Undergraduate Course: Music and State Socialism in the Twentieth Century (MUSI10081)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course examines the role of music in twentieth-century socialist regimes. Students will be introduced to Marxist aesthetics, to the cultural politics of state socialism, and to a broad repertoire of music. The course will examine the reception of music within the context of Cold-War politics, and will consider how music served both as a tool of the state and as a vehicle for opposition. Students will engage in comparative studies of Soviet Bloc countries, Cuba, China and North Korea. Topics that will be covered include nation-building, propaganda, the canon, late socialism, and socialist pop. |
| Course description |
Week 1: Socialist art in the early USSR
Week 2: Socialist Realism and the Bourgeois Heritage
Week 3: Years of Terror: Stalin, Shostakovich, and Prokofiev
Week 4: Music and Nation Building: The case of the German Democratic Republic
Week 5: Crossing the Iron Curtain
Week 6: East meets West: Music and the Cold War
Week 7: Music as Opposition: Poland, the Baltics, and the GDR
Week 8: Socialist Pop: Sots Art, Kitsch, and the Aesthetic of Stiob
Week 9: Music as Opposition: Poland, the Baltics, and the GDR.
Week 10: Looking beyond the Soviet Bloc: Cuba, China, and North Korea
Week 11: Music and Post-Socialism: Nostalgia, Eurovision, and Musical Activism
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least three Music courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2017/18, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
80 %,
Practical Exam
20 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1 x 3000-word essay (40%) - Week 8
1 x 3000-word essay (40%) - December Examination Period
1 x contribution to class blog (20%) - throughout Semester
|
| Feedback |
Students receive written feedback within 15 working days of the submission date. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. explain the major tenets of Marxist aesthetics;
2. identify the ways in which Marxist aesthetics have been interpreted by socialist regimes;
3. discuss the various roles that music played in state socialism and in the Cold War;
4. analyse a broad musical repertoire in its political and cultural contexts.
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Reading List
| A reading/resource list is available via the course LEARN site. |
Additional Information
| Course URL |
www.music.ed.ac.uk |
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
1 x 2-hour seminar each week. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Elaine Kelly
Tel: (0131 6)50 8248
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Carrie Lyall
Tel: (0131 6)50 2422
Email: |
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