PREREQUISITES: MUL 2720 (World Music) and MUT 1122 (Music Theory II) [both with grade of "C" or better], or permission of the instructor.
Required Materials:
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES: This course examines a broad range of the various musical styles made in the United States, with an emphasis on vernacular, jazz, popular, and some art music traditions, beginning in pre-Revolutionary times and continuing to the recent past and near present. In this course you will learn about and become conversant with:
COMMUNICATION: It is your obligation to read, follow and complete all assignments and other instructions (verbal or written) given to you in the course of this semester. You are responsible for any information or instructions given out in any of the following ways:
ATTENDANCE: Regular class attendance is expected of all enrolled students, and attendance will count for 5% of your grade in this course in the following manner:
With no additional face-to-face meetings after the spring break, attendance grades will be "frozen" and based on attendance through 6 March 2020. No additional attendance will be taken for the rest of the semester, but you will be expected to complete all graded work by the announced deadlines.
Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class on a sign-in sheet. Habitual tardies will be counted as partial absences.
Anyone who signs the attendance sheet and then leaves the classroom before the conclusion of class will be counted absent for the entire period. If you must leave the room a few minutes early for a legitimate reason, inform me before class begins, preferably in writing (email works best).
NB. Because attendance is part of your grade, any attempts to misrepresent your own attendance or someone else's on the sign-in sheet or in any other fashion will be considered acts of academic dishonesty, i.e., cheating, and dealt with accordingly.
NB. Anyone not in the classroom will be counted as absent, regardless of the reason, e.g., illness, car trouble, work-related issues, child-care or other family problems, court appearances, etc. The only exceptions to this rule are:
Attendance Policy for Tests: No unexcused absence from an announced test or quiz will ever be allowed. Failure to appear at an announced test/quiz will result in a grade of "0" (zero) for that test. Late arrivals at announced tests will not be given any additional time to complete the test, nor will instructions or audio portions of the test be repeated.
Make-up Policy: Should you be unable to attend an announced test due to participation in an officially sanctioned UCF event or personal observance of a religious holiday, you must notify me at least one week in advance of that test to schedule an alternate time. For personal or family emergencies (e.g., funerals), you must notify me as early as possible. At a minimum, send an email message as soon as possible to inform me of your situation. In some cases, I will require documented proof of the reason for your absence. You may then be allowed to take a make-up test no later than 48 hours after the scheduled test or your return to campus. Make-up tests may be different from announced tests to ensure the integrity of the testing process.
TESTING AND GRADING: Your grade in this course will be determined by your performance in the following:
| Assignment / Test | Weighting |
|---|---|
| Attendance | |
| Primary Source Summary | 10% |
| Music Description/Analysis Paper | 10% |
| Scholarly Article Summary | 10% |
| Cancelled | |
| Midterm Exam | 20% |
| Listening Quizes (2) | 10% |
| Final Exam & Listening Test | 30% |
Failure to complete any significant individual course assignments will be considered failure to complete the course and will result in a grade of "F" for the course, regardless of the grade(s) on any other assignments in the semester.
The Primary Source Summary will require you to read closely some documents concerned with some aspect of music in the United States, which you will then summarize in a formal written document. (Due Date: Approximately end of week 4)
The Music Description/Analysis Paper will require you to listen to recordings of some United States music examples (not covered in class) and summarize their sound and relationship to previously studied musical styles in a formal written document. (Due date: Approximately end of week 6)
The Scholarly Article Summary will require you to read closely a recent professional article on some aspect of music in the United States, which you will then summarize in a formal written document. (Due Date: Approximaltey end of week 12)
Cancelled: The Group Project will be a group effort to investigate and present your findings on some aspect of music in the United States. (Due Date: last week of class)
REVISED:The Midterm, Final Exam and (two) Listening Quizzes will be written, in-class tests in which you will demonstrate your mastery of the course materials. Most of these exercises will use primarily open-ended "brief answer" questions, followed by a variety of essay questions. (No scantrons, true/false, or multiple guess question will ever be used in this course.) Listening quizzes will be based on your assigned course listenings or recordings or similar works. (Due Dates: Approximately week 9 for Midterm and Listening Quiz 1; Final exam and Listening Quiz 2 during official final exam period) The Final Exam and Listening Quiz #2 will be adminstered in accordance with UCF directives for social distancing.
Complete instructions for completing and submitting the Primary Source Summary, Music Description/Analysis Paper, Scholarly Article Summary, and Group Project will be posted on the course web site.
The following numeric equivalents apply to all grades (individual assignments & final course grade):
| 100.00 - 92.00 | = A | Clearly Exceptional Work, Assignments meet and often exceed all stated requirements, Strong writing that contains very few, minor errors, Work submitted on or ahead of time. |
| 91.99 - 90.00 | = A- | |
| 89.99 - 88.00 | = B+ | Clearly Superior Work, Assignments generally meet all stated requirements, Writing that contains minor errors that do not impede understanding, Work usually submitted on time. |
| 87.99 - 82.00 | = B | |
| 81.99 - 80.00 | = B- | |
| 79.99 - 78.00 | = C+ | Completely Satisfactory Work, Assignments meet most stated requirements, Writing contains more obvious errors that begin to impede understanding, Work not always submitted on time. |
| 77.99 - 72.00 | = C | |
| 71.99 - 70.00 | = C- | While still marginally satisfactory, work in this category (and below) falls below acceptable standards for the music major. |
| 69.99 - 68.00 | = D+ | Generally Unsatisfactory Work, Assignments frequently do not meet stated requirements, Writing contains errors that significantly impede understanding, Work rarely submitted on time. |
| 67.99 - 62.00 | = D | |
| 61.99 - 60.00 | = D- | |
| 59.99 - 0.00 | = F | Unsatisfactory Work, Assignments do not meet most stated requirements, Writing contains excessive errors, lacks organization and/or approaches incoherence, Work not submitted or frequently late. |
Questions about the grading or evaluation of any assignment must be raised at the time that item is returned to you. You may not argue for points based on your perception of the grading vis-à-vis another student's work. Only obvious clerical errors on my part will be corrected.
