Politics in Music (Revised 2 September 2009)

Course Content and Objectives:
SNAPSHOT: Welcome to the world of political musicology. From Beethoven to the Beatles, and Mozart to Madonna, politics and music have intermixed. Now with the rise of the Internet, new musical styles, and an increasingly global culture, music has become a crucial means of transmitting political messages. This course examines the role of music as a new and powerful mediating influence on the conveyance of political information, and students will examine the potential of music as an instrument of political transformation, as well as socialization for large groups in contemporary society. This course covers a wide range of political content – including nationalistic/patriotic music, various styles of political and social protest music, as well as social identity music. Artists/composers are drawn from the classical period to current hits, with modern genres spanning the range from Gangsta Rap (unedited versions!) to contemporary Pop. Class presentations include numerous relevant video and musical selections.

EXTENDED VIEW: Political scientists have long examined (and taught) how the flow of political information to individuals and groups affects political attitudes and behaviors. The focus usually follows one of three orientations: (1) psychological influences, (2) individual-level analysis of the processing of political information, usually addressing theories of rational decision-making thought processes, and (3) the influences of social and political contexts (such as those identified in group-defined milieu) on mediating the acceptance or rejection of political information. Nearly all of these approaches focus on political information as it is presented to individuals through orthodox informational conduits, such as nightly news broadcasts, interactions with campaign workers, candidate advertisements, and so on. However, a huge amount of political information is now transmitted to society – particularly younger elements of society – through nontraditional sources. Music plays an essential role in this regard.

This course examines both the historical roots and contemporary manifestation of the role of music in transmitting political information to various subgroups in society. The importance of this role has been amplified in recent years through the extension of new music outlets (cable, Internet, etc.) that have allowed these new influences to gain a spectacular foothold as a conditioning influence among the minds of our younger generation.

Traditionally, political scientists have viewed the psychological concept of partisan identification as an instrumental mechanism for mediating the reception of political information on the individual level. Partisan identification is often thought of as a "mind set" that predisposes individuals to perceive and interpret political information in particular ways. The origin and effectiveness of partisan identification as a conditioning factor on individual behaviors and attitude formation is a heavily examined area in political science. But at its heart is the legacy idea that the political parties themselves are content-rich informational vehicles that have major and clearly defined influential roles in directing the behaviors and attitudes of the large majority of individuals in our society.

Yet contemporary society has witnessed the dramatic weakening of the political parties as mediators of political information to loyal followers. Since the advent of television and the simultaneous development new campaign technologies, political parties have seen their influence over voter attitudes and behaviors transferred to other sources. In the 1970's, commentators often mused that the new political parties were ABC, CBS, and NBC. Some of the most influential people in politics in those days were the new generation of political consultants (such as Rosser Reeves, Tony Schwartz, David Garth, and others) who knew how to exploit the new media in innovative and provocative ways.

This new millennium has brought further changes. Media outlets are expanding at an exponential rate, and the potential is there for new media executives to influence increasingly well-targeted subgroups within our society with political information that arises from nontraditional sources. Music is potentially one of the most important of these new sources. A recent Time Magazine cover-story article on the Internet noted that in a few years there will be hundreds of thousands of new music outlets that will be able to penetrate society through refined targeting of audiences in ways that were inconceivable only a few years ago. The central idea behind this course is that music is one of the primary avenues through which new political "mind sets" can be influenced and formed in our current society, potentially paralleling the way partisan identification was utilized previously. Thus, this is not a music course about music. This is a political science course that looks at the mechanisms by which music either directly or indirectly structures group and national political dialogues.

Class Requirements:
There are three in-class tests. The first two tests are weighted equally. The final is weighted more since there is an interpretive component, and this interpretive aspect can be more cummulative. There is also an additional optional paper, the topic of which will be available on this web site early in the term. The optional paper is due in class on the last day of regular class. The dates of the in-class tests are October 8 and November 5, and the final exam is on Tuesday, 15 December (8:30-11 a.m.). (Be sure to purchase your airline tickets after you mark these dates on your calendar.) You will be reading various articles and reviews about music found in The New York Times and elsewhere throughout the course. These articles and reviews often contain highly relevant content that helps place music in a social and political context and are considered required reading. Final grades are based on all of the above items.

For students taking the course pass/fail, minimum satisfactory performance requires taking all three examinations, and receiving a minimum of a D average or better for all three tests.

The Department of Political Science has a grading standard that applies to all courses. You can read about it here.

Disabilities Statement:
It is the policy of Emory University to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. All students with special requests or need for accommodations should make this request in person as soon as possible.

