The overall aim of this course is to introduce students to popular music as an area of postgraduate study. It will introduce underlying concepts and approaches to the study of popular music history and a range of important artists, events and genres. The course will then locate these histories within wider debates around culture, music, work and globalisation studies.

10 x 1 hr lectures over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus

10 x 1 hr seminars over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus

None

None

Essay (3000 words) - 70%

Video Essay (15 mins) - 30%

This course aims to:

■ Introduce students to key concepts and issues in popular music history.

■ Enhance the students' ability to critically reflect on the history of popular music.

■ Promote the students' critical analysis of problems and challenges across careers in popular music.

■ Develop students' skills in the presentation of ideas relating to the history of popular music.

■ Explore the key differences in the history of popular in diverse contexts, especially the historical role of Anglo-American popular music within global music cultures.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Critically evaluate a range of academic approaches to the study of the history of popular music.

■ Analyse some of the key themes, events, genres, and artists in the history of popular music.

■ Evaluate the key differences in the history of popular music in diverse contexts, especially Anglo-American popular music within global music cultures.

■ Engage critically with academic and other texts dealing with the history of popular music.

■ Reflect critically upon what insights the history of popular music can provide for the future.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.