103-002 Robinson Fall 2011 - George Mason University School of ...

MUSI 103-002
Musics of the World
Fall 2011
Dr. Gregory J. Robinson
Office: Performing Arts Building (PAB) A430, email: grobins8@gmu.edu
Class Time/Location: Tues/Thurs 1:30 – 2:45 PM, Fine Arts Building (FAB) B207
Office Hours: Monday 12:00 – 1:30 PM or by appointment
The Musical Scale is not one, not ‘natural,’ nor even founded necessarily on the law of the constitution of
musical sound…but very diverse, very artificial, and very capricious.
Alexander Ellis
“On the Musical Scales of Various Nations” (1885)
Credits/Requirements
• This is a three-credit course.
• This course counts toward the Interdisciplinary Minor in World Music.
• This course fulfills the Gen-Ed requirement for Global Understanding.
• N.B. this course does not fulfill the Gen-Ed requirement for Fine Arts.
Required Materials
• Rommen, Timothy, et all. (2011) Excursions in World Music, 6 th edition. (print or electronic)
• Compact discs or online listening that accompany the Excursions text.
• Access to MyMusicLab
• Articles to appear as documents or weblinks on blackboard, which can be found at the following address:
• http://mymasonportal.gmu.edu
Course Description/Objectives
The general purpose of this course is to introduce students to the study of traditional, popular, and classical
musics from around the world, through in-depth reading and close listening. Students will acquire the skills to
identify musical styles from many world regions while learning about the historical and cultural contexts that
surround these repertoires and the lives of the musicians involved in them. Additionally as a part of the General
Education Global Understanding Curriculum, this course will teach students to critique discourses on diversity
and better understand the forces that shape current global economic and cultural politics. Notions of
appropriation, representation, and authenticity underlie much of this course.
This class requires no previous musical background and is open to both music majors and non-majors. The first
several weeks of class will focus on an overview of fundamental musical principles (elements of melody,
harmony, texture, form, organology, and the organization of time). This introduction will provide students with
vocabulary and analytical tools that will be used throughout the semester.
Structure
Most weeks, classes will follow a lecture and discussion format. These discussions will take as their point of
departure the listed readings, listening assignments, and study questions for the day. You are required to
complete all of these assignments before the corresponding class. The listening assignments will draw from
the recordings that accompany the textbook, so be sure to purchase both the book and the accompanying CDs.
Classroom participation is a major component of the grading for this course. It is crucial that you come to class
having completed the assigned reading, listening, and study questions, and prepared to discuss the material. If
you miss class for any reason, be sure to obtain lecture notes from one of your classmates.
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Assignments
To access assignments on Blackboard:
• On an approved browser, go to the webpage: http://mymasonportal.gmu.edu
• Log in using your Mason ID and password
• Click on the “Courses” tab on the top right hand side of the page
• Click on MUSI 103-002 from the list of courses in the center column
• Click on “Course Content” in the right column
• Click on the folder for the appropriate day
Reading: All of the assigned course readings will be found either in our course textbook, Excursions in World
Music (available at the university bookstore or online), or on Blackboard. On our course’s Blackboard site, the
“Course Content” page is organized into folders by date. Inside the folders, you will find the daily study
questions. Also, in cases where the assigned readings come from sources other than our text, they can be found
in the Course Content folders in pdf form or as weblinks. Please bring the assigned reading into class every
day, whether it be the textbook, a printed copy of a pdf file, or your computer with the pdf saved, as we will
frequently refer to these readings during class.
Listening: All assigned listening will be available on the CDs that accompany the course textbook, or on the
MyMusicLab page online.
Study Questions: Students will be required to answer several short study questions in preparation for each
class. These questions will be located on Blackboard, in the appropriate folder on the “Course Content” page.
These questions will help you to identify the key points of each reading and organize your thoughts for in-class
discussion. Please answer all questions in complete sentences. In most cases, answers will not need to be more
than one sentence in length. Please answer all questions within the space provided rather than attaching
documents with your answers.
Due Dates for Study Questions:
• All study questions are due by the beginning o our class period on the due date.
• Students may submit late study question responses for partial credit under the following conditions:
o The late submission box for each study question assignment on blackboard will close two
weeks after the original due date.
o Each student may submit up to three study questions assignments late without penalty.
o After the third late assignment, each late submission will be counted for half credit.
Exams
Three exams will be given throughout the semester, covering material from the reading, listening, and lectures.
