Course Syllabus
Working Document: ]
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WU58hLGjcDaOQ_qyZbb457B2wcCRJRLYIksxEI9LgN8/edit?usp=sharing
GWSS 241 Hip Hop and Indie Rock Syllabus YG-1.docx
GWSS 241: Hip Hop & Indie Rock
University of Washington
Summer 2024 (Full Term)
Instructor: Yasmine Gomez, M.A.
Email: ygomez@uw.edu
Office Hours:
https://washington.zoom.us/j/94218409939
Drop in via Zoom Wednesday 1-2 pm or by appointment. To request an appointment, please send a message via Canvas or a direct email.
Course Information
Meeting Time: Monday and Wednesday, 3:30-5:40 p.m. on Zoom*
*Please login in through your UW Zoom account or you will not be given access.
Zoom Link: Use link for meeting through Canvas Zoom
Classroom Playlist Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tfkDdyX54PwQQtI2fOBBv6GLk-hN1799OextlyX8AfI/edit?usp=sharing
Land Acknowledgement
We respectfully acknowledge that we at UW are uninvited guests on the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish peoples, including the Duwamish, and Suquamish, Stillaguamish, and Muckleshoot peoples who have lived in the Salish Sea basin and throughout the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades since time immemorial.
Course Description:
This course introduces you to popular music studies through the practice of archive building, oral history analysis, critical thinking and writing and digital scholarship. Throughout the quarter, we explore popular music as a site of history, power, social change and memory. In our readings and discussions, we engage criticism that draws upon alternative archives to tell the story of popular music in innovative ways. We ask how race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class and region and identity fit into the stories we tell about particular genres of music. To grapple with these questions, we situate punk, hip hop, pop, and other music genres within a range of sonic and performance influences such as blues, gospel, estilo bravío, punk, country, son jarocho, and disco. We will also explore global influences on these genres.
Together, we will engage in digitally mediated hands-on experience, working in popular music studies as a field of practice. You will participate as new media scholars. As we analyze how various writers, filmmakers and musicians make sense of popular music by turning to archives and histories, we will use oral histories contained within the UW Libraries’ Women Who Rock (WWR) Oral History Archive to create our own alternative stories in class. The WWR Oral History Archive features a diverse array of women from the U.S., Mexico and beyond, who have made significant contributions to music scenes, social justice movements, public scholarship, and community life. The course readings also draw heavily on work that has been shaped by the Pop Conference, a yearly conference on international popular music.
You will use the course readings and the WWR Oral History Archive to produce scholarship in the form of new media at an introductory level in individual and collaborative Canvas discussions, posts, and synchronous class assignments; a mid-term; and a final project. Through the course assignments, you will not only come to understand the contours of popular music studies through its practitioners, but you will also contribute to the shape of the field and its future.
The class examines the relationship between archives, memory, collective identity and storytelling in three ways:
(1) through content that demonstrates the importance of storytelling and memory in relation to popular music narratives;
(2) through archive/meta-data methods; and
(3) through individual and collaborative desktop media production.
Rationale: scholars in the humanities and social sciences often cite evidence housed in archives to create persuasive stories, to make and tell history. But not all evidence is archived. Pop music critics frequently face this challenge. The WWR archive records and preserves evidence often left out of conventional music archives, so that new stories might be told. Sometimes you need to create your own archive to tell a new story.
Course Objectives:
- Develop your ability to listen to, analyze, and discuss popular music and performance and other kinds of cultural texts
- Interpret the broader social, historical, gendered, racialized, aesthetic and cultural contexts in which popular music has evolved
- Illustrate popular music’s centrality in the making of personal and public identities, and collective memory and history
- Assess the impact of popular music on social movements of the past and present
- Recognize the archive as a site of epistemological conflict
- Develop collaborative research skills
- Utilize social media for purposes of documentation
- Create introductory level digital scholarship utilizing new media forms, especially podcast production
- Understand the multiple ways archives relate to social justice
Required Texts:
All of the readings for this course are either hyperlinked on the syllabus (the underline indicates a hyperlink) or available as PDFs located in the “File” section of the course Canvas site in course readings under the corresponding week.
The syllabus is subject to change at any time. If something shifts, I will tell you beforehand.
