COURSE DESCRIPTION

The sociology of music has a long history. Its initial development benefitted from the work of scholars who played central roles in the sociological discipline, including Max Weber and Theodor Adorno. Its subsequent maturation was aided by emergent schools of thoughts whose respective proponents accumulated systematic analyses of musical life, such as the art- worlds approach of Howard Becker and the production-of-culture approach associated with Richard Peterson. Its recent boom has been fueled by sophisticated use of theories and methods and by thoughtful debate regarding fundamental concepts.

We delve into this important literature and grapple with the social and cultural foundations of music. We do so in three broad sections, considering (1) the production of music (2) the content of music, and (3) the reception and uses of music. Along the way, we address a number of important questions, which include the following: How did we come to have the current system of music, with its particular notes and forms of composition? Why does much music sound so similar? What types of environments foster innovative music and musical diversity? Why are some types of music (e.g., the works of Beethoven) deemed as “high culture” while other types (e.g., rhythm and blues) are classified as “popular culture?” How do issues of race, gender, and class shape the production and consumption of music? How do people use music in their everyday lives?

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

This advanced course is organized as a seminar, which entails the combination of much class discussion, a fair amount of reading, three examinations and a written assignment. Note that all students must adhere to the Emory College Honor Code when completing both examinations and assignments.

A) Attendance

You are expected to attend class, especially because we use class time to discuss, among other things, the readings and theoretical traditions. Regular attendance, moreover, will raise your final grade. If you miss less than two classes, I will add two points to your final grade.

B) Class Participation and Discussion

Active participation requires adequate preparation. You therefore must read the assigned material before class and develop your own assessment of this material. Such careful preparation will improve the quality of class discussion. Of course, class discussion should be both informed and respectful; moreover, it should be a forum wherein all can raise questions, explore ideas, and express misgivings. Class participation comprises 20% of your final grade.

C) Examinations

You will take three, non-cumulative examinations – one following each major section (e.g., The Production of Music). These will be take-home exams consisting of short-answer and essay questions. Each exam will be worth 20% of your final grade. I will distribute the first exam on September 23, the second exam on October 28 , and the last exam on December 2. You will have the weekend to complete each examination, and you will turn them in during the designated class meeting.

D) Final Paper

You will complete a 12 to 15 page paper (typed and double-spaced). The paper should deal with some aspect of the sociology of music, yet it should also relate to your own substantive interests. Consequently, this paper may take a variety of forms. For example, it can be a review of the literature, a research proposal, or an empirical project. I ask that you discuss your topic with me by October 14 and submit an outline by November 9. The final paper is due on December 14 and comprises 20% of your final grade.

COURSE RESOURCES

The assigned readings are drawn from many sources, so there is no textbook. Instead, the required readings are available at Woodruff Library's on-line reserves (click on “Euclid” and then click on “Reserve Desk”).

If you have any special needs due to learning disabilities, please contact me at the beginning of the semester and we will discuss the necessary arrangements.

COURSE SCHEDULE

(Subject to Revision)

Mary Ann Clawson. 1999. “When Women Play the Bass: Instrument Specialization and Gender Interpretation in Alternative Rock Music.” Gender & Society 13: 193-210.

Timothy J. Dowd and Maureen Blyler. 2002. “Charting Race: The Success of Black Performers in the Mainstream Recording Market, 1940 to 1990.” Poetics 30: 87-110.

Mary Ann Glynn. 2000. “When Cymbals Become Symbols: Conflict over Organizational Identity within a Symphony Orchestra.” Organization Science 11: 285-298.

J. Keith Murninghan and Donald E. Conlon. 1991. “The Dynamics of Intense Work Groups: A Study of British String Quartets.” Administrative Science Quarterly 36: 165-186.

Stephen Lee. 1995. “Re-Examining the Concept of the ‘Independent’ Record Company: The Case of Wax Trax! Records.” Popular Music 14:13-31.

Keith Negus. 1998. “Cultural Production and the Corporation: Musical Genres and the Strategic Management of Creativity in the US Recording Industry.” Media, Culture & Society 20: 359-379.

Jarl A. Ahlkvist and Robert Faulkner. 2002. “‘Will This Record Work for Us?’: Managing Music Formats in Commercial Radio.” Qualitative Sociology 25: 189-215.

Paul du Gay and Keith Negus. 1994. “The Changing Sites of Sound: Music Retailing and the Composition of Consumers.” Media, Culture & Society 16: 395-413.

Timothy J. Dowd. 2003. “Structural Power and the Construction of Markets: The Case of Rhythm and Blues.” Comparative Social Research 21: 147-201.

Cynthia M. Lont. 1992. “Women’s Music: No Longer a Small Private Party.” Pages 241-253 in Rockin’ the Boat: Mass Music and Mass Movements, edited by Reebee Garofalo. Boston: South End Press.

Evolution of Music Markets – The Case of Technology

Narasimhan Anand and Richard A. Peterson. 2000. “When Market Information Constitutes Fields: Sensemaking of Markets in the Commercial Music Industry.” Organization Science 11: 270-284.

Eszther Harggitai. 2000. “Radio’s Lessons for the Internet.” Communications of the ACM 43: 51-57.

Tom McCourt and Patrick Burkhart. 2003. “When Creators, Corporations, and Consumers Collide: Napster and the Development of On-Line Music Distribution.” Media, Culture & Society 25: 335-350.

Globalization of Music Production – Issues of Appropriation

David Hesmondhalgh. 2000. “International Times: Fusions, Exoticism, and Antiracism in Electronic Dance Music.” Pages 280-304 in Western Music and Its Others: Difference, Representation, and Appropriation in Music, edited by Georgina Born and David Hesmondhalgh. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Timothy D. Taylor. 1997. Global Pop: World Music, World Markets. New York: Routledge. Chapter 1.

Globalization of Music Production – Emergent Fields

Cristina Magaldi. 1999. “Adopting Imports: New Images and Alliances in Brazilian Popular Music of the 1990s.” Popular Music 18:309-329.

Motti Regev. 1997. “Who Does What with Music Videos in Israel?” Poetics 25: 225-240.

First Examination Distributed

Film Presentation

Jeff Todd Titon. 1994. Early Downhome Blues: A Musical & Cultural Analysis. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. Chapter 5.

Robert Walser. 1993. Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press. Chapters 2 & 3.

Music Genres – Creating Boundaries and Identity

Geoffrey M. Curran. 1996. “From ‘Swinging Hard’ to ‘Rocking Out’: Classification of Style and the Creation of Identity in the World of Drumming.” Symbolic Interaction 19: 37-60.

Cheryl L. Keyes. 2002. Rap Music and Street Consciousness. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. Chapter 5.

Music Genres - Ongoing Projects of Authenticity

David Grazian. 2004. “The Production of Popular Music as a Confidence Game: The Case of the Chicago Blues.” Qualitative Sociology 27: 137-158.

Richard A. Peterson. 1997. Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chapters 9 & 12.

FALL BREAK (No Class)

Music Genres and Scenes - From the Local to the Virtual

Andy Bennett. 2002. “Music, Media, and Urban Mythscapes: A Study of the Canterbury Sound.” Media, Culture & Society 24: 107-120.

Patria Román Velázquez. 1999. The Making of Latin London: Salsa Music, Place and Identity. Aldershot: Ashgate. Chapter 5.

FINAL PAPER TOPIC DUE

Consecration of Music – Classical Music

Tia DeNora. 1991. “Musical Patronage and Social Change in Beethoven’s Vienna.” American Journal of Sociology 97: 310-346.

William Weber. 2001. “From Miscellany to Homogeneity in Concert Programming.” Poetics 29: 125-134.

