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Subsequent to the founding of the Society for Music Theory in 1977, American music theory has evolved considerably—transforming itself from a discipline primarily concerned with Schenkerian analysis and pitch-class set theory into one whose practitioners are interested in an incredible variety of theoretical tools. In this course, we will survey some of the most current of these trends. Through weekly writing assignments, seminar discussion, and individualized research, students will engage critically with the major issues, methodologies, and debates of contemporary music theory.
##Course Website##
PDFs of all assigned readings will be available on the course website.
##Study Groups##
Each of you will be placed into a study groups of three members that will rotate throughout the semester. You’ll share weekly response essays with the members of your group, and you’ll write commentaries on the essays you receive.
##Weekly Assignments##
12 response essays (3 pages): In these essays, you are to write a response to any aspect of the assigned reading for the week. Essays may take the form of a critical summary of one reading, a critical comparison of several readings, an original analysis of music referenced in the reading, or any other serious engagement with the ideas presented in the reading. Place your essays in our class Dropbox folder by 10 a.m. on the Sunday before class. I will not return or comment on the paper, but you will receive written responses from the members of your study group.
24 commentaries (1 page): These commentaries are short responses to each essay in your study group. Be collegial, thoughtful, and professional in your response. Place your commentaries in our class Dropbox folder by 10 a.m. Monday, the morning of our class meeting. As with the response essays, I will not return or evaluate these commentaries.
Formatting and length: Your name should appear in the text of your document. Titles are fine, whether generic (e.g., “Essay #1”) or specific (e.g., “Readings on Rhythm and Meter”), but leave out the other junk that can clog up the header (course name, course code, etc.). A length of one page means the essay ends on page 2. Double spacing, 12-pt. Times New Roman, and 1-inch margins are the norm.
Grading As long as your essays are completed on time and with appropriate seriousness and professionalism, you will receive full credit for this part of the course.
##Final Paper##
Topic You will choose a subfield or repertoire not covered in class, write a 10-page critical review of recent theoretical literature on that topic and give use a thirty-minute presentation on the topic in during the last two seminar meetings. Your essays should be modeled loosely on the review-essays in the New York Review of Books, but aimed at a specialized audience.
Bibliography (5–8 items) In consultation with me, you will compile a short bibliography of scholarly articles, books, and/or dissertations—the majority of which should have been published in the last fifteen years. The bibliography is due on ##March 23.##In the subsequent week, you and I will condense the bibliography to form the reading list for your paper (approx. 5 articles or 2 books).
Presentation (30 minutes) Rather than read your paper, you will teach us about the articles and books you’ve read and provide a critical response; that is, you should express your point-of-view. Consider why is the topic important, what are the main issues are, and how has each author approached the topic. You can include your own analyses as well. You must use a handout.
Final paper (10 pages) A complete draft of your paper is due on the day of your presentation. I’ll return it with comments within a few days, and on the basis of those comments, you’ll write a final draft. The final draft is due by email on May 16.