Unit #1: Write to Rock
|
Week 1 |
Pop Music History, Archives and the Stories We Tell Objectives: ● Group introductions and course norms. ● Getting comfortable with technology. |
|
Monday 6/17 |
Personal Introductions Syllabus Overview Introduction: “Official” Pop Music History, Archives and Algorithms http://www.concerthotels.com/100-years-of-rock Read after class: ● Maureen Mahon, “Call and Response,” Black Diamond Queens (PDF linked on Canvas) View after class: ● Twenty Feet from Stardom (Dir. Morgan Neville, 2013) (1hr 31min) ○ You may access this film via UW Libraries. First login to UW Libraries and then click on this link: ○ If these options don’t work, login into UW LIbraries and search for Twenty Feet from Stardom (Also currently available on Tubi) ○ As you view 20 Feet from Stardom, write down notes on interesting, unexpected or confusing moments that came up in the film. Then, draft an informal brainstorm response of no more than 250 words to this prompt: How does what you learned make you listen to music differently? Make sure to note the timestamps of these significant moments within the film. ● Post your response to the Canvas discussion board by Tuesday 11:59 p.m. |
|
Wednesday 6/19 |
NO CLASS- JUNETEENTH HOLIDAY |
|
Week 2 |
Changing the Story Objectives: ● Consider “official” histories of popular music, their inclusions and exclusions. How do archives support these stories? |
|
Monday 6/24 |
Read before class: ● Starr and Waterman, “Introduction” and “Streams of Tradition: The Sources of Popular Music,” American Popular Music (2008) online access at UW Libraries http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo1267/american-popular-music.pdf Listen before class: ● Studio 360 “In the Pines” Podcast, https://play.prx.org/listen?uf=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2Fstudio360%2Fpodcast (start at 25:50) ○ To help prepare you for producing audio/visual presentations, listen to this podcast for its story structure. Note how the story is told. ○ Grow your understanding how to introduce a story, how to introduce oneself, how to introduce ones guest and how to put a story together. ○ Listen to sounds in the podcast. Are the sound levels even amongst guests? Is the sound clear? Did you notice any distracting noises or glitches? ● Lead Belly, “In the Pines” (1944), https://youtu.be/2MkfTYPmLlA ● Nirvana, “Where Did You Sleep Last Night? (Unplugged)” (1994) https://youtu.be/hEMm7gxBYSc?feature=shared ● Bo Diddley, “Hey Bo Diddley” (1957) 1965 Live show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeZHB3ozglQ ● Bow Wow Wow, “I Want Candy” (1982) https://youtu.be/JoXVYSV4Xcs?feature=shared ● Aaron Carter, “I Want Candy” (2000) https://youtu.be/zaL9VrQOP0E?feature=shared ● Buddy Holly, “Not Fade Away” (1957) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRR2xZ5Y6Ww ● Richie Valens, “La Bamba (Live)” (1958) https://youtu.be/hto-UMuYkwk ● Los Lobos, “La Bamba” (1987) https://youtu.be/qD-kxaiYQqU?feature=shared ● Selena, “La Bamba” (1987) https://youtu.be/hZZjEg7T1k4?feature=shared Assignments: ● Canvas discussion post due by noon, Monday, in preparation for in-class breakout group discussion. ● Each group member will cut and paste your group’s entire collective summary onto Canvas by 11:59 pm, Monday. |
|
Wednesday 6/26 |
NO ZOOM CLASS. Asynchronous assignment. Read class: ● Habell-Pallán et al, “Introduction,” American Sabor, American Sabor: Latinos and Latinas in US Popular Music||American Sabor: Latinos y Latinas en La Música Popular Estadounidense. Bilingual. Co-authored with Marisol Berrios-Miranda and Shannon Dudley (PDF in Canvas) ● Malnig, Julie, 'Rock ’n’ Roll Dance and the Africanist Aesthetic', Dancing Black, Dancing White: Rock 'n' Roll, Race, and Youth Culture of the 1950s and Early 1960s (New York, 2023; online edn, Oxford Academic) (PDF on Canvas) Listen before class: ● "Cha Cha Cha" sound module from American Sabor: https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/wwr/id/596/rec/6 ● Episode 3: The Birth of American Music, Wesley Morris Podcast for the New York Times’ 1619 Project https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/podcasts/1619-black-american-music-appropriation.html (35:00) Assignments: ● Canvas discussion post due by Wednesday 11:59 p.m. |
|
Week 3 |
Changing the Story: Case Studies, Hidden Histories Objectives: ● Consider examples of forgotten stories and the ways they change key concepts in our larger understandings of popular music. |
|
Monday 7/1 |
Read before class: ● Maureen Mahon, “Listening for Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton’s Voice: The Sound of Race and Gender Transgressions in Rock and Roll,” Women and Music, Vol. 15, 2011, 1-17. (PDF) ● Sonnet Retman, “Memphis Minnie’s Scientific Sound: Afro-Sonic Modernity and the Juke-Box Era of the Blues,” American Quarterly, 72.1, March 2020, 75-102. (PDF). Please note that if you have issues accessing the PDF, you may click on this link and log in to UW Libraries with your UW Net ID to access article: https://muse jhu-edu.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/article/752330 Listen before class: ● Big Mama Thornton, live with Buddy Guy 1965, “Hound Dog” https://youtu.be/cZM386M6xUY?feature=shared ● Freddie Bell and the Bellboys, “Hound Dog” (1955) https://yout u.be/fJQ-fDb4M4s ● Elvis, “Hound Dog (live)” (1956) https://youtu.be/lzQ8GDBA8Is ● Memphis Minnie, “When the Levee Breaks” (1929) https://youtu.be/swhEa8vuP6U ○ Led Zeppelin, “When the Levee Break” (1971) https://youtu.be/XL1BDku3GLM?feature=shared ● Memphis Minnie, “Crazy Cryin Blues” (1931) https://youtu.be/AIAw2fAFNMA?feature=shared ● Memphis Minnie, “In My Girlish Days” (1941) https://youtu.be/sJqL50NvtD4 Assignments: ● Canvas discussion post due by noon, 12:00 pm, Monday, in preparation for in-class breakout group discussion. ● Each group member will cut and paste your group’s entire collective summary onto Canvas by 11:59 pm, Monday. |
|
Wednesday 7/3 |
Read before class: ● Michelle Habell-Pallán, Angelica Macklin and Sonnet Retman, “Notes on Women Who Rock: Making Scenes, Building Communities: Participatory Research, Community Engagement, and Archival Practice.” NANO (New American Notes Online) special issue, "Digital Humanities, Public Humanities." July 2014. https://nanocrit.com/index.php/issues/issue5/notes-women-who-rock-making-scenes-building-communities-participatory-research-community-engagement-and-archival-practice ● Maylei Blackwell transcript, WWR Oral History Archive https://content.lib.washington.edu/wwrweb/write-to-rock/bioBlackwell_Maylei.html ● http://womenwhorockcommunity.org/ View before class: ● I Saw You on the Radio (12:00) ● Woman Who Rock Oral History Preview (9:28) Assignments: ● Canvas discussion post due by noon,12:00 pm, Wednesday, in preparation for pre-assigned Canvas Group discussion. ● Each group member will cut and paste your group’s entire collective summary onto Canvas by 11:59 pm, Wednesday.
