Logo UAB

Music in Contemporary Society

Code: 103564 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2502758 Humanities OT 3
2502758 Humanities OT 4

Contact

Name:
Francesc d'Assis Cortes Mir
Email:
francesc.cortes@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

It is not necessary to be in possession of any kind of technical knowledges about musical language or practical skills in music to sign up for this course although having elementary basic notions on music would be of aid. More important are the students’ knowledges and interests for social and cultural European history from French Revolution up to now. It is primarily important, however, to show critical capacity to connect different artistic, cultural and historical events in logical, coherent and reasoned arguments,


Objectives and Contextualisation

The aim goal of this subject is to provide students with enough conceptual, methodological and procedural tools to understand the use of music in contemporary societies, as well as the main transformation lines of European music and its contextualization inside contemporary society and culture.  Understanding the complexity of some connections between particular musical masterpieces and others belonging to different fields of art, literature and philosophy so that the students be able –once the course has finished- to stablish, for themselves, new relationships, and be able to express opinions in speech and writing and by all other means of expression.


Competences

    Humanities
  • Critically analysing today's culture and its historical conditions.
  • Producing innovative and competitive proposals in research and professional activity.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analysing the influence of the media in the transmission and dissemination of musical works.
  2. Analysing the relationships between contemporary musical creation within the historic tradition, and other musical manifestations during the period of study.
  3. Applying the conceptual innovations of human sciences to musical management.
  4. Assessing the musical consumption in the contemporary society.
  5. Integrating the role of music in the schedule and marketing of the musical activity.
  6. Knowing and analysing several possible uses of music, both in our big cities and in other societies far away from the Western model when it comes to customs, language y traditions.
  7. Locating and assessing the role of music in the various areas of contemporary societies.
  8. Understanding the complexity of the music reception processes and using this knowledge in the analysis of the contemporary debates about music.

Content

  1. Placing music in human life: notion of music, relationship with society.
  2. The diversity of the cultural ear.
  3. Music and literature.
  4. Music and religious ritual.
  5. Music and power and counterpower.
  6. The musical construction of the feeling.
  7. Music and death.
  8. Music and gender.
  9. Music as social distinction.
  10. Music and performance (opera and concert).
  11. Technology and music.
  12. Music and politics: protest and propaganda.

 


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Theoretical and practical classes 48 1.92 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Type: Autonomous      
Listening of suggested musical auditions 20 0.8 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Preparation and study of the contents of the programme 33 1.32 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Reading of book chapters and articles. 45 1.8 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

The course has got a profile which combines theoretical and practical character. So, it alternates demonstrative general theoretical sessions with others in which proactive participation of students will be required through commentary of texts, images and musical auditions, as well as by means of debates those commentaries could have provoked.

To sum up, there will be:

1/ master-classes: exhibition and synthesis of subjects, always accompanied with audio and visual recordings.

2/ practical sessions organised by analysis of some philosophical or literary texts, art masterworks, or great pieces of music.

3/ Monitoring of the music auditions.

4/ Tutorials addressed to supervise students’ work and questions.

 

 

 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Proactive participation of students at the master-classes 20% 0 0 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Written endterm theoretical and practical test. 40% 2 0.08 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Written midterm theoretical and practical test 40% 2 0.08 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

SINGLE ASSESSMENT

There will be three assessable activities that will be scheduled and announced in class and on Moodle:

1/ Theoretical-practical written exam at the middle of the subject (40%)

2/ Theoretical-practical written exam at the end of the subject (40%)

3/ Active participation in classes and written exercises related to the subject covered (20%)

The same recovery system will be applied as for the continuous assessment.

The subject offers the possibility of extra assessment (recuperació). To be able to access extra assessment, students must have previously been assessed in a set of activities whose weight is equivalent to a minimum of 2/3 parts of the total qualification. To be able to access extra assessment, you must have obtained a minimum average rating of 3.5. To pass the subject, each of the two written partial tests must be passed.

Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted course grade when he has not submitted at least one third of the assessment items.

The teacher will inform the students of the procedure and the date of review of the qualifications.

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.


Bibliography

MUSICKING IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETIES

Chiantore, Luca, 2021: Malditas palabras. Barcelona: Musikeon Books.

Cook, Nicholas, 2001: De Madonna al canto gregoriano. Una muy breve introducción a la música. Madrid: Alianza.

Mendívil, Julio, 2020: En contra de la música. Herramientas para pensar, comprender y vivir las músicas. Buenos Aires: Gourmet Musical Ediciones.

 

CONTEMPORARY MUSIC HISTORY

Benedetto, Renato di, 1987: Historia de la Música, 8. El siglo XIX. Primera parte. Madrid: Turner Música.

Casini, Claudio, 1987: Historia de la Música, 9. El siglo XIX. Segunda parte. Madrid: Turner Música.

Griffiths, Paul (2009): Breve historia de la música occidental. Madrid, Akal.

Grout, Donald Jay; & Claude V. Palisca2001: Historia de la música occidental. 2 vols. Madrid: Alianza Música.

Michels, Ulrich, 1996: Atlas de música. Madrid: Alianza editorial (col. Alianza Atlas).

Morgan, Robert P., 1994: La música del siglo XX. Madrid: Akal.

Palisca, Claude, 2001: Northon anthology of Western Music 2 vol. London: WW. Norton and Company. 

Sadie, Stanley (2000): Guía Akal de la Música. Una introducción. Madrid: Akal.

Salvetti, Guido, 1987: Historia de la Música, 10. El siglo XX. Primera parte. Madrid: Turner Música.

Taruskin, Richard, 2005: The Oxford history of western music. New York: Oxford University Press. 

 

 


Software

Any specific required software.


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed