MUSIC 672: INTRODUCTION TO ETHNOMUSICOLOGY
Winter 2007
Credits: 3 hrs Time: 2:30:00 - 3:48 W, F
Venue: 166 Sullivant Hall (Music & Dance
Lib)
Instructor: Dr. Daniel Avorgbedor
Contac: 101C Hughes Hall;
tel. 292-9441 E-mail:
avorgbedor.1@osu.edu
Webpage: http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/avorgbedor1/
COURSE
OBJECTIVE
This course will introduce graduate and upper
undergraduate students (music majors and students from related disciplines such
as anthropology, folklore, dance, sociology, sociolinguistics, cognitive
sciences) to the origins, research orientations and trends in the field of
ethnomusicology by addressing the following: [1] “scientific” foundations and pioneering studies; [2] “comparative
musicology”: shifting definitions of music—genres, geographic and temporal
limits; from universalism to relativism; [3] interdisciplinary framework; [4]
the holistic study of music, music in/as culture, contextual and
performance-centered approaches; and [5] overview of current sites of debates
(such as autochthonous research and emic-etic perspectives, critical
ethnography, and legacies of the “French School,” in general). Select fieldwork
assignments and projects in analysis of music in relation to sociocultural and
personal dynamics will allow students an opportunity to practice and verify
some of the ideas, techniques, and tools discussed in class. A comprehensive
reading list will be distributed on the first day of class. Guest lectures,
video and live demonstrations, and performance events available in the Columbus
area are significant part of the class resources.
REQUIREMENTS (caveat: this is a 3-credit
hour class)
--3 short 2-page
reports/assignments (based on specific readings) = 10% each (total 30%)
--1 book report (to be
selected from a given list, and/or as approved by the instructor) = 20%
-- a small-scale fieldwork project (5-page written
presentation due on last day of classes. (Instructor will discuss individual
projects with students; oral presentations of work-in-progress are encouraged)
= 25%
--mid-term examination 15%
(identification of terms, short written responses)
NB: There is an intensive reading list and students must
complete readings before each class and actively participate in class
discussions of assigned readings
All assignments and final projects must typed in 12-point Times Roman,
double-spaced, with a minimum of 10 words per line. Work can be submitted via
E-mail in advance or on the deadline. Attendance and class participation are
integral to the class evaluation. For style/writing guides, please follow
consistently any one standard citation format (see my website, Research Guides
for links to citation/style sheets online.
Grading:
A combination of points and letter grades and averaging will be employed, but
instructor has the discretion to favor a particular system. Example: 95-100 =A;
90-94-A-; 85-89=B+; 80-84=B; 75-79=B-; 70-74=C+; 65-69=C; 60-64=D; etc Letter
grades will be assigned in all cases.
Academic Policies on Plagiarism
and Access
REGULATIONS:
Plagiarism: It is against
University regulations to "steal" answers from your classmates during
exams/quizzes. A research paper or assignment that is composed mostly of unacknowledged
sources will be treated as a case of plagiarism, and after a consultation with
the student concerned. The Internet: All information downloaded/ printed
from the internet/WWW must receive proper citation, as detailed below. It is
being considered unethical, troublesome and even "illegal" in certain
academic sectors when student purchase ready-made term papers on the Internet.
Identifiable cases will be processed according to university regulations. Visit
http://www.osu.edu/offices/oaa/procedures/1.0.html
for details.
Academic Misconduct: According to University regulations, it is
the responsibility of the Committee on Academic Misconduct to investigate or
establish procedures for the investigation of all reported cases of student
academic misconduct. The term
"academic misconduct" includes all forms of student academic misconduct
wherever committed; illustrated by, but not limited to, cases of plagiarism and
dishonest practices in connection with examinations. Instructors shall report all instances of alleged academic
misconduct to the committee (Faculty Rule 33356-5-487). For additional information, see the Code of
Student Conduct (http://studentaffairs.osu.edu/resource_csc.asp).
Disability Services: Students with disabilities that have been certified by the Office
of Disability Services will be appropriately accommodated, and should inform
the instructor as soon as possible of their needs. The Office for Disability Services is located in 150 Pomerene
Hall, 1760 Neil Avenue; telephone 292-3307, TDD 292-0901;
http://www.ods.ohio-state.edu/.
INTERNET Access Problems:
If you have trouble access class-related web pages, contact me
immediately at 614-292-9441 or by email at: avorgbedor.1@osu.edu.
Access and Special Arrangements: Individuals with special
limitations (e.g., sight, hearing, attention, physical handicap) should inform
the instructor early in order to ensure proper arrangements are in place.
REQUIRED
TEXT(s)
Select
materials on reserve; additional items available online (OSCAR database and
some stored and accessible from instructor’s website—assignments and select
handouts will be available from this website also and please
refresh/reload your browser frequently to make sure you access the latest
updates)
*WEEKLY
SCHEDULE
WEEK
1
--What is Ethnomusicology? Preliminary discussions of the scope of the field
today and career opportunities
--Special assignment:[due Wed Jan 10] “Understanding music
in context and in relation to contemporary issues—how can music make you feel
at and long for home, or belong to a place? How and why do people put
themselves/culture on display/exhibition through performance? To what extent
our Buckeye Marching band culture represents these issues, including those of
local and regional identities? What are some examples of the impact of global
tourism on contemporary musical traditions and industries? [No Class on Friday
Jan 5—SEE SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT ON SPECIAL LECTURE TO
ATTEND; READ ALSO A DRAFT OF THE LECTURE.