Jukebox Reflection due Friday 7/5 by 11:59 p.m. |
|
Week 4 |
Pop Music’s Communities of Inquiry and Action: The EMP Pop Conference Objectives: ● How do alternative archives and oral histories change the story of popular music? ● What kinds of archives do scholars and journalists use? |
|
Monday 7/8 |
Read before class: ● Gayle Wald, “Rosetta Tharpe and Feminist Unforgetting,” Journal of Women's History, Volume 21, Number 4, Winter 2009, 157-160. (PDF) ● Gayle Wald, “‘A Queer Black Woman Invented Rock-and-Roll’: Rosetta Tharpe, Memes, and Memory Practices in the Digital Age,” Feminist Media Studies (PDF) View before class: ● Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock & Roll https://vimeo.com/101093967 (53:39) Listen before class: ● Sister Rosetta Tharpe, “Rock Me” (1938) https://youtu.be/p9JezItjWIU?feature=shared ● Sister Rosetta Tharpe, “Strange Things Happening Every Day” (1944) https://youtu.be/l4-22b72muY?feature=shared ● Sister Rosetta Tharpe, “Up Above My Head” (Live 1960s) https://youtu.be/JeaBNAXfHfQ?feature=shared ● Sister Rosetta Tharpe, “Didn’t it Rain” (1964) https://youtu.be/Y9a49oFalZE?feature=shared
Assignments: ●Canvas discussion post due by noon, 12:00 pm, Monday, in preparation for in-class breakout group discussion. ● Each group member will cut and paste your group’s entire collective summary onto Canvas by 11:59 pm, Monday night. |
|
Wednesday 7/10 |
Read before class: ● Jack Hamilton, "How Rock and Roll Became White and how the Rolling Stones, a band in love with black music, helped lead the way to rock music's segregated future", Slate Oct.6, 2016 https://slate.com/culture/2016/10/race-rock-and-the-rolling-stones-how-the-rock-and-roll-became-white.html ● Daphne Brooks, “The Write to Rock: Racial Mythologies, Feminist Theory and the Pleasures of Rock Music Criticism,” Women & Music, Vol. 12, 2008. (PDF on Canvas) ● Ann Powers, “The Fellowship of the Rockers: How did we get stuck with the idea that four white guys make a rock band?” Dec. 21, 2021. ● Ann Powers, “A Spy in the House of Love,” Women & Music, Vol. 12, 2008. (PDF on Canvas) ● Tracy Moore, Oh, the Unbelievable Shit You Get Writing About Music as a Woman Jezebel View before class: ● Clip from Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny (2006) https://youtu.be/UxCjccYNIiE?feature=shared (4:30) Listen before class: ● Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil” (1968) https://youtu.be/Jwtyn-L-2gQ?feature=shared ● Jimi Hendrix, “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” (1968) https://youtu.be/qFfnlYbFEiE?feature=shared Assignments: ● Canvas discussion post due by noon, 12:00 pm, Wednesday, in preparation for in-class breakout group discussion. ● Each group member will cut and paste your group’s entire collective summary onto Canvas by 11:59 pm, Wednesday night. Critical Karaoke due Friday 7/12 by 11:59 p.m. |
Unit #2: Making Scenes
|
Week 5 |
Hip Hop Foundations and Origin Myths Objectives: ● What is hip hop’s origin myth? ● How does crowd sourced media (such as Wikipedia) reproduce or reshape popular music’s origin myths? |
|
Monday 7/15 |
View in-class: ● clips from Mambo to Hip Hop: A South Bronx Tale (Dir. Henry Chalfant, 2006) https://youtu.be/qpGYDl1-scw?feature=shared 26:00-28:51; 32:00-39:00; 41:12-49:35 Read before class: ● Hip hop on Wikipedia ● Bill Moyers Show interview, Theresa Riley with Jeff Chang, Still Fighting the Power | BillMoyers.com · Moore, Marcus J. “Kendrick Lamar thinks like a Jazz musician” https://www.npr.org/2020/04/07/828115972/kendrick-lamar-thinks-like-a-jazz-musician
View before class: ● 9th Wonder On Sampling For Kendrick Lamar https://youtu.be/23vumiogTQk?feature=shared ● DJ Kool Herc ‘Merry-Go-Round’ Technique https://youtu.be/7qwml-F7zKQ (3:55) ● Wild Style (1982), Battling Crews, https://youtu.be/71I7WhH9zI0 ● Wild Style (1982), Poppin' and Lockin’ Scene https://youtu.be/kUlNformXQ8 ● “Hip Hop” and “Disco and Electronica” Sound Stories at American Sabor ● DJ Premier, “Making Beats” excerpt from Scratch! https://youtu.be/jcOUYOg dAM, 59:22-1:02:29 (3 minutes) ● “How the US Became a Hip Hop Nation” PBS News Hour (1/26/2018), https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-the-u-s-became-the-hip-hop-nation (8:00) ● “Keepers Of The Underground: The Hiphop Archive At Harvard” NPR (9/6/2018) https://www.npr.org/2018/09/06/641599819/keepers-of-the-underground-the hiphop-archive-at-harvard (6:00) ● The Carters, “Ape S**t” (2018), https://youtu.be/kbMqWXnpXcA
Listen before class: ● Sugar Hill Gang, “Rapper’s Delight” (1979), https://youtu.be/mcCK99wHrk0 ● Afrika Bambaatta, “Planet Rock” (1982), https://youtu.be/lh8rAo0O83w ● N.W.A., “Fuck Tha Police” (1988) https://youtu.be/c5fts7bj-so ● Queen Latifah, “Ladies First” (1989) https://youtu.be/8Qimg_q7LbQ ● Public Enemy, “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos” (1989) https://youtu.be/ZM5_6js19eM ● Tribe Called Quest, “Can I Kick It?” (1990) https://youtu.be/7D_JwgIM-y4 ● Tupac, “To Live and Die in LA” (1996) https://youtu.be/3AFTtiZVZ3o ● Lauryn Hill, “Everything is Everything”(1998) https://youtu.be/i3_dOWYHS7I ● Mos Def, “Umi Says” (2000) https://youtu.be/CsihHoyqwWY ● Missy Elliot, “Get Ur Freak On” (2001) https://youtu.be/FPoKiGQzbSQ ● Slick Rick, “Children’s Story” (1988) https://youtu.be/HjNTu8jdukA?feature=shared NOT required viewing/listening but recommended for those who want more and have access to Netflix: ●● An Intro To Hip-Hop, For The Uninitiated https://www.kuow.org/stories/an-intro-to-hip-hop-for-the-uninitiated ● Hip Hop Evolution Season 1, Episode 2, "From the Underground to the Mainstream" (45:00) ● Season 1, Episode 3, “The New Guard” (43 min) ● Season 2, Episode 3, “Do the Knowledge” (44 min) Assignments: ● Canvas discussion post due by noon, 12:00 pm, Monday, in preparation for in-class breakout group discussion. ● Each group member will cut and paste your group’s entire collective summary onto Canvas by 11:59 pm, Monday night. |
|
Wednesday 7/17 |
Read before class: ● Hip hop feminism and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminist_activism_in_hip_hop on Wikipedia ● Aisha Durham, Brittney C. Cooper, and Susana M. Morris, “The Stage Hip-Hop Feminism Built: A New Directions Essay,” Signs, Vol. 38, No. 3 (Spring 2013) (PDF) ● LaBennet Oneka, “Histories and ‘Her Stories’ from the Bronx: Excavating Hidden Hip Hop Narratives” Afro-Americans in New York Life and History. July 2009, Vol. 33, issue 2, p109 ● Jason King, “ Lil Nas X is the boundary-smashing pop revolutionary of 2021” NPR. Dec. 28, 2021. Listen before class: ● Supa-Dupa Fly: The History of Women in Hip Hop https://www.npr.org/2019/10/22/772294885/supa-dupa-fly-the-history-of-women in-hip-hop (34:00) NOT required–View: ● Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes (Dir. Byron Hurt, 2006) https://vimeo.com/143038369 (55:00) *Note: The following links are NOT required viewing/listening. They are resources for those interested in Seattle’s Hip Hop scenes. ● “Cool Out: Seattle’s Hip Hop TV Cable Show from 1980s” by Scott Macklin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbfHmMJGW1Q&list=PLSlAVND2YJmeMkt cbeHKKGUwglAtC2cMQ&index=3 (11:00). ● “Gabriel Teadros on Beacon Hill Hip Hop” by Scott Macklin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7HFc13C1og&list=PLSlAVND2YJmeMktcbe HKKGUwglAtC2cMQ&index=14 (3:00 min) ● Music Video: Gabriel Teodros & SoulChef "Greeny Jungle" ft. Shakiah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H29PcUbc6Tk&list=PLSlAVND2YJmeMktcbe HKKGUwglAtC2cMQ (4:11 min) ● THEESatisfaction, “Queens” (2012) https://youtu.be/qGWFBt_IPOg (3:27) ● THEESatisfaction, “Recognition,” (2015) https://youtu.be/JBHjr-CdxYM (3:31) ● Do Normaal, “Emotional” (2018) https://youtu.be/lKKTxzyyPhc (2:43) ● Shabazz Palaces, “Fast Learner” (2020) https://youtu.be/co934TghOFc ● The Legacy of Seattle Hip Hop MOHAI (Museum of History and Industry) exhibit https://mohai.org/exhibit/the-legacy-of-seattle-hip-hop/ ● KEXP’s Hip Hop: The New Seattle Sound ● Seattle Growth Podcast S4, Ep 4 “Seattle’s Emerging Hip Hop Artists” http://seattlegrowthpodcast.com/hiphop/ Assignments: ● Brainstorms due on the Canvas discussion page by noon,12:00 pm, Wednesday, in preparation for pre-assigned Canvas Group discussion. ● Each group member will cut and paste your group’s entire collective summary onto Canvas by 11:59 pm, Wednesday night. |
Unit #3: Building Communities
|
Week 6 |
Women are the only future in rock 'n' roll”: Punk, Riot Grrrl, Indie Rock and other Insurrections Objectives: ● Consider the relationship between activism and popular music. What happens when mainstream media encounters feminist music performances? What is indie anymore? What is “selling out”? Who can “sell out” and how? How do you make it without selling out? ● What is the relationship between popular music and sexuality at this moment? |
|
Monday 7/22 |
Read before class: ● Ryan Moore, “Young, Gifted and Slack,” Sells Like Teen Spirit: Music, Youth Culture and Social Crisis (New York: NYU, 2009). (PDF) View before class: ● EMP Riot Grrrl Retrospective—Riot Grrrl is . . . ? (3:00 min) ● EMP Riot Grrrl Retrospective—What Got Lost (2:30 min) ● Clip from High Fidelity (Dir. Stephen Frears, 2000) “Record Snobs,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eBh6xipKYk (2:21 min) ● Clip from Girls to the Front featuring Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hannah, https://youtu.be/a2juOY5RODw (2:31 min) ● Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991) https://youtu.be/hTWKbfoikeg ● Rage Against the Machine, “Testify” (1999) https://youtu.be/Q3dvbM6Pias Listen before class: ● Seattle’s Growth Podcast, S4, Ep2: “Seattle’s Sound: Grunge and the 90s” http://seattlegrowthpodcast.com/s4-ep-2-seattles-sound-grunge-and-the-90s/ Assignments: ● Canvas discussion post due by noon, 12:00 pm, Monday, in preparation for in-class breakout group discussion. ● Each group member will cut and paste your group’s entire collective summary onto Canvas by 11:59 pm, Monday night. |
