UWS 22A: We are the Champions: The Impact of Glam Rock on Culture

BrandeisUniversity[1]

Class Meeting Time:T-Th. 5:00pm-6:00pm

Class Room: Slosberg Room 215

Instructor: Joanna M.Fuchs

E-mail:

Office: TBA

Office Hours: Tues., Thurs., 4:00-5:00 or by appointment

Mailbox: SlosbergMusicCenter MS 051

When we think about artists such as Lady Gaga, Prince, Rihanna, or Marilyn Manson, we think of glamour, theatricality, sexual ambiguity, and lots of make-up. All of these artists and many others have their roots in Glam Rock. Emerging out of the European art rock and the English psychedelic scenes, Glam Rock pushed the limits of rock and roll both musically and socially. Glam Rock challenged the conventional ideology of rock and roll and brought numerous issues to the limelight such as gender, homosexuality, and theatricality in rock music. This course will explore the history behind the conception of Glam Rock and its impact on pop music by looking at various artists including: David Bowie, Lou Reed, Queen, the Velvet Underground, just to name a few. This course is designed to develop critical thinking skills through discussions, listening, and writing. Throughout this class, students will be required to develop thoughtful, well written responses in clear academic English. Overthe course of the semester, researching, writing, and editing skills essential to the Brandeis undergraduate curriculum will be covered. Students do not need any prior musical training: however, an interest in music is strongly encouraged.

Required Texts:

*Matthew Parfitt, Writing in Response (Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s Press, 2012).

*Write Now!, a collection of award winning essays from UWS students

*Philip Auslander Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2006

* A number of videos and video clips as well as audio recordings, class memos, and additional reading assignments will be posted to LATTE, the university’s on-line course resource application which you can access from any computer on campus or remotely using your UNET username and password.

* Also there will be items placed on Reserve

*Notebook/Pens/Highlighters/etc. and a three-ring binder for the end of term portfolio

* I strongly recommend that you have a thesaurus and dictionary and use them often. Do not rely on your computer’s ability to check spelling or fix your grammar errors.

UWS Outcomes

University Writing Seminars (UWS) are inquiry-based writing courses. In these seminars, students should use writing and reading skills to investigate issues that are important to their development as writers and critical readers in an academic setting. Throughout the course of the semester, students will develop important habits of mind that are important for writers. For example, assessing audience expectations, reading critically, engaging with others’ ideas in analytic and research based writing. More than this, students will develop control over surface features of writing while discovering, cultivating, and learning how to be reflective about their own writing process. Students master these strategies and skills by practicing them repeatedly through their work in this course and others at the university. This work begins with UWS and continues through your required courses, by the end of which successful students will have achieved these outcomes.

Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing

Known as the “Big Three” in the world of academia, students will gain a knowledge of them in the University Writing Seminar. By the end of this seminar, students will:

  • Use writing and discussion to work through and interpret complex ideas from various readings and other sources
  • Critically analyze their own and their peers’ choices regarding word choice, language, and form (in both student texts and published texts)
  • Engage in multiple modes of inquiry using texts (field research, library research, web searching, etc.)
  • Incorporate significant research into your writing that engages a question and/or topic and use question/topic as a central theme for a substantive, research-based essay
  • Use writing to support interpretations of text, and understand that there are numerous interpretations of text
  • Consider, understand, and express the relationship between their ideas to the ideas of others

Processes

By the end of this course, students will:

  • Use written, visual, and/or experience-based texts as tools to develop and formulate ideas for writing
  • Have a clear understanding that writing takes places through recurring practice, brain storming or invention, revision, and editing
  • Develop successful and flexible strategies for their own writing through the process of brain storming, revision, and editing
  • Understand and experience the collaborative and social aspect of the writing process
  • Learn how to critique their own and others’ work
  • Be reflective about their own writing

Conventions and Knowledge

By the end of this course, students will:

  • Understand the conventions of particular genres of writing
  • Be able to use conventions with a range of dialects, particularly standardized written English
  • Address and recognize patterns in their own writing that unintentionally diverge from patterns expected by their reader
  • Practice and understand academic citation methods (MLA/Chicago) for documenting sources

Overview of Papers, Essay Assignments, Conferences, Workshops and Portfolio

Papers:

Over the course of the semester you will be required to three full-fledged papers, each of which will require revision. Both the draft and final revision must be typed in 12pt Times New Roman font, doubled spaced, and 1 inch margins. On the top of the first page include your name, date, the course title and a brief description of the assignment. Your last name and page number should appear in the header (in the upper right hand corner of the page). All citations must be in Chicago style. Papers that fail to meet these requirements will not be accepted. Each draft must be accompanied by a cover letter that explains the goals of your paper and reflects n your writing and revision process. You are strongly encouraged to write complete rough drafts. Remember the stronger the draft the stronger your final paper will be.

