MUSC 1350 - History of Rock n Roll

4.5 Credits

Students explore how Rock n Roll shapes and is shaped by society. Placing performers and their songs in their historical contexts, students compare the musical elements of Rock n Roll with those of the genres from which it originated and with which it collides. They judge the quality of the music and investigate the role record labels, disc jockeys, critics, and consumers play in a recording’s journey to platinum or to obscurity. They discover who has promoted and who has banned Rock n Roll and why, specifically addressing the topics of sex, drugs, rebellion, human rights, world hunger, heightened levels of consciousness, artistic integrity, and crass materialism.

Lecture Hours: 4.5
Lab Hours: 0.0
Internship Hours: 0.0
Clinical or Practicum Hours: 0.0

Course Objectives

Contextualize Rock n Roll historically, culturally, economically, and rhetorically.
Analyze Rock n Roll as an art form in communication with other genres and other forms of art.
Evaluate the quality of Rock n Roll music.
Interpret various meanings of Rock n Roll music for various audiences.
Trace the process by which a recording is made, advertised, distributed, and consumed.
Identify what interests are served through the promotion and suppression of Rock n Roll.

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