|
Wednesday 7/24 |
Read before class: ● Michelle Habell-Pallán, “Death to Racism and Punk Rock Revisionism’ in Alice Bag’s Vexing Voice and the Unspeakable Influence of Cancion Ranchera on Hollywood Punk” in Pop When the World Falls Apart. (PDF) ● Mimi Nyugen, “It’s (Not) a White World: Looking for Race in Punk.” Punk Planet 28 (PDF) ● Alice Bag, WWR Oral History Archive http://content.lib.washington.edu/wwrweb/
View before class:
Pretty Vacant (Dir. Jimmy Mendiola, 1996). Link here to watch film https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17kVvvrbShRwd99c5iuDmZypvQ5UAl6EH?usp=s hare_link Listen before class: ● Alice Bag, “Gluttony”(1978) https://youtu.be/bWKidzzA2FQ ● Alice Bag, “77” (2018) https://youtu.be/ZmnTGTyRjEM ● “Eastside Sound” and “LA Punk to Banda Rap” Sound Stories American Sabor Assignments: ● Canvas discussion post due by noon,12:00 pm, Wednesday, in preparation for Canvas Group discussion. ● Each group member will cut and paste your group’s entire collective summary onto Canvas by 11:59 pm, Wednesday night. |
|
Week 7 |
New Formations: Pop/Rock Protest in the New Millennium Objectives: ● What does the music protest? How? What constitutes protest in pop? ● How does black feminist thought help us understand the significance of the current moment of pop protest? |
|
Monday 7/29 |
View in-class: ● Beyonce’s “Lemonade” (2016) Read before class: ● Dobson, Abby. “From Baldwin to Beyonce: Exploring the Responsibility of the Artist in Society/Re-envisioning the Black Female Artist as Citizen” African American Arts : Activism, Aesthetics, and Futurity, Bucknell University Press, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/washington/detail.action?docID=6213711. · King, Jason, Powers, Ann, and Harris, LaTesha. “Revolutionary Fun: Why we can’t stop talking about Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’” NPR music https://www.npr.org/2022/08/01/1114499960/revolutionary-fun-beyonce-renaissance-review-roundtable
View/listen before class: ● Childish Gambino’s “This is America” (2018) Childish Gambino - This Is America (Official Video) ● Beyoncé, “American Requiem” (2024) https://youtu.be/vp3BSjJdyow?feature=shared ● Rage Against The Machine, “Killing in the Name” (1993) https://youtu.be/bWXazVhlyxQ?feature=shared ● System Of A Down, “B.Y.O.B.” (2005) https://youtu.be/zUzd9KyIDrM?feature=shared Assignments: ● Canvas discussion post due by noon, 12:00 pm, Monday, in preparation for in-class breakout group discussion. ● Each group member will cut and paste your group’s entire collective summary onto Canvas by 11:59 pm, Monday night. |
|
Wednesday 7/31 |
Read before class: ● Daphne Brooks, "How #BlackLivesMatter Started a Musical Revolution," The Guardian, March 13, 2016 · Powers, Ann. “Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ is a portrait of the artist getting joyously weird.” https://www.npr.org/2024/04/10/1238886998/beyonces-cowboy-carter-is-a-portrait-of-the-artist-getting-joyously-weird · Kinsey, Michael J. “Slaying ‘Formation’ A Queering of Black Radical Tradition.” African American Arts : Activism, Aesthetics, and Futurity, Bucknell University Press, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/washington/detail.action?docID=6213711. View before class: ● Beyonce as “create digger” for beats https://jwp.io/s/TesX0Anj ● “The Beygency,” SNL https://youtu.be/rGxe83lXgJg (3:53) ● Beyonce, Super Bowl 2016 “Formation” https://youtu.be/uqGwekWZeRI ● “The Day Beyonce Turned Black,” SNL https://youtu.be/ociMBfkDG1w?si=XwylkFUaPUVw1u4K (3:25) Assignments: ● Canvas discussion post due by noon,12:00 pm, Wednesday in preparation for pre-assigned Canvas Group discussion. ● Each group member will cut and paste your group’s entire collective summary onto Canvas by 11:59 pm, Wednesday night. Project Proposal Due Friday 8/2 by 11:59 p.m. |
|
Week 8 |
Rock the Borderlands: Influence of Latino Culture on Rock, Country, & Punk Objectives: ● Consider the hidden influence of Latinos on rock and punk. How do we hear rhythms as evidence of this influence? |
|
Monday 8/5 |
Read before class: · Ludwig Hurtado, “Country Music is also Mexican Music,” https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/country-mexico-ice-nationalism/ The Nation, Jan 3, 2019 · Gloria Anzaldua “To Live in the Borderlands” (PDF) (one page poem) · Vargas, Deb. “Freddie Fender’s Blackbrown Country Ecologies” Rutgers University. · Paredez, Deborah. “Soundtracks of Selena: ‘Disco Medley’ and ‘Como la Flor’” Duke University Press.
