. 4, 2005, pp. 1349-1379.

Kintner, Amy. “Back to the Garden Again: Joni Mitchell’s ‘Woodstock’ and Utopianism in Song.” Popular Music 35, no. 1 (2016): 1–22.
Matthew Oware, I got something to say: gender, race, and social consciousness in rap music (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) [Ebook]

Portelli, Alessandro. Hard Rain: Bob Dylan, Oral Cultures, and the Meaning of History. Columbia University Press, New York, NY, 2022 Ebook

Spracklen, Karl. Metal Music and the Re-Imagining of Masculinity, Place, Race and Nation. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bingley, England, 2020, Ebook

Interdisciplinary

History, Cultural Studies, Music

Subject specific skills

See learning outcomes

Transferable skills

Work effectively with others in group tasks and in teams; Plan and manage time in projects; Develop strong analytical skills; Find, evaluate and use previous research at a level appropriate for a second year module. Use a range of tools and resources effectively in the preparation of course work. Use appropriate analytic methods to analyse research data on Music and history.. Read academic papers effectively in the context of an intensive programme; Communicate clearly and effectively in discussions; Communicate ideas effectively in writing.