Items turned in late will be assessed a 10-point penalty for every 24 hours or fraction of a day that they are late. This penalty may be waived or lessened at my discretion, provided I am informed at least 24 hours in advance when you will not meet a deadline.
Final course averages are calculated to the nearest 1/100 of a point. In the case of a borderline final average, I reserve the right to award the next highest grade, based on class participation, preparation, attendance, and related factors.
No extra credit work or alternate assignments will be accepted in lieu of or in addition to the assignments and tests listed on this syllabus.
No materials created for any other course (or previous iteration of MUH 3633) (either at UCF or any other institution) may be submitted for credit. Students repeating MUH 3633 are required to choose different topics for assignments submitted in previous attempts at the course.
Exact Due dates for all graded assignments and tests will be announced at least one week in advance.
The Final Examination period for MUH 3633 is scheduled for : Monday, 27 April 2020, at 10:00 am - 12:50 pm. NB., Final Exams will not be rescheduled to accommodate travel, jobs, personal preference, etc. All graded materials are due by the end of that period.
With no additional face-to-face meetings after the spring break, many of the directives below will be inoperative for obvious reasons, e.g., instructions on classrooom behavior. Nevertheless you should continue to read your textbook and supplemental materials, following the PowerPoint slides, review sheets, and other information posted on the course web sites.
CLASS PROCEDURES AND YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES: This course will follow the textbook in roughly chronological order. You should read the assigned pages and listen to the relevant items before they are discussed in class (announced in advance in class on the course assignment page). Even if you do not understand some materials, you should attempt to complete the reading and listening before the scheduled class meeting so that you may ask relevant questions.
You should carry your textbook and notebook to all class meetings. You should take notes about any information presented in class, and you should feel free to ask questions at any time if something is not clear to you. [REVISED] Send questions to me via email at any time.
Following the class, you should re-read the relevant passages in the textbook and re-listen to assigned items. Sometime shortly after each chapter (or subsection) is covered in class, my personal Chapter Review Sheets will be posted on the course web site. These items will help you to organize your notes and guide your studies. You may also be assigned readings and listenings to items on the web site.
As a matter of respect to others in the classroom, you are not to engage in conversations unrelated to the current activities of this course, use cell phones or other electronic devices (turn off such items before entering my classroom), or work on anything unrelated to MUH 3633 (assignments for other courses, newspapers, puzzles, etc.) during the 50 minutes of class time. Individuals engaged in such activities will be asked once to cease. The second time they will be told to leave the classroom, and they will be marked absent for that day. Repeat offenders may be dismissed from the course.
You are encouraged to use laptop computers, tablets, or other appropriate devices for note-taking or work related directly to MUH 3633 only. Anyone engaged in non-productive activities on any device (email, texting, web-surfing, etc.) will have their device confiscated immediately. You will be marked absent for the day, and you will not be allowed to use any device in the classroom for the remainder of the course.
In preparing for each class meeting you should allot a minimum of 3 hours (= 9 or more hours total [outside class] per week). You may find it useful to form study groups so that you may help one another in your preparations for class and for tests. You are not, however, allowed to collaborate on any graded assignments in this class, unless the instructions for that assignment say that you may. (see "Academic Integrity" below)
RESERVE MATERIALS: As the semester progresses both optional and required supplementary items may be placed on reserve for reading or listening. You will be informed in class when such items go on reserve, and the course web page will include a list of all such items used in the term. Additionally, some assignments will require materials that are not on reserve. Students are advised to remember that other members of the class may need access to them, and to act accordingly.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: All graded work, i.e., tests, in this class must be your work alone. You are never to collaborate with anyone on tests in this class, and you are not allowed to use your text, notes, or other aides of any kind when you are testing. Violators will be referred to the appropriate UCF authorities for prosecution (see the latest edition of The Golden Rule for more details).
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: The University of Central Florida is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all persons with special needs. This syllabus is available in alternate formats upon request. Students who need accommodations for their academic work must be registered with Student Accessibility Services, Ferrell Commons Room 185, phone (407) 823-2371, TTY/TDD only phone (407) 823-2116, before requesting accommodations from the professor (me).
STUDENTS ON ACTIVE-DUTY MILITARY SERVICE: Students who are deployed active duty military and/or National Guard personnel and require accommodation should contact their instructors as soon as possible after the semester begins and/or after they receive notification of deployment to make related arrangements.
CAMPUS SAFETY STATEMENT(S): Emergencies on campus are rare, but if one should arise during class, everyone needs to work together. Students should be aware of their surroundings and familiar with some basic safety and security concepts.
NB. This syllabus may be revised, if circumstances warrant. You will be notified formally if any changes are made.