Listen before class: · Selena Quintanilla, “Disco Medley” (1995) https://youtu.be/kqyUf19c_7Y?si=3jo9H2tQPpQDUsk0 · Optional viewing: Selena Quintanilla on the Johnny Canales Show (1994) https://youtu.be/QBnYynM1Pao?si=taAvL84ICy2HAxhI
· Shelly Lares, “Ganas de Besarte” (1993) https://youtu.be/FYKE3aRvqVQ?si=uTL9YDBrHtqWNDkX ● Freddy Fender, “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights” (1979) https://youtu.be/-Qu8RPvhP-U?feature=shared
● Optional viewing: Freddie Fender in the Texas Tornados on the Johnny Canales Show https://youtu.be/BGg-koHNs8o?si=7VfIwAM64vbfItK6
● Flaco Jimenez and Dwight Yoakam, “Carmelita” (1992). https://youtu.be/NaFuP4xNU9o?feature=shared Assignments: ●Canvas discussion post due by noon, 12:00 pm, Monday, in preparation for in-class breakout group discussion. ● Each group member will cut and paste your group’s entire collective summary onto Canvas by 11:59 pm, Monday night. |
|
|
Read before class: · Vargas, Deb. “The Borderlands Rock Reverb of Gloria Rios and Girl in a Coma.” (PDF in Canvas) · Girl in a Coma WWR Oral History Archive https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/wwr/id/402/rec/1 Listen before class: · Gloria Rios “El Relojito” (1956) https://youtu.be/RItMyB-qDYg?si=OmPvbumiEMUEFqy4 · “Tejana (Texas) Women” https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/wwr/id/667/rec/6 ● “Women With Attitude” https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/wwr/id/594/rec/1 ● Girl in a Coma’s “Si Una Vez” https://youtu.be/xt3nE1YYeH8?feature=shared · Piñata Protest, “Vato Perron” (2013) https://youtu.be/VghHqLVew98?feature=shared · Amalia Ortiz’s “La Frontera te Llama” https://youtu.be/_ENNWjYRqik?feature=shared Assignments: ● Canvas discussion post due by noon,12:00 pm, Wednesday in preparation for pre-assigned Canvas Group discussion. ● Each group member will cut and paste your group’s entire collective summary onto Canvas by 11:59 pm, Wednesday night. |
|
Week 9 |
Alternative Imaginaries Objectives: ● Consider the relationship between activism and popular music. How does community-based, participatory music practice change the idea of popular music? |
|
Monday 8/12 |
Read: ● Martha Gonzalez, “Imaginaries,” Liner notes, co-authored with Russell Rodriguez for Quetzal, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. (PDF) ● Chapter 5, “Commercial Stars and Artivistas” in American Sabor: Latinos and Latinas in US Popular Music. Scroll down to page 265 and begin reading there. The book is bilingual so one page will be printed in English and a corresponding page will be printed in Spanish. View: ●"Imaginaries" by Quetzal from Imaginaries: https://folkways.si.edu/imaginaries-quetzal/latin-struggle protest/music/video/smithsonian ● http://marthagonzalez.net/ |
|
Wednesday 8/14 |
Last Class- TBD
Final Project due Friday 8/16 by noon. |
Grading Breakdown
|
GWSS Weekly Reading Expectations |
|
|
200 Level |
60 Pages |
|
300 Level |
80 – 100 Pages |
|
400 Level |
100 – 140 Pages |
|
500 Level |
200 – 250 Pages |
Please note that you are responsible for reading all materials assigned, but due to time constraints all materials may not be covered extensively.
Course Requirements & Grading:
Weekly assignments:
Individual Brainstorms/Canvas discussion posts 15%
Participation, Breakout Discussions, and Group Brainstorms 15%
Major Assignments:
Jukebox Reflection (7/7) 15%
Critical Karaoke (7/14) 15%
Project Proposal (8/4) 5%
Final Project (8/16) 35%
= 100%
Incomplete assignments
If you receive below a 60 on a major assignment, I will provide specific feedback. You will be able to submit a revised assignment for one week after receiving feedback. If you do not revise and resubmit your assignment within a week after receiving feedback, the assignment will remain at the original grade.
Late assignments
You must turn in your weekly assignments on time. I will not accept them beyond the day they are due unless you have communicated with me. For your Critical Karaoke and Jukebox Reflection, each day after the deadline will be a ½ point reduction. In the case that you know you will be late, it is best to reach out for an extension without point reduction.
Online Learning Community Guidelines
Your preparation is essential for the success of our discussion across the quarter. This class requires active engagement with the course materials and with each other--even if we are on an online community. Come to our meetings prepared to talk about the day's music and readings and make sure you’ve done all your reading, listening and viewing before our class times on Mondays and Wednesdays. I will send announcements via Canvas, so please check Canvas daily. You will also receive instructions on Canvas outlining the expectations for each of the class assignments. I will schedule occasional workshops through Zoom to help you complete the course’s new media projects as they approach. I encourage you to meet with me by appointment in office hours to discuss the course readings and assignments and let me know how you are doing.
