MUSIC DEPARTMENT
(COURSE MASTER SYLLABUS)
MUSI 1308: MUSIC LITERATURE I
Heading: Instructor name, course name and number, section and synonym number.
How to Reach the Instructor: Instructor’s office hours, office location and number, phone number and E-mail address, availability of instructor for appointment’s and conferences.
Course Description: MUSI 1308 is a survey of principal forms, styles, and periods of
Western art music through the study of representative composers and works.
Emphasis is on the music from Antiquity through the Baroque.
Skills: R Course Type: T
Course Materials:
Textbook: A History of Music in Western Culture, 3rd Edition,
by Mark Evan Bonds
Compact Discs: 6-cd set to accompany text, Volume 1 (Antiquity
through the Baroque Era).
Scores: anthology of scores to accompany cds, Volume 1
All of the above materials should be available at the ACC NRG bookstore.
A copy of the text may be placed on 2-hour reserve in the ACC NRG Library
The cds are available on the computers in the MIDI lab adjacent to the Music Part-
Time Faculty office. Additional musical examples will be made available to you,
either online or on cd. These will also be required study pieces- scores will often
be available online.
PLEASE NOTE: The Anthology is a required purchase for the course. Please
bring it to each class.
Additional Support: http://www.mymusickit.com/
This is a website designed by the book’s publisher to support the book. Flashcards,
On-line quizzes, etc. will be helpful to you as you study. A code should accompany
each new book. Just log on and follow the instructions.
Instructional Methodology: Lecture with visual and oral supplementation. Class
participation in discussion is encouraged, as time permits.
Course Rationale: This is primarily intended as a core course for music majors. It is
also, in a general sense, a Fine Arts course filling the needs of many Bachelors
programs requiring a general Fine Arts component.
Prerequisites: Currently there are no prerequisites for this course. However, as there
will be a lot of score reading involved, it is hoped that students will have at least
some familiarity with note reading and the rudiments of Music Theory.
Course Objectives/Outcomes: By the end of this class students will have developed:
- A strong working knowledge of European musical repertories from the middle ages to about 1750.
- An ability to trace the role of music in the shaping of Western culture, and the ways in which broad cultural issues have reflected on musicians’ roles and artistic choices
- The beginning of knowledge of music scholarship and the challenges of writing intelligently about music
Guidelines and miscellaneous information:
Class lectures will cover the assigned reading AS WELL AS additional material about the topic at hand, which will supplement the readings; we will also be actively discussing the reading and listening assignments in class. It is therefore VERY IMPORTANT that you attend ALL lectures
Exams: Exams are to be taken during the regular class time. If you miss a test the
instructor MUST be notified in advance. Acceptable reasons include legitimate
illness (a doctor’s excuse may be required) or family emergency. In cases falling
outside the above, make-ups may not be permitted. If a test must be made up, it is to
be taken in a timely manner in the testing center. The listening portion of make-ups
will be taken at the end of a designated class.
Listening: Please allow plenty of time to listen to all the assigned musical works, whether in the HMWC anthology or online. Please make a habit of listening to the assigned musical examples at least once before they are covered in class, as well as several times afterward to review the points discussed in class; both during the in-class exercises and in the tests, you will be expected to recognize, identify, and discuss the assigned examples. Exams may feature at least one “unknown” work similar to one of the assigned excerpts, the style of which you will be asked to identify. Other study guidelines will be discussed in class.
Hour exams will cover the topics and issues discussed in class sessions, as well as the assigned readings and listening examples; the second exam will NOT be cumulative (i.e., it will cover only the second unit). Please contact Dr. Douglas as soon as possible (and in any case before the test) if you have a serious, legitimate conflict with one of the hour exams, as make-up tests will be given at Dr. Douglas’s discretion.
The Final Examination will be cumulative (i.e., it will cover all three units of the course), though it will focus more on the final unit than on the previous two. Please note, the final will be in two parts, on the last two class days. Please note, the final exam cannot be made up, so please do not plan to miss it!
Homework: You can receive up to 25 points for each homework submitted on time. You can receive extra credit for completing more than 8 assignments (there are 10 total). You can also submit an assignment late (within one week of deadline) and still get 10 possible points. It is possible to pass the course without doing any of the homework; however it is not a recommended option.
Your textbook and anthology will help you answer the homework essay questions. Another excellent source of reliable information is the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, to be found in the reference section of the ACC Northridge Library. There is an on-line version to be found on the Library website (called Oxford Music Online). Also in the reference section are Cambridge Histories of music of various eras pertinent to our course. All homeworks will be due by Fridays at 2 p.m.
Homework Week 1: Due Friday, August 26, 2 PM (submit hard copy or by email)
What are the most important musical legacies of Greek and Roman antiquity and how do these relate to music today? (Essay, minimum 400 words; please cite your sources in whatever format you are comfortable)
Bibliography Assignment: will be discussed in a separate handout.
Online Discussion: On a regular basis (once a week or more), discussion topics will be posted in the “Discussion Board” area of the course Blackboard site. By participating in these ongoing discussions, you can earn up to 25 points. Up to 5 points will be awarded to each post using the following approximate criteria:
Grades: will be calculated on a cumulative point system as follows:
2 hour exams (100 points each) 200
Final Exam 150
8 homework assignments 200
Bibliography 50
On-line discussion 50
Total 650
585 - 650 points: A
520 - 584 points: B
455 - 519 points: C
390 - 454 points: D
0 - 389 points: F
Extra Credit: Students (usually those doing poorly on tests!) often ask about extra credit. There probably will be some extra-credit questions on the tests, and I offer extra credit to those who show the initiative to come to our UT Fine Arts Library tour, and the above-mentioned extra two homeworks. Other than that, I would prefer you expend your “extra effort” in mastering the basic material.
Late Work: You will receive your bibliography and essay assignments in plenty of time to get them done by the due date. There will be a 5% penalty per day that one of these assignments is late.
Make sure you are familiar with Blackboard – you will be responsible for information posted there.
ONE FINAL POINT: In a Music Majors class such as this there should be no need to say this, but: We will be listening to a lot of music in class. The music is to be given your undivided attention. Please do not use class time for reading (not even A History of Western Music), doing other homework, writing letters, text messaging, etc. We are going to concentrate on ACTIVE listening.
COURSE POLICIES:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Withdrawal Policy
It is the responsibility of each student to ensure that his or her name is removed from the roll should he or she decide to withdraw from the class. The instructor does, however, reserve the right to drop a student should he or she feel it is necessary. If a student decides to withdraw, he or she should also verify that the withdrawal is submitted before the Final Withdrawal Date. The student is also strongly encouraged to retain their copy of the withdrawal form for their records.
Students who enroll for the third or subsequent time in a course taken since Fall, 2002, may be charged a higher tuition rate, for that course.
State law permits students to withdraw from no more than six courses during their entire undergraduate career at Texas public colleges or universities. With certain exceptions, all course withdrawals automatically count towards this limit. Details regarding this policy can be found in the ACC college catalog.
Incompletes
An instructor may award a grade of “I” (Incomplete) if a student was unable to complete all of the objectives for the passing grade in a course. An incomplete grade cannot be carried beyond the established date in the following semester. The completion date is determined by the instructor but may not be later than the final deadline for withdrawal in the subsequent semester.
Scholastic Dishonesty: A student attending ACC assumes responsibility for conduct compatible with the mission of the college as an educational institution. Students have the responsibility to submit coursework that is the result of their own thought, research, or self-expression. Students must follow all instructions given by faculty or designated college representatives when taking examinations, placement assessments, tests, quizzes, and evaluations. Actions constituting scholastic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, collusion, and falsifying documents. Penalties for scholastic dishonesty will depend upon the nature of the violation and may range from lowering a grade on one assignment to an “F” in the course and/or expulsion from the college. See the Student Standards of Conduct and Disciplinary Process and other policies at http://www.austincc.edu/current/needtoknow
Academic Freedom: Institutions of higher education are conducted for the common good. The common good depends upon a free search for truth and its free expression. Hence it is essential that faculty members at Austin Community College be free to pursue scholarly inquiry without unreasonable restriction, and to voice and publish their conclusions without fear of institutional censorship or discipline. They must be free from the possibility that others of differing vision, either inside or outside the college community, may threaten their professional careers.
The concept of academic freedom in Austin Community College is accompanied by an equally demanding concept of responsibility, shared by the Board of Trustee, administration, and faculty members.
The essential responsibilities of the Board of Trustees and administrators regarding academic freedom are set forth in the Criteria For Accreditation, adopted by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, as updated and revised.
In the classroom or in college-produced telecommunications, faculty members should strive to be accurate, to exercise appropriate restraint, and to show respect for the opinions of others. In addition, instructors should be judicious in the use of material and should introduce only material that has a clear relationship to the subject field.
Student Rights and Responsibilities
Students at the college have the rights accorded by the U.S. Constitution to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, petition, and association. These rights carry with them the responsibility to accord the same rights to others in the college community and not to interfere with or disrupt the educational process. Opportunity for students to examine and question pertinent data and assumptions of a given discipline, guided by the evidence of scholarly research, is appropriate in a learning environment. This concept is accompanied by an equally demanding concept of responsibility on the part of the student. As willing partners in learning, students must comply with college rules and procedures.
Statement on Students with Disabilities
Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented disabilities. Students with disabilities who need classroom, academic or other accommodations must request them through the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD). Students are encouraged to request accommodations when they register for courses or at least three weeks before the start of the semester, otherwise the provision of accommodations may be delayed.
Students who have received approval for accommodations from OSD for this course must provide the instructor with the ‘Notice of Approved Accommodations’ from OSD before accommodations will be provided. Arrangements for academic accommodations can only be made after the instructor receives the ‘Notice of Approved Accommodations’ from the student.
Students with approved accommodations are encouraged to submit the ‘Notice of Approved Accommodations’ to the instructor at the beginning of the semester because a reasonable amount of time may be needed to prepare and arrange for the accommodations.
Additional information about the Office for Students with Disabilities is available at http://www.austincc.edu/support/osd/
Safety Statement
Austin Community College is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for study and work. You are expected to learn and comply with ACC environmental, health and safety procedures and agree to follow ACC safety policies. Additional information on these can be found at http://www.austincc.edu/ehs. Because some health and safety circumstances are beyond our control, we ask that you become familiar with the Emergency Procedures poster and Campus Safety Plan map in each classroom. Additional information about emergency procedures and how to sign up for ACC Emergency Alerts to be notified in the event of a serious emergency can be found at http://www.austincc.edu/emergency/.
Please note, you are expected to conduct yourself professionally with respect and courtesy to all. Anyone who thoughtlessly or intentionally jeopardizes the health or safety of another individual will be dismissed from the day’s activity, may be withdrawn from the class, and/or barred from attending future activities.
Testing Center Policy
Under certain circumstances, an instructor may have students take an examination in a testing center. Students using the Academic Testing Center must govern themselves according to the Student Guide for Use of ACC Testing Centers and should read the entire guide before going to take the exam. To request an exam, one must have: