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English 113:
Assignment #4
Joel Peckham
Music and Culture
Concepts and Goals:
* This particular assignment asks you to talk about an artist or genre of music and it's relationship to historical or current American Culture. In some ways the profile and genre studies essays have prepared you to write at least a portion of this essay. But I want you to go beyond simply telling me the story of an artist or a genre, I want you to research the historical and cultural context of your subject and to make some bold assertions regarding why you believe say, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Presley, Janice Joplin, Billy Holiday, or Bob Dylan, were important cultural icons for their period. What was going on in the world when they appeared, what was the cultural reaction to them (from fans, politicians, etc.). Why did that reaction occur? How has this artist or genre changed America. You may go broader or more narrow in your topic if you like. For example, a study of the context and importance of a single song like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's "Ohio" (a protest son inspired by the Kent State Massacre) or the relationship between gospel music and the civil rights movement would be good topics (though the later is a bit large for eight pages). You might also study recent phenomena, like Rage Against the Machine's protest concert outside of the Democratic convention.
* I do not want you to write an opinion page--though you should not suppress your opinion. I do want you to find support for your assertions from reviews, articles, political speeches etc. Don't just claim that Eminem is culturally important, show how he is part of American Political and cultural debate and research various opinions by multiple analysts regarding why that might be. Then express your own ideas.
* This paper may have an argumentative element. If you make an assertion that requires proof, I expect the proof to be present in the essay. Other techniques important to formal argumentative and analytical style are important here as well. Be sure to accurately cite sources if you use them. Make certain that you define your terms carefully and use exact, precise, language.
* Ultimately I expect that this essay will cause your readers to see how music and popular culture reflect and respond to American Culture in general. Your essay should set out to prove that art and culture interact on a fundamental level.
Guidelines:
* This essay requires research. I would invite students to use the readings we have done thus far as a resource for defining their topics. Quoting Crawford is just fine. But I fully expect that you will use multiple sources in developing your ideas. You are required to cite at least 6 sources of three different types (examples: book, magazine article, internet document)within the text of your essay. Your sources should be integrated within a sustained and logical assertion regarding your topic and relationship to American Culture and should provide context, authoritative opinion, analysis, facts, etc. in support of that assertion. All citations should be formatted using MLA style (see the writing links portion of the main page for guidelines) with in-text parenthetical citation and a Works Cited page (not a bibliography).
Note:
This essay should be well-organized and coherent, with clearly focused sentences and paragraphs. It should also "go somewhere"--leading to a resolution that seems to arise from the text. WARNING: Crawford's American Musical Life focuses primarily on artists and their contribution to music. That is not your focus in this essay. Here your focus in on the artist, genre, musical event, or song as cultural, not necessarily or primarily a musical, phenomenon. Chord progressions and harmonics should only be mentioned inasmuch as they are relevant to cultural affect. Be very careful to stay "on task". The length target for this essay is 6-8 pages, but I will read longer essays if the subject warrants the extra space.