- As an online learning community, I ask that you keep your screen on during our synchronous meetings and in your zoom breakout rooms. I realize showing your face on screen can be intimidating, but your presence helps to nurture a strong and meaningful learning community.
- This course may include content that can be difficult, provocative, and/or upsetting. If you have concerns about any of the topics covered, please contact me to discuss how to handle sensitive course material. When you approach content that pushes your boundaries, consider it a stopping point to reflect on your own history/experiences and draw upon course materials and conversations to push yourself and your thinking forward. Any racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, classist comments which invalidate experiences, opinions, and/or feelings of others will not be tolerated in our learning community.
- Respect the privacy of the classroom. Students may choose to share personal experiences in this course. Be respectful and keep that person’s story safe: don’t talk about it outside of class without gaining their explicit consent. Do not record audio or video without permission from Disability Resource Services (and please chat with me). Do not copy/share discussion board content. I encourage you to talk about what you are learning in this course, but when you are discussing the course, maintain privacy and respect for your classmates and the perspectives shared in class.
- Respect your fellow classmates. A large portion of this course will involve discussion, group work, and online collaboration, so it is imperative that we all maintain a respectful atmosphere in our online learning environment. As we approach content, we should respect each other’s opinions and interpretations.
- If you don’t know someone’s gender pronouns, use gender neutral pronouns until you do. Apply this to the authors we read as well.
- Communicate with me if you are falling behind. It’s much easier for me to help you figure a way out of the overwhelm and through your workload if you communicate with me early.
Academic Integrity:
Cheating tends to happen when students feel helpless and overwhelmed. If you are feeling this way, come to office hours as soon as possible. We will work together to get you back on track.
Acts of academic misconduct may include but are not limited to:
Plagiarism (representing the work of others as your own without giving appropriate credit to the original author(s))
Unauthorized collaboration (working with each other on assignments without permission)
Students found to have engaged in academic misconduct may receive a zero on the assignment (or other possible outcome). The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct
and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution. More information can be found online at https://www.washington.edu/studentconduct/
Please familiarize yourself with the student academic responsibility statement, which can be found here:
https://depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/AcademicResponsibility.pdf
Chat GPT and other AI use:
All work submitted for this course must be your own. Any use of generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, when working on assignments is forbidden. Use of generative AI will be considered academic misconduct and subject to investigation
The assignments in this class have been designed to challenge you to develop creativity, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills. Using AI technology will limit your capacity to develop these skills and to meet the learning goals of this course.
Please note that AI results can be biased and inaccurate. It is your responsibility to ensure that the information you use from AI is accurate. Additionally, pay attention to the privacy of your data. Many AI tools will incorporate and use any content you share, so be careful not to unintentionally share copyrighted materials, original work, or personal information.
If you have any questions about what constitutes academic integrity in this course or at the University of Washington, please feel free to contact me to discuss your concerns.
LEARNING RESPONSIBILITIES
Privacy
The instructor’s intellectual property rights and the privacy of all course participants must not be violated. Students may not share course materials with non-class members without explicit written permission from the course instructor. Students may not record any part of a class session without the express consent of the instructor, unless approved as a disability accommodation. This course will run synchronously, and these Zoom class sessions will be recorded. The recording will capture the presenter’s audio, video, and computer screen. Student audio and video will be recorded if they share their computer audio and video during the recorded session. The recordings will only be accessible to students enrolled in the course to review materials. These recordings will not be shared with or accessible to the public. All recordings will be housed on secure platforms authorized by UW.
Academic Integrity
Behaving with integrity is part of our responsibility to our shared learning community. It is therefore essential that all of us engaged in the life of the mind take the utmost care that the ideas and expressions of ideas of other people always be appropriately handled, and, where necessary, cited. For writing assignments, when ideas or materials of others are used, they must be cited. In any situation, if you have a question, please feel free to ask. Such attention to ideas and acknowledgment of their sources is central not only to academic life, but life in general. Please acquaint yourself with the University of Washington's resources on Academic Conduct. Acts of academic misconduct may include but are not limited to cheating (sharing answers and previewing quizzes/exams) and plagiarism (representing the work of others as your own without giving appropriate credit to the original author(s).
Plagiarism
"One of the most common forms of cheating is plagiarism, using another's words or ideas without proper citation . . .The guidelines that define plagiarism also apply to information secured on internet websites. Internet references must specify precisely where the information was obtained and where it can be found . . .. The key to avoiding plagiarism is that you show clearly where your own thinking ends and someone else's begins" (http://depts.washington.edu/grading/issue1/honesty.htm). For further explanation of university policy about what constitutes academic misconduct, please consult the cited website. If you are at all confused about how to properly cite your sources, contact us and we'll document them together.
Classroom Community, Diversity & Inclusion
You are learning from the course materials, the instructor, teaching assistants, and each other. You will have different viewpoints and perhaps even strong feelings about certain topics discussed in class. The different perspectives you bring are vital to the learning process. We expect you to listen to each other with respect, interest, and attentiveness. It is my intent that students from diverse backgrounds will be well served by this course and that the materials presented will respect differences of gender, sexuality, disability, age, class, ethnicity, race, and culture. Your suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. The UW Diversity webpage provides an overview of the ways the university addresses this value.
Access and Accommodations
Your experience in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course.
If you have not yet established services through DRS but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS at disability.uw.edu.
Technology Protocol
Cell phones may not be used in class unless required to create an inclusive and accessible learning environment. Always request permission from the instructor and other students before recording any class content.
Religious Accommodations
Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form.
