MUF 101 Musikk, kultur og samfunn (Music, Culture and

Society) 15 credits
Fall 2020 – Spring 2021
Class meeting time and place: Tuesdays 10:15-12:00, digital classes during fall. Spring classes to be known
at the end of the fall semester.

Instructors: Hans Knut Sveen (Hans.Sveen@uib.no), Xueli Tan (Xueli.Tan@uib.no), Tom Solomon
(Thomas.Solomon@uib.no), Stephen Amico (Stephen.Amico@uib.no),
Sigbjørn Apeland (Sigbjorn.Apeland@uib.no), Tia DeNora (tia.denora@uib.no)

Course description (adapted and shortened from the full studieplan available on Mi Side):
The course gives an introduction to cultural and social perspectives on music, focusing especially on the role
of music in society. The relationships between music, culture and society will explored through cultural
analytical methods, considering music as art, science and everyday practice. Topics covered include music
and values, music and identity, music and health, and concepts of art, knowledge and culture. Understanding
of the relationship between theory and practice for performers, composers, musicologists, and music
therapists will be acquired through reflection across disciplinary lines. The course will provide students with
the conceptual tools for theoretical reflection on their own musical practice, as well as in relation to other
musical practices.

Goals (læringsutbytte):
The student who finishes the course will be able to:
• reflect on their own practice and articulate specific theoretical concepts in relation to it
• show knowledge about the functions musical practice has in social perspective
• communicate orally and in writing about theoretical issues in the study of music and society.

Reading list (pensum):

Cook, Nicholas. 1998. Music: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Small, Christopher. 1998. Musicking: The Meanings of Music and Performance. Hanover:
Wesleyan University Press.

+ selected articles and book chapters. See below for readings associated with each lecture; see also below
and Mitt UiB for the complete reading list.

Attendance requirement:
Please note that attendance to at least 80% of class meetings is required in order to be eligible to take the
exam in this class. During digital classes attendance will be registered through the interface in use (Zoom on
https://mitt.uib.no/courses/24406/external_tools/494 or Kaltura (videonotat) on https://mitt.uib.no/courses/
24406/external_tools/490 ).
Grading/exam form:
Semesteroppgave of 3000-4000 words, due during the Spring 2021 semester. Grading marks: letter grade A-
F. The semesteroppgave will be an essay on a given topic, designed to encourage you to use the course
content (lectures and readings) to reflect on musical practice in its wider social and cultural contexts.

Course website:
https://mitt.uib.no/courses/18652

Complete study plan in Norwegian:

http://www.uib.no/emne/MUF101

Note 1: Teaching in this course will be done in both English and Norwegian. Students’ written work may be
done in Norwegian or English.

Note 2: This course runs over two semesters. The exam for the course will be at the end of the Spring 2021
semester. Details of the teaching schedule and exam schedule for Spring 2021 will be announced later.

LECTURE SCHEDULE + READING (PENSUM)

See above for the digital classes, as well as instructions in details on the course page
("Announcements"/"Kunngjøringer") in MittUiB. Readings associated with each lecuture are indicated in
abbreviated form (author’s last name + shortened title). For full bibliographic citations see the separate
document "Pensum MUF101 2020-2021"

25.8 kl. 10.15-12.00

Hans Knut Sveen - Introduksjon
Look through and get an impression of text amount and complexity of:
• Small, Musicking
Check the literature list titles and get a general impression of amount and complexity.

1.9 kl. 10.15- 12.00

Tom Solomon - What is Music?, Tom Solomon
Read:
• Small, Musicking, “Prelude” and chapters 1-2
• Cook, Music: A Very Short Introduction, chapter 1

8.9 kl. 10.15-12.00

Tia DeNora - Music and Everday Life
Read:
• DeNora, “Music as a Technology of the Self”
• Frith, “Music and Everyday Life”
15.9 kl. 10.15-12.00
Xueli Tan - Music and Emotion
Read:
• Ansdell, “Chapter 18: Musical Epiphany”
• Harrison and Eloui, “Thrills, Chills, Frissons, and Skin Orgasms …”

22.9 kl. 10.15-12.00

Xueli Tan - Music and Health
Read:
• Edwards, “A Music and Health Perspective on Music's Perceived ‘Goodness.’”
• MacDonald et al., “What is Music, Health, and Wellbeing and Why is it Important?”

29.9 kl. 10.15-12.00

Sigbjørn Apeland - Musikk som sosialt og kulturelt fenomen
Read:
• Small, Musicking, chapters 3-7
• Cook, Music: A Very Short Introduction, chapters 2, 4
• Becker, Chapter 1, “Art Worlds and Collective Activity”
• Titon, “Textual Analysis or Thick Description?”

6.10 kl. 10.15-12.00

Sigbjørn Apeland - Musikk og historie
Read:
• Seeger, “When Music Makes History”
• Cook, Music: A Very Short Introduction, chapter 6
• Small, Musicking, chapters 10, 12

13.10 kl. 10.15-12.00

Tom Solomon - Technology, media and mediation
Read:
• Frith, “Art Versus Technology: The Strange Case of Popular Music”
• Aase, “Musikk fra et lukket rom: På lydspor av en kunstnerisk integrert studiopraksis”
• Cook, Music: A Very Short Introduction, chapter 3
• Small, Musicking, chapter 8

20.10
Undervisningsfri uke / No class

27.10 kl. 10.15-12.00

Hans Knut Sveen - Musikkforståelse, tolkning og framføring
Read:
• Aase, “Do Pianists Exist to Play Piano Concertos?”
• Buene, «Telescopic listening»

10.11 kl. 10.15-12.00

Stephen Amico - Music and meaning, Stephen Amico
Read:
• Small, Musicking, “Interludes” 1,2,3
• Cook, Music: A Very Short Introduction, chapter 5

17.11 kl. 10.15-12.00

Stephen Amico - Music and identity
Read:
• Amico, “Su Casa Es Mi Casa: Latin House, Sexuality, Place”
• J. Miller, “Fans, Music, Clothes and Consumption”
• Seeger, “Whoever We Are Today, We Can Sing You a Song About It”
• Small, Musicking, chapters 9, 11
• Cook, Music: A Very Short Introduction, chapter 7

24.11 kl. 10.15-12.00

TBA - Writing seminar

1.12 kl. 10.15-12.00

TBA - Writing seminar

PENSUM
Use Digital litteraturliste as your reference and source: https://mitt.uib.no/courses/24406/external_tools/498