MU5001 - Making Music History

You will be given guidance on reading and listening which will be at the centre of the course, and act as preparation for weekly seminars of one-and-a-half hours. The seminars will be flexible in format, including presentations, class discussion and some lecture elements.

Your academic development will be supported through the module tutor, engagement with your peers and through your programme leader. Your module tutor will offer tutorials, both for the preparation of your assignments and for feedback. In addition, you will also be able to see the module tutor (for instance in the publicised feedback and consultation hours) and to raise questions via email. Your peers will provide you with a collaborative learning environment, and your programme leader will guide you through the requirements and expectations of your course. You will also be supported through individual engagement with the academic literature, lectures and resources available on the eLearning Portal. Feedback will be ongoing throughout seminar activities and through weekly in-course assessment tasks.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:
• You will demonstrate a knowledge of how music history is made, and an understanding of primary source materials and their interpretation.
Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• You will be able to draw upon evidence in the construction of an argument expressed through written or spoken word, and be able to relate secondary sources to the interpretation of primary ones.
• You will have a critical faculty for challenging your own assumptions, concepts and hypotheses as well as those of others.
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
• Your curiosity to confront, explore and assimilate unfamiliar musical sounds, concepts, repertoires will be apparent in a willingness to engage with a variety of source materials.
• You will embrace self-critical awareness and feedback from others as you monitor your own progress.

1. Presentation (20%). MLOs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Feedback will a brief report on a presentation.
2. Essay 1 (40%). A 2,000-word essay that tests students’ ability to make use of what they have learned in lectures and seminars, and to undertake their own research on a topic. MLO 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
3. Essay 2 (40%). A 2,000-word essay that tests students’ ability to make use of what they have learned in lectures and seminars, and to undertake their own research on a topic. MLO 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Feedback on essays comprises annotations to the script and a short report, plus an opportunity to go over your work with the marker in an individual tutorial.

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In this module, you will consider how histories of music are constructed. Who decides what should be included within the narrative and what is the significance of what is left out? To what extent are we constrained by the available evidence? To what extent do the music histories we write reflect our present-day concerns? The module will include a consideration of different kinds of history – those that trace stylistic change and those that focus on music’s place in society – and why particular composers and repertoire become dominant in the narrative. You will also engage with different source materials, such as scores, recordings, iconography and archival material, exploring what they can reveal about the creation, consumption and function of music.