UW POLICIES & STUDENT RESOURCES
Equal Opportunity
The Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action (EOAA) supports the University’s compliance with the law and spirit of equal opportunity and affirmative action as it relates to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, or status as a disabled veteran or Vietnam-era veteran, or other protected veterans.
Disability Resources for Students
Title IX: Sex- and Gender-Based Discrimination
Title IX, Title VII, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Washington State law, and University of Washington policy collectively prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, pregnant or parenting status, and LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) identity. Anyone may contact the Office of the Title IX Coordinator at any time about sex- and gender-based discrimination, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, and other forms of sexual misconduct.
Medical Notes
Students are expected to attend class and to participate in all graded activities, including midterms and final examinations. To protect student privacy and the integrity of the academic experience, students will not be required to provide a medical excuse note to justify an absence from class due to illness. A student absent from any graded class activity or examination due to illness must request, in writing, to take a rescheduled examination or perform work judged by the instructor to be the equivalent. Students are responsible for taking any number of examinations for which they are scheduled on a given day and may not request an adjustment for this reason alone.
Writing Support
The Writing Center supports students in GWSS courses. Their tutors assist at all points of the writing process—from brainstorming to the final draft—so that your written work clearly and effectively communicates your ideas. You can also seek help through other campus sites: Odegaard Writing and Research Center or Academic Support Programs.
UW HEALTH & WELLNESS RESOURCES
Husky Health & Well-Being
UW Seattle Husky Health & Well-Being offers a wide range of health and wellness services, from exceptional medical care and counseling services to recreation classes, safety resources, peer health advocacy, trainings and more.
UW Counseling Center
The Counseling Center’s staff of psychologists and mental health counselors provide confidential and culturally sensitive counseling, consultation, referral, and crisis intervention services. The UW Counseling Center exists to support UW students in all aspects of their development. Please call 206-543-1240 during regular business hours to access services and for further information.
LiveWell Center for Student Advocacy, Training and Education
LiveWell empowers students with the skills and knowledge to make informed decisions about their health and well-being while at UW and beyond. LiveWell uses both the expertise of professional staff and passion of Peer Health Educators to provide evidenced-based health promotion, education, and prevention services.
Safe Campus
SafeCampusis the University of Washington’s violence-prevention and response Program. They support students, staff, faculty and community members in preventing violence. Call SafeCampus at 206-685-7233 anytime – no matter where you work or study – to anonymously discuss safety and well-being concerns for yourself or others.
For a list of further counseling resources available on- and off-campus, contact GWSS’s Undergraduate Academic Counselor, Adrian Kane-Galbraith (gwssadvs@uw.edu).
WHAT CAN I DO WITH A GWSS DEGREE?
Your GWSS Advisor Can Help!
Your GWSS Advisor can help you navigate the ins and outs of the major and minor requirements as well as point you to other departments that could be offering content that matches the focus of your course of study. But that is not all. Your GWSS advisor is here to help you thrive in your time here at University of Washington, from helping with your internship placement or filling out a Hardship Withdrawal. Helping you in your academic success is more than helping you pick classes; it’s helping you access the support services you need to reach your highest potential.
Adrian Kane-Galbraith is the GWSS Undergraduate Academic Counselor. For more information or to schedule an advising appointment, contact them at gwssadvs@uw.edu.
Career & Internship Center
The Career & Internship Center is your one-stop-shop for a host of different resources. From appointments to work on your resume to seminars and meet and greet events with employers from across the region and beyond. The Career Center is here to help you make the connection between your course of study and the career you have always dreamed for. The Career & Internship Center’s Non-Profit/Social Justice/Education Community might be of particular interest to GWSS students.
Center for Experiential Learning and Diversity
Did you know that you could get funding for that research project you have always wanted to take on? The Undergraduate Research Program (URP), which is housed at the University of Washington in the Center for Experiential Learning and Diversity, Mary Gates Hall 171, under the auspices of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, facilitates research experiences for undergraduates with UW faculty members across the disciplines. URP maintains a listing of current UW research opportunities and national programs.
The URP assists UW undergraduates in:
- Planning for an undergraduate research experience
- Identifying faculty mentors and projects
- Defining research goals
- Presenting and publishing research findings
- Seeking funding for research
WHAT IF I HAVE A GRADING OR COURSE CONCERN?
Grade Appeal Procedure
A student who believes that an instructor erred in the assignment of a grade, or who believes a grade recording error or omission has occurred, should first discuss the matter with the instructor, before the end of the following academic quarter. If the student is not satisfied with the instructor's explanation, the student, no later than ten days after his or her discussion with the instructor, may submit a written appeal to the chair of the department, with a copy of the appeal also sent to the instructor. Within ten calendar days, the chair consults with the instructor to ensure that the evaluation of the student's performance has not been arbitrary or capricious. Should the chair believe the instructor's conduct to be arbitrary or capricious and the instructor declines to revise the grade, the chair, with the approval of the voting members of his or her faculty, shall appoint an appropriate member, or members, of the faculty of that department to evaluate the performance of the student and assign a grade. The dean and Provost should be informed of this action. Once a student submits a written appeal, this document and all subsequent actions on this appeal are recorded in written form for deposit in a department or college file.
Concerns about a Course, Instructor, or Teaching Assistant
If you have any concerns about a GWSS course, instructor or teaching assistant, please see the instructor or teaching assistant as soon as possible. If you are not comfortable talking with the instructor or teaching assistant, or are not satisfied with the response that you receive, you may contact GWSS’s undergraduate advisor (gwssadvs@uw.edu) or the chair of the department in Padelford B-110.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|