Prerequisite: MUH 6916 (Music Bibliography & Research) or permission of the instructor.
Required Materials:
Course Objectives: This course is a seminar in the music of three major United States composers of the 20th century. In this course you will become conversant with:
NB. The materials of this course may at times address issues of race, ethnic identity and/or gender in direct fashions.
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. As graduate students you will not earn any formal credit for attendance, however attendance will be take at every class meeting and poor attendance will affect your grade negatively. In general, you will be allotted 3 hours (1 weekly meeting) of absences with no excuses required. Any missed time beyond those 3 hours will result in deductions from your grade. You are responsible for all materials covered and all announcements made in every class, whether you are present or not.
Attendance Policy for In-class Assignments: No unexcused absence from a scheduled class presentation or other in-class assignment will ever be allowed. Failure to appear for such an assignment will result in a grade of "0" (zero) for that assignment.
Make-up Policy: Should you be unable to attend a seminar meeting 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 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.
GRADING: Your grade in this course will be determined by your performance in the following:
| Assignment / Graded Activity | Weighting |
|---|---|
| Class Attendance & Participation | 30% |
| Book Reviews (3 @ 10% each) | 30% |
| Plagiarism and Research modules (5 @ 1% each) | 5% |
| Major Paper | 25% |
| Final Presentation | 10% |
The Class Attendance & Participation will consist of various tasks related to class discussions, e.g., preparation of small reports, analyses, etc. Your ability and willingness to contribute to class discussions will be noted here.
The Book Reviews will consist of brief (c. 750-1000 words) descriptive and evaluative reviews of books (or possibly other items) related to the course topics, which will be posted on the course web site.
The Plagiarism and Research modules will be self-directed instructional modules intended to ensure that you are familiar with good scholarly practices in order to avoid plagiarism in your work.
The Major Paper will be the culmination of your primary work in this course, and it will consist of a project definition, the accumulation of bibliography and a formal paper of significant length.
The Final Presentation will be an oral summary of your "Major Paper," given during the final exam period of this course.
The following numeric equivalents apply to all grades (individual assignments & final course grade):
| 100.00 - 92.00 | = A | Clearly Superior Work at the Graduate Level, Assignments meet all stated requirements, Strong writing that contains either no or very few minor errors, Work submitted on or ahead of time. |
| 91.99 - 90.00 | = A- | |
| 89.99 - 88.00 | = B+ | Completely Satisfactory Work at the Graduate Level, Assignments meet most stated requirements, Writing that contains minor errors that do not impede understanding, Work generally submitted on time. |
| 87.99 - 82.00 | = B | |
| 81.99 - 80.00 | = B- | |
| 79.99 - 78.00 | = C+ | Marginally Satisfactory Work at the Graduate Level, Assignments usually meet most stated requirements, Writing that contains errors that begin to impede understanding, Work not always submitted on time. |
| 77.99 - 72.00 | = C | |
| 71.99 - 70.00 | = C- | |
| 69.99 - 68.00 | = D+ | Generally Unsatisfactory Work at the Graduate Level, Assignments do not meet many of the stated requirements, Writing that 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 at the Graduate Level, Assignments do not meet stated requirements, Writing with excessive errors, lacks organization and 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.
Due dates for all graded assignments will be announced at least one week in advance.
The Final Examination period for MUH 6935 is scheduled for : Tuesday, 30 April 2019, at 7:00 - 9:50 pm. All graded materials are due by the end of that period, unless otherwise noted in the instructions for any assignments in this course.
CLASS PROCEDURES AND YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES: Because this course is a seminar, it may differ significant from your experiences in lecture and discussion classes at lower academic levels. The essence of a seminar is a collective effort to investigate and learn about a particular topic, which thus places the responsibility for identifying, processing and presenting materials and research results on all members of the seminar. In short, every member of the seminar is expected to contribute in some way or another to every weekly meeting. Passive, i.e., silent or non-constructive contributions will be viewed negatively and may result in deductions from your grade. Assigned readings must be completed before each meeting (or the indicated deadlines) and presenters must be ready at the assigned meetings. Seminar members should also be willing to take the intiative to investigate questions that might arise in a class without waiting for formal assignments, and seminar members should also be able and willing to assist one another with research problems. In short, the idea of a collaborative effort undertaken by a group of scholars should inform all of yor work inthis course.
To facilitate discussions, you will be given a variety of readings and other assignments on a weekly based (always posted on the course web site). Again, it is your obligation to complete those tasks to the best of your ability on the announced schedule so that you may participate in class discussions and so that your fellow seminar members may benefit from your work.
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.
You are strongly encouraged to bring your laptop or other portable computer to class for both note-taking and active work during class time. To ensure full use of your computer while on campus, go to: https://publishing.ucf.edu/sites/itr/cst/Pages/WirelessNetworkOverview.aspx for instructions on how to register your personal computer so that it has full access to the UCF wireless resources (including the UCF Library).
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 6916 (assignments for other courses, newspapers, puzzles, etc.) during 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.
YOu should know that the Music Building is a brand-new structure, and to keep it in good condition, department policies state that you are not to bring food into any classroom. You may bring water only to class. For those who must bring meals or snacks, use the terrace or other outside areas for eating during breaks.
This course is labor intensive, and it will require that you come to campus on many occasions beyond your class meeting day to use the library. In preparing for each class meeting you should allot a minimum of 3 hours for every hour of a class meeting, which means at least 9 hours of outside preparation and other work 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 you are specifically directed so. (see "Academic Integrity" below)
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).
NB. This syllabus may be revised, if circumstances warrant. You will be notified formally if any changes are made.