First
written assignment: You will write a 2-3 page summary and
personal critical reflections (with your own examples, as appropriate and
drawing on some or all of the questions above. See special instruction for
details.)
Assigned Readings (for week 1 )
Brucher, Kate. “Performance and Tourism in
Portuguese-American Bands” (xerox pack on reserve; download also from my website under this course, Assignments; see
related assignment)
Davis, Martha E. Careers, “Alternative Careers” and the Unity between Theory
and Practice in Ethnomusicology, Ethnomusicology
36/3(1992)361-387 [JSTOR also xerox on
reserve]
Myers, Helen. “Ethnomusicology.” In Ethnomusicology: A Introduction
(ed. Helen Myers), pp. 3-16 (major text on reserve, Mus/Dance Lib)
WEEK
2 Changing
Definitions of “music” in relation to time, place and type/categories: What did
ethnomusicologists study? What do they study now? [We will go into the “how”
later]
--beginnings of ethnomusicology in amateur musical and ethnographic journalism
of the 18th and 19th centuries and World Expositions and Expeditions
--early signifiers: primitive, evolutionary premises and universals; the
tyrannies of categories—folk, popular, art, high/low, literate/preliterate,
popular, world music music,
oral/written
Assigned
Reading (for this week 2 )
--Elbourne, R.P., “The
Question of Definition,” Yearbook of the International Folk Music Council
7 (1975):9-29 [JSTOR; also zerox on reserve]
--Booth, Greory and Terry Lee Kuhn.
“Economic and Transmission Factors as Essential Elements in the Definition of
Folk, Art, and Pop Music,” Musical
Quarterly 74/3(1990):411-438
[JSTOR; xerox reserve]
--Canadian Folk Music Society,
“What is Folk Music?” Canadian Folk Music Journal 16(1988):32-53. [reserve xerox only]
--Nettl, Bruno. The Study of
Ethnomusicology: Twenty-Nine Issues and Concepts (old 1983 edition),
pp.1-11; 187-196
--Fink, Robert. “Elvis Everywhere:
Musicology and Popular Music Studies at the Twilight of the Canon,” American
Music 16/2. (Summer, 1998):135-179
[JSTOR; xerox reserve]
--##Musicology students only: Mugglestone, Guido Adler's "The
Scope, Method, and Aim of Musicology" (1885)
WEEK
3: Defining “ourselves” in relation to “others”
--ethnomusicology and related
disciplines: From “Comparative Musicology” to “Ethno-Musicology”: heritage in comparative sciences/practices
and “scientific” foundations in the works of pioneers-- Ellis, Stumpf, Sachs,
Hornbostel, Kolinski ,etc.)
-- sample studies in Comparative
Musicology[TBA], contd.
Assigned Readings for Week 3 [TBA]
--Junst, Jaap. Ethno-Musicology
(first edition, 1950 pp.7ff)
--Schneider, Albrecht, “Comparative
and Systematic Musicology in Relation to Ethnomusicology: A Historical and
Methodological Survey,” Ethnomusicology 50/2(2006:236-258.
--Schneider, Albrecht.
“Psychological Theory and Comparative Musicology.” In Comparative Musicology
and Anthropology of Music [ed. Bruno Nettl and Philip Bohlman, book
reserve], pp.293-317
WEEK
4 Contributions of four pioneer women
ethnomusicologists: Frances Densmore, Laura Boulton, Alice Fletcher, Ida
Halpern
Assigned R;eadings for Week 4 [TBA]
WEEK
5: anthropological foundations of ethnomusicology
(Radcliffe-Brown, Merton, Boas, Malinowski, Ruth Benedict,
Geertz, etc.)
Assigned Readings (Week5)
--”The
Basic Assumptions of Boasian Anthropology”
(reserve xerox)
--Pekkila, Erkki. “History,
Geography, and Diffusion: Ilmari Krohn’s
Early Influence on the Study of European Folk Music.”
