Seminar in 20th Century Music (455-0-1)
Topic
Music in the US, 1900-1950
Instructors
Scott Douglas Paulin
s-paulin@northwestern.edu
Office Hours: E-mail Instructor
Scott D. Paulin is a musicology lecturer specializing in 20th-century topics including music and sound in film, popular genres, American music, and the history of recorded sound. Recipient, AMS-50 Dissertation Fellowship from the American Musicological Society for "On the Chaplinesque in Music: Studies in the Musical Reception of Charlie Chaplin." Author of articles published in books such as Music and Cinema (Wesleyan University Press, 2000) and Wagner and Cinema (Indiana University Press, 2010) and journals including American Music, Music and the Moving Image, Camera Obscura, and Spectator. Papers presented at conferences of the American Musicological Society, Society for American Music, International Musicological Society, Society for Cinema and Media Studies, and International Association for the Study of Popular Music, among others.
Meeting Info
RCMA Lower Level 111: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM
Overview of class
In this course we will consider a diverse range of music created in the United States during the first half of the 20th century, framed by historical contexts, social tensions, technological developments, and debates about what it might mean for music to be "American" and/or "modern." In exploring various forms of both classical and popular music -- and the hybrids and crossovers between them -- a few of the key figures whose work we may discuss include Charles Ives, Amy Beach, Scott Joplin, Ruth Crawford, Louis Armstrong, Aaron Copland, Sophie Tucker, William Grant Still, Roy Harris, Florence Price, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Bing Crosby, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Mary Lou Williams, Milton Babbitt, and Charlie Parker, but beyond composers and performers, we will also encounter critics, patrons, listeners, and other participants in the musical culture of this era.
Evaluation Method
Participation in class; a series of short, informal discussion-board posts; two written exercises; and a take-home final exam. Graduate students enrolled in Musicology 453 will complete an independent research project in lieu of the exam.
Class Materials (Required)
No materials required for purchase. All assigned reading, listening, and viewing will be made available through CANVAS.