Consecration of Music – Beyond Classical Music

Herman Gray. 1997. “Jazz Tradition, Institutional Formation, and Cultural Practice: The Canon and the Street as Frameworks for Oppositional Black Cultural Politics.” Pages 351-373 in From Sociology to Cultural Studies: New Perspectives, edited by Elizabeth Long. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Marco Santoro. 2002. “What is ‘Cantautore?’ Distinction and Authorship in Italian (Popular) Music.” Poetics 30: 111-132.

Change and Conformity in Music Fields – Classical Music

Timothy J. Dowd, Kathleen Liddle, Kim Lupo, and Anne Borden. 2002. “Organizing the Musical Canon: The Repertoires of Major U.S. Symphony Orchestras, 1824 to 1969.” Poetics 30: 87-110.

Rosanne Martorella. 1985. The Sociology of Opera. New York: Praeger. Chapters 3 & 4.

October 28

Change and Conformity in Music Fields – Beyond Classical Music

Tia DeNora. 2000. Music in Everyday Life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapters 3 & 4.

Antoine Hennion. 2001. “Music Lovers: Taste as Performance.” Theory, Culture & Society 18: 1-22.

FINAL PAPER OUTLINE DUE

Michael Bull. 2000. Sounding Out the City: Personal Stereos and the Management of Everyday Life. Oxford: Berg. Chapter 6 & 8.

Steve S. Lee and Richard A. Peterson. 2004. “Internet-Based Virtual Music Scenes: The Case of P2 in Alt.Country Music.” Pages 187-204 in Music Scenes: Local, Translocal, and Virtual, edited by Andy Bennett and Richard A. Peterson. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.

Lee Marshall. 2004. “The Effects of Piracy upon the Music Industry: A Case Study of Bootlegging.” Media, Culture & Society 26: 163-181.

Bethany Bryson. 1997. “What about Univores? Musical Dislikes and Group-Based Identity Construction among Americans with Low Levels of Education.” Poetics 25:141-156.

Noah Mark. 1998. “Birds of a Feather Sing Together.” Social Forces 77: 453-485.

Andy Bennett. 1999. “Hip Hop am Main: The Localization of Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture.” Media, Culture & Society 21:77-91.

Lauraine Leblanc. 1999. Pretty in Punk: Girls’ Gender Resistance in a Boys’ Subculture. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Chapters 2 and 4.

Keith Negus and Patria Román Velázquez. 2002. “Belonging and Detachment: Musical Experience and the Limits of Identity.” Poetics 30: 133-145.

Laura Clawson. 2004. “‘Blessed Be the Tie That Binds’: Community and Spirituality among Sacred Harp Singers.” Poetics 32: 311-324.

Jeff Todd Titon. 1988. Powerhouse for God: Speech, Chant, and Song in an Appalachian Baptist Church. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. Chapter 5.

Peter Stamatov. 2002. “Interpretive Activism and the Political Uses of Verdi’s Operas in the 1840s.” American Sociological Review 67: 345-366.

S. Craig Watkins. 2001. “A Nation of Millions: Hip Hop Culture and the Legacy of Black Nationalism.” Communication Review 4:373-398.

Michaelle Ann Cameron, Julie Baker, Mark Peterson, and Karin Braunsberger. 2003. “The Effects of Music, Wait-Length Evaluation, and Mood on a Low-Cost Wait Experience.” Journal of Business Research 56: 421-430.

Tia DeNora and Sophie Belcher. 2000. “‘When You’re Trying Something on You Picture Yourself in a Place Where They are Playing This Kind of Music’ – Musically Sponsored Agency in the British Clothing Retail Sector.” Sociological Review 48: 80-101.

Adrian C. North, Amber Shilcock, and David J. Hargreaves. 2003. “The Effect of Musical Style on Restaurant Customers’ Spending.” Environment and Behavior 35: 712-718.

Third Examination Distributed

FINAL PAPER DUE (5:00 p.m.)