Close Reading Essay(5-6 pages)

Through the close reading essay you will learn how to analyze a text to find a deeper meaning. In this essay, you will construct a thesis and present a strong argument in defense of your thesis. For this assignment, you will be required to do an in depth analysis of David Bowie’s two videos of “Space Oddity”. Remember: when examining a music video, we are looking at all the different constituent parts that make up the work as a whole (visual, music, lyrics, etc.) A main goal of the close reading essay is to combine an analysis of these elements and reflect on them analytically, without simply summarizing the action taking place and/or scholarly material that have been published on the work in question. Once you are clear of your interpretation, you must provide supporting evidence.

Lens Essay (7-9 pages)

Andy Warhol once said, “Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.” This quote speaks volumes when it comes to understanding sub-cultures and pop culture. Over the past few weeks, you have gained knowledge about what defines Glam Rock. From the close reading, along with the exercises in class, you have a basic grounding in some analytical techniques. Using the theories of Dick Hebdige and Van Cagle, you will choose one aspect (sexuality, use of sci-fi, fashion, media, etc.) from one of the music videos (which will be provided) that strikes you as being prominent to critique the artists’ interpretation of sub-culture /pop culture to musical creativity. In a ‘lens’ essay, the lens text(s) is used to shed light on a primary text and reveal something new about that work which may not have been apparent without the lens. Keep in mind, the close reading technique will carry into this assignment.

Research Essay (10-12 pages)

The goal of this final assignment is to help you take part in an academic dialogue by arguing your own ideas in a researched context. This paper will allow you to familiarize yourself with resources used in a college level research project. More than this, this essay will provide you a chance to continue developing your writing and critical thinking skills. For this essay, you will choose an artist/group from the Glam groups discussed in class that interests you. Through your investigation of your artist/group of your choice, your interpretation, and your own critical analysis, your will formulate and explore an original argument about the artist/group you have chosen and their relation to Glam Rock in 10-12 pages. This will be accomplished by looking at the text of the lyrics, album artwork, etc. The goals of this essay will be to continue strengthening your close reading and lens techniques and will also teach you how to go about scholarly research,using a variety of sources and working as a self-directed learner.

Conferences

Throughout the course of the semester YOU HAVE TO ATTEND 3 20-30 MINUTE individual conferences for each unit!! These conferences will be scheduled outside of class time and will be used to discuss your writing, answer questions, etc. These conferences are mandatory. A missed conference counts as an absence. Remember to bring all outlines, drafts, revisions, and items you deem important for your conference. These meetings are for you and are intended to help you. It is your responsibility to prioritize the issues we address during your conference. At any time you feel you need more time to discuss something, you are more than welcome to drop by during office hours. If you have concerns or want to discuss anything in more detail and are unavailable during office hours, please email me to set up a meeting time.

Peer Review Workshops

Each paper you write will undergo at least one round of peer review. The day your rough drafts are due, you will bring three copies (one for me and two for your peers), and you will receive two of your peers’ drafts in return. You will carefully read and mark-up your peers’ drafts and then write a 1-2 page response to each essay, which will be due the following class where you will share your feedback in a small group. You are expected to participate respectfully and intelligently during these workshops. Do not simply provide constructive comments but receive and act on them as well. As I read your final drafts, I will be looking for significant revisions that address the concerns and points raised in both my comments and those of your peers’.

Portfolio

KEEP ALL OF YOUR WORK! At the end of the semester you must submit a writing portfolio containing ALL of the work you submitted over the course of the semester including graded essays, pre-draft assignments, draft letters, drafts, and peer reviews. You must also submit a final cover letter consisting of 2-3 pages that reflects on your work and progress over the semester. Your portfolio should be well organized and neat! In order to be successful with your portfolio you need to keep all your work from the semester in an orderly fashion. More information about the portfolio will be covered and formalized in class as the end of the semester approaches.

Grading

Close Reading Essay ------20%

Lens Essay ------25%

Research Essay ------30%

Pre-Draft Assignments ------15%

Class participation, responses, and portfolio ---- 10%

Pre-Draft Exercise and Drafts: These are graded on a scale of 0-4pts. 4pts equals superior work and 0 pts means the work is completely unsatisfactory.

