London Semester Course Description
Music in Twentieth Century Britain
This course examines a wide range of important musical styles and cultures in twentieth century Britain. We will consider notions of British identity, as asserted positively (e.g. Pastoralism in classical music) and critically (e.g. Punk Rock). We will look at various cultural theories and apply these approaches to the subcultures that emerged in the U.K. after the Second World war, such as Teddy Boys, Rockers and Mods.
We will study the “symbolic subsystems” of each group - their music, style, speech and ritual – alongside notions of deviancy, consumerism, identity, territoriality, and performance. Music will be given special emphasis: we will examine the stylistic traits of different artists and genres (the forms, lyrics, instrumentation etc.) as well as the political and economic context in which each was created.
As part of the class we will have some guest speakers (practicing musicians) and attend three concerts of classical, jazz and rock music.
Note: Additional lab fee applies.