Ethnomusicology 50/2(2006):353-359 (reserve xerox)
--Pritchard-Evans, E.E. “The
Dance,” in The Position of
women in Primitive Societies and Other Essays in Social Anthropology
(reserve xerox)
--Geertz, Clifford. “
Thick Description,” Chapter 1 in The
Interpretation of Cultures (reserve xerox)
--Royce, Anya Peterson. “The
Structure and Function [of Dance],”
in the Anthropology of Dance (reserve xerox)
WEEK 6: anthropological
foundations of ethnomusicology, cntd –
Music in relation to society and culture
-- uses and functions of music
--Merriams’
tripartite model:
concept-behavior-sound
-- -- contexts of music/ music in/as culture
Assigned Readings for Week 6
uses and functions of music
--Merriam, Anthropology of Music,
Chapter XI, pp. 209-227 “Uses and Functions”
--Nettl, Study of Ethnomusicology
(2005 edition), Chapter 18, pp. 244-258 “Music
hath
Charms: Uses and Functions”
Merriam’s
behavior-concept-sound model
--Merriam, Anthropology of Music, pp. 32-35 (overview of the model); pp. 63-84
(Concepts);
pp.103-- (Physical-Verbal Behavior);
pp. 123—(Social
Behavior)
--Timothy Rice, “Toward the
Remodeling of Ethnomusicology” (review of
Merriam/model) Ethnomusicology, Vol. 31, No. 3. (Autumn, 1987), pp. 469-
488. [JSTOR]
--John Blacking, How Musical is Man? (book on reserve). Must read the following
pages 10 (his definition of
“music”); 19; 25 ;53; 73; 77; 85; 99-116 and any others you select. Be prepared to respond to questions on
his “Music in Society and Culture <>Culture and Society in Music; Humanly
Organized Sound <> Soundly Organized Humanity
WEEK 7: Contextual-Performance Studies and Ethnography of
Performance
--Herndon & McLeod, Music as Culture, Chapter 4 (1990 ed.), pp. 94-138--“The
Relationship of Music to Social Institutions” (book
on reserve)
--Shepherd, John. “Music and Social
Categories,” (book on reserve) in The Cultural Study of Music,
ed. Martin Clayton, et al.
--Nettl, “Music and ‘That Complex Whole’: Music in Culture,”
CHAPTER 16, pp. 215-231 of NETTL, The Study of Ethnomusicology (2005) [book
on reserve]
--Regular Qureshi, "Musical Sound and Contextual Input: A Performance Model for Musical Analysis." Ethnomusicology, USA Vol. 31/1 (winter 1987) 56-86) [JSTOR]
--
James Porter, "Jeannie Robertson's My son David, A Conceptual Performance
Model," Journal of the American Folklore Society 89(1976):7-26 [JSTOR]
WEEK 8 Contextual-Performance Studies and Ethnography of
Performance, CONTD
-- Anthony Seeger, “Ethnography of Music,” in Helen Myers, Ethnomusicology: An Introduction, CHAPTER 4 (book on reserve)
--Nettl, The Study of Ethnomusicology (2005), CHAPTER 17 “The Meat-and-Potatoes Books: Musical Ethnography,” pp, 232-243. [book on reserve]
--Anthony Seeger, “What can we learn when they sing? Vocal genres of the Suya Indians of central Brazil” Ethnomusicology Vol. 23/3 (September 1979) 373-94. [JSTOR]
-- Muriel Saville-Troike, pp. 117-145 of The Ethnography of Communication : an introduction by Muriel Saville-Troike (1982—book on reserve/xerox?]
--“Introduction” to Symposium on Form in Performance (1975 :
University of Texas, Austin) Proceedings of a symposium on form in performance
: hard-core ethnography / edited by Marcia Herndon, Roger Brunyate 1975
--browse: Verbal art as performance by Richard Bauman, 1977 [book reserve]
WEEK 9: FIELDWORK and Contemporary Ethnographies
--Helen Myers,
“Fieldwork”, CHAPTER 2 of Ethnomusicology:
An Introduction, (book on
reserve)
--Nettl, Study of
Ethnomusicology [2005]; “You will ...
this music: Insiders and Outsiders,” CHAPTER 11, pp. 149-160 [book on
reserve]
-- Timothy
Rice, “Toward a Mediation of Field Methods and Field Experience in
Ethnomusicology,” CHAPTER 6, pp. 101-120 of Shadows in the Field: New
Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology, ed. Gregory Barz and Timothy
Colley, 1997 [book reserve]
--Carol Babiracki, “What’s the
difference?” in Shadows....., pp. 121-136
--Jim Thomas, “Musings on Critical Ethnography, Meanings, and Symbolic Violence,” CHAPTER 3 of Expressions of Ethnography: Novel Approaches to qualitative Methods by Robin Patric Clair, pp. 45-63. [xerox on reserve]
WEEK 10: FIELDWORK/ETHNOGRAPHIES, CONTD—oral presenations
--Liora Bressler & Robert Stake, “Qualitative Research Methodology in Music Education,” CHAPTER 7 of Menc Handbook of Research Methodologies, pp.270-311 (xerox on reserve)
-- Kofi Agawu, “Contesting Difference: A Critique of Africanist Ethnomusicology,” CHAPTER 19 of The Cultural Study of Music
--Mark Slobin,
“The Destiny of "Diaspora" in Ethnomusicology,” CHAPTER 24 of The Cultural Study of Music
--Udo Will, “In
the Garden of Cultural Identities---On the Logic of Culture, Race and Identity
in Postmodernist Discourse (xerox reserve)
--where/wither urban
ethnomusicology?
*SEE
INSTRUCTOR’S WEBSITE FOR SYLLABUS UPDATE (in adddition to hard copies)