History of Rock

Music
Summer, 2017
MUS 361U-001 (CRN: 80831)

Instructor: Jon Newton

Syllabus

Getting Started Grading

Course Description How to Contact Your Instructor
Course Objectives How to Submit Assignments
Text DRC Accommodation
Course Format

Getting Started
If you have not done so already, you might read the the Getting Started
page.

Course Description
Here's the official course description in the PSU Catalogue:

This course traces the history and development of a popular

music style in the United States, Great Britain, and other parts
of the world. Includes other types of popular music in the
twentieth century. This course is included in the Popular
Culture cluster.

Specifically, MUS 361U looks at various strains of the popular music style
called "rock" or "rock 'n roll" starting with antecedents in the 19th century
through the mid-1960's. The course's main narrative is that this music is the
result of three main feeders: tin-pan-alley, African American blues, and
country music.

Course Objectives
Students will complete this course with a substantially improved
understanding of how the music of the first half of the 20th century
led to the strange hybrid called rock 'n roll.
Students will have a sense of the structure, instrumentation, style,
and production techniques represented by the songs presented in the
course.
Students will focus on the cultural, commercial, and historical forces
which made the advent of rock 'n roll possible.

Text
Required text:

What's That Sound? An Introduction to Rock and Its History

John Covach and Andrew Flory
 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
4th Edition, 2015

You can use either the paperback or eBook version.

Click here for more information on acquiring the text.

Course Format
This course is divided into 8 modules. Each module will feature activities,
which may include:

Reading from the text

Listening
Screening video
Participating in a discussion
Taking a quiz
Providing a song analysis

There may also be also be some surveys, and other potential activities.

The modules are intended to provide a week's worth of work, but you may
work ahead if you choose once a module is posted. It is important to
complete each module's activities on time.

Grading
Grading for this course will done on a points basis, awarded as follows:

Activity # Each Total

Quizzes 8 25 200
Discussions 8 25 200
Song analysis 4 75 300
Surveys 2 25 50
TOTAL --- --- 750

Letter grades for the course will be awarded as follows:

Grade Points
A 675-750
B 500-674
C 450-524
D 375-449
F Below 375

Discussions:

Every individual discussion is worth 25 possible points. Each time a

discussion opens, students must post at least once by Sunday of the
week in which it appears. The purpose of discussions is to create a dialog
among students. Therefore, once you have created a thread, please post at
least two responses to posts created by your colleagues.

As the discussions potentially involve a fair amount of opinion, and with the
understanding that students come to this class with different levels of
experience with the subject, students have a lot of leeway as to the
content of their discussion posts.

However, work hard to make your comments substantive--meaning

containing real substance. It is OK to generally duplicate others' subject
matter especially in a large class, but do try to find a unique perspective in
what you say. In your responses, please avoid a "me too" kind of post. Give
it some thought and respond with something to add to the thread.

It's recommended that you try to post mid-week or earlier if you can to
give others the opportunity to respond.

It goes without saying that ALL posts in the discussion group need to be
polite and neutral. Please avoid any statements that might be interpreted
as being in judgement of others tastes in music, politics, religion and so
forth. As you may know, printed text can be easily misinterpreted.

Quizzes:

You will have two hours to complete each quiz. You also are allotted two
attempts per quiz and can revisit each question as much as you like during
the event.

The quizzes consist of multiple choice and true/false questions and may
include listening questions. Quizzes are due for completion at the end of
each week of the corresponding module.

Song analysis:

Four times during the term we will ask you to create a brief (1-2 page)
anyalysis of a song under discussion in the content of the class. We will post
a more detailed description of this assignment in the week's they are due.
As with discussions, your analysis will consist of language appropriate to
your understanding of the subject matter.

How to Contact Your Instructor

The best way to reach me during the term is through D2L mail, the message
service contained in the D2L site.

To do this, an easy way is to click the People menu from the menu strip
above, then select Classlist.

Scroll down the list until you find my name (Newton, Jonathan). When you
it, a new e-mail message will open with my D2L address already filled in.
Type your message and click on Send.

You are welcome to send email to my PSU address (jnewton@pdx.edu) or

leave voice mail at my office phone (503-725-3110) but these are less
reliable during the summer than D2L mail.

You can check your D2L mail by clicking on the envelope icon at the top of
the window.

How to Submit Assignments

The main deliverables for this class are quizzes and discussions. Both are
graded online, and nothing further is needed to send them to me.

You are also asked to complete a couple of surveys during the term, which
are completed and evaluated online.

Song analysis projects should be submitted to the proper Assignment

Submission Folder (formerly called Dropbox), please see the Song Analysis
project descriptions for more details.
DRC Accommodation
Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty, and the
Disability Resource Center. Students with accommodations approved
through the DRC are responsible for contacting the faculty member in
charge of the course prior to or during the first week of the term to discuss
accommodations. Students who believe they are eligible for
accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through the DRC
should contact the DRC immediately.