Required Texts:
Wagner without Fear, by William Berger
Acting In Concert: Music, Community, and Political Action, by Mark Mattern
Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley, by Timothy White
The Political Art of Bob Dylan, by David Boucher and Gary Browning

Recommended Text:
Politics in Music, by Courtney Brown (purchase through Amazon.com)

Podcast Policy:
Podcasting courses can assist students tremendously. Students can listen to lectures more than once, and they can catch up on classes that were missed for, say, reasons of illness or religious obligation. I record and podcast many of the classes in this course. By taking this course, all students are automatically giving their permission to be recorded during class participation. No further written permission is required.

Internet Resources:
The Centre for Political Song
Wagner Videos
Freemuse: Freedom of Musical Expression
New Music Box
Woody Guthrie / BMI Fellowship Program
Smithsonian Institute's Folkways Recordings
Music & Politics Journal

Weekly Topical Outline

Week 1
Genre: All
Lectures: Overview
Featured Artists: Sting, various others
Readings:
Brown, Music as a Conveyer of Political Messages (recommended)

Week 2
Genre: Classical
Lectures: Politics and the classics, with an historical focus on Beethoven and Mozart
Featured Artists: Beethoven, Wagner
Readings:
Brown, Beethoven (recommended)

Week 3
Genre: Political Manifesto Music I
Lectures: Richard Wagner
Featured Artists: Wagner and Marley
Readings:
Wagner without Fear, Parts One and Three
Wagner without Fear, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Facets of the Ring
Brown, Political Manifesto Music: The Cases of Bob Marley and Richard Wagner (recommended)
Viewing: Watch selections from The Ring.

Week 4
Genre: Political Manifesto Music II
Lectures: Bob Marley
Featured Artists: Bob Marley
Readings:
Catch a Fire

Week 5
Genre: Nationalistic and Patriotic music, including World music
Lectures: Classic and contemporary forms of nationalistic and patriotic music
Featured Artists: Liszt, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Dvorak, Sibelius, Ralph Vaughn Williams, Isaac Albeniz, Manuel de Falla, Charles Ives, Scott Joplin, Aaron Copeland, Tchaikovsky, John Phillips Sousa, Bruce Springsteen
Readings:
Brown, Nationalist and Patriotic Music (recommended)

Week 6
Genre: Country and Country Western music
Lectures: Country music as an ideological vehicle: Part I
Featured Artists: Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Lee Greenwood, Elton Britt, Tanya Tucker, David Allan Coe
Readings: The New York Times, see current selections
Brown, Nationalist and Patriotic Music (recommended)

Week 7
Genre: Country and Country Western music
Lectures: Country music as an ideological vehicle: Part II
Featured Artists: Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Lee Greenwood, Elton Britt, Tanya Tucker, David Allan Coe
Readings: The New York Times, see current selections

Week 8
Genre: Labor and Class Music
Lectures: Political identity music
Featured Artists: Joe Hill, Joan Baez, Paul Robeson, Billy Bragg, Woody Guthrie, The Rolling Stones, Quilapayun
Readings:
Acting In Concert, chapters 1-5
Brown, Industrialization and the Emergence of Labor Music (recommended)

Week 9
Genre: Rock, Pop, and Folk
Lectures: Political protest music of the 1960s and 1970s, Part I
Featured Artists: Peter, Paul, and Mary, Arlo Guthrie, Beatles, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, The Who, Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and TBA
Readings:
Acting In Concert, chapters 6-8
Brown, Protest Music: Movement and Non-movement Motivations (recommended)

Week 10
Genre: Rock, Pop, and Folk
Lectures: Political protest music of the 1960s and 1970s, Part II
Featured Artists: Peter, Paul, and Mary, Arlo Guthrie, Beatles, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, The Who, Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix,, and TBA
Readings: The New York Times, see current selections
The Political Art of Bob Dylan, chapters 1-4

Week 11
Genre: Pop, Rock, and Folk
Lectures: Non-movement social and political protest music I and II
Featured Artists: George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson, Madonna, Queen, and TBA
Readings: The Political Art of Bob Dylan, chapters 5&6
The New York Times, see current selections

Week 12
Genre: Pop, Rock, and Folk
Lectures: Non-movement social and political protest music III and IV
Featured Artists: George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson, Madonna, Queen, and TBA
Readings: The Political Art of Bob Dylan, chapters 7-9
The New York Times, see current selections

Week 13
Genre: Hip-hop (Rap and Gangsta Rap)
Lectures: Targeted social and political protest music
Featured Artists: Puff Daddy, Mase, Nortorious B.I.G., Dr. DRE, Public Enemy, Rage Against the Machine, Tupac Shakur, and TBA
Readings:
Brown, Politics and Hip-Hop (recommended)
The New York Times, see current selections

Week 14
Genre: Multiple
Lectures: The message is the medium when politics imbues music.
Featured Artists: TBA
Readings:
Brown, Political Music and the Transformation of Civilization (recommended)
The New York Times, see current selections

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