Final Drafts and Final Grades for the class are on a letter basis:

A+ ………… 97-100

A ………….. 94-96

A- …………. 90-93

B+ ………….89-87

B …………...84-86

B- …………..80-83

C+ ………….79-77

C …………... 74-76

C- ………….. 73-70

D+ ………… 67-69

D …………... 64-66

D- ………….. 63-60

F …………… 59 and below

Other Policies, Instructions, etc.

(Please read carefully! Ask for clarification if you find something unclear!!)

Computers in the Classroom

Unless you have a documented disability which renders you enable to participate in this class without a computer. I politely ask that your computers time to go back and revisit old material remain closed and in your bags. In this digital age, computers can be distracting and Twitter, Facebook,Wikipedia, Gmail, etc. are too tempting!! If you feel that you cannot concentrate or attend class without the use of a computer, please see me immediately and we can find a solution. Also, cellphones (iPhone, Blackbery, Android, etc.) should remain in your bags and turned to either vibrate or turned off for the duration of class. Absolutely NO TEXTING during class!! If you need to have your phone on for an emergency reason, notify me before the start of class.

Attendance

Attendance is mandatory. The discussions we hold in class will be tailored to your writing. It is in you best interest to attend class, be on time, and ready to go. We will not have time to revisit old material and will constantly be moving forward. If you have to miss a class, please notify me by email at least one hour before class begins. In accordance to University Policy, after three absences for any reason your dean willbe notified. Each subsequent absence will result in a FULL LETTER GRADE reduction. More than 6 absences will result in a failing grade.

Tardiness

Please come to class on time! Class will start on the hour, not 10 minutes or 15 minutes after the hour. Three late arrivals will equal 1 absence. Too, it is distracting to the class dynamic to enter into the room late and disrupt a class already in progress. If you know that you will be late, please email ahead of time.

Participation

In order for you to become a good writer, you need a community where your work can flourish. For us, our class meetings facilitate that community. You are expected to prepare for class ahead of time and participate fully in all classroom activities, including discussions, workshops, and presentations. Texts that are posted to LATTE must be printed out and brought to class on the day the readings are assigned. You will need these texts for in-class exercises and discussions. Come to class prepared to offer your own thoughts, questions, and opinions about the readings/listenings. You can feel satisfied that you have sufficiently prepared a reading for class when you can:

  • Identify one or more sentences that articulate the author’s thesis and motive
  • Understand the author’s argument
  • Outline the major steps of the author’s argument
  • Point out any sections that seem unclear to you or raise questions

As part of your participation grade, you will be required to complete worksheets that relate to the readings, which you will hand in on the days we will be discussing the readings. Keep in mind this class is not a lecture, it is a discussion. Coming to class unprepared will negatively affect your participation grade and the classroom environment. We must all strive for discussions that are inviting, stimulation, and relevant to the topic.

Late Work

Late work is unacceptable. Extensions will only be granted in extreme and extenuating circumstances. Requests for extensions will not be granted unless they are submitted to me via email at least 48 hours prior to the due date. Papers handed in late will lose 1/3 of a grade every day that they are late. For example, a B will be dropped to a B- for being a day late, etc. If you take advantage of the Writing Center, you may hand in a completed Writing Center attendance “reward” form (it has to be stamped by the Writing Center, signed, dated, etc.) in place of your final draft (and only the final draft) for a 24 hour extension. All other assignments should be completed and turned in on time. Failure to complete a Pre-Draft, Rough Draft, and Peer Review assignments will affect the Peer Review Workshops portion of your grade.

Email/LATTE/

My main means of communicating with you outside the classroom will be through email, sending you reminders. Too, I will post readings, assignments, listening, etc. on LATTE and will be posting video links, questions for thought, and reminders. It is a good rule of thumb to check LATTE everyday.

WritingCenter

I urge you to use this valuable resource during your tenure here at Brandeis. You have an excellent and totally free WritingCenter available to you. The WritingCenter offers one-on-one writing tutorials with trained and experienced consultants, some of whom are teaching UWS themselves. Visit

to get a better idea of what the writing center offers or to sign up for an appointment. When you visit the writing center, you may have your consultant fill out a Writing Center Reward Form, which will earn you a 24-hour extension on the final draft of any paper (only one extension per paper).