Though exams generally cover only the material from the immediately preceding portion of the course, sections
of the last two exams may be cumulative. If you know you must miss an exam, please contact me within the
first two weeks of class. Medical exceptions may be made with advanced notice and sufficient documentation
from a doctor. If you miss an exam and are permitted to make it up, it is your responsibility to make sure you
schedule a make-up time. All excused missed exams must be made up within two weeks of the original exam
date.
Attendance
A student can have up to two unexcused absences over the course of the semester and still receive full credit for
his or her attendance. After that point, a third of a letter grade will be subtracted from the final attendance grade
for each absence (0-2 absences = A+, 3 absences = A, 4 absences = A-, etc.). If you need to miss class for any
reason, please contact me ahead of time and provide the appropriate documentation. Consistent participation in
class discussions can improve an attendance/participation grade. Consistent disruptions can result in points
subtracted from the final attendance/participation grade. If lateness becomes a problem, I will start counting late
arrivals as half-absences.

Concert Reports
Each student is required to attend three (3) live musical performances during the current semester. Each
report will entail three parts.
1. Attend a musical event, paying attention to the kinds of considerations we discuss in class. These
musical events may be concerts, dance performances, religious services, political rallies, etc.
• The events you attend MUST FEATURE LIVE MUSICAL PERFORMANCE. If you
have any confusion or questions about whether an event fits this requirement, please ask
me.
• Each of the events you attend must feature a distinctly different musical tradition or style,
or reflect a different region of the world. Again, please ask me if you have any questions
about whether two specific concerts are different enough.
2. Once you have attended an event you will be required to prepare a report on some aspect of the
performance and post it on the discussion board on this course’s Blackboard site. Reports should
be approximately three hundred (300) words in length and should use the vocabulary and ideas
discussed in class. As the semester progresses and as the number of reports increases, students
may craft their reports in such a way as to respond to other students’ posts, but it is not necessary
to do so.
• Once we have covered musical fundamentals, I will explain the concert report guidelines
in greater depth.
3. Additionally, you will be required to submit to me in class some form of proof that you attended
the musical event. This could take the form of a ticket stub, a program, or a photo of yourself in
front of the stage at the performance (as permitted by the host organization).
• Make sure that your name as well as the course number and section number for this class
appears on your proof of attendance.
• Once you have posted your report online, print out a copy and submit it to me in class,
attached (stapled/paperclipped) to your proof of attendance.
• Due dates:
o Concert reports must be posted and turned in no more than two weeks after the date of the event.
o These assignments have a rolling deadline as concert opportunities and individual students’
schedules vary, but some basic principles apply:
Two reports will be due no later than 10/20
The final report will be due no later than 12/1
You may complete the reports before but not after the deadlines.
o N.B. The deadlines refer to in-class submission. You must have submitted your proof of
attendance to me by the beginning of our class period on the due date, which means you
must have posted to the discussion board before the due date.
• Up to three extra concert reports may be completed for extra credit.
• These assignments will not be graded on a letter system. Rather, students will receive checks if they have
completed the assignment in a satisfactory manner. If a report falls short of the parameters set out in the
guidelines, the report will not receive full credit. For the first two reports, if a student submits an
assignment that does not receive full credit, he or she will have the opportunity to correct and re-submit the
assignment for late credit. For the last report, this opportunity will not be available.
Grading
The final grade in this course will depend on several components—attendance and class participation
(preparation for and participation in classroom discussions), study questions, concert reports, and three exams.
Each of these components will be weighted in the following way:
Attendance/Participation 10%
Study Questions 10%
Concert Reports 20%
Exam 1 20%
Exam 2 20%
Exam 3 20%
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Class and University Policies:
Cellular Phones, Blackberries, iPhones, iPods, etc: All electronic communication devices must be turned off at
the beginning of class and remain off for the duration of the class.
Email:
1. All official electronic communications with professors must be undertaken through a GMU email account.
All class announcements will come through this server and students are responsible to stay current with
their GMU accounts.
2. Please include your course and section number in the subject heading of all emails you send to me.
Honor Code: GMU is an Honor Code university; please see the University Catalog for a full description of the code
and the honor committee process. The principle of academic integrity is taken very seriously and violations are
treated gravely. Essentially, this means that when you are responsible for a task, you will perform that task. When
you rely on someone else’s work in an aspect of the performance of that task, you will give full credit in the proper,
accepted form. Another aspect of academic integrity is the free play of ideas. Vigorous discussion and debate are
encouraged in this course, with the firm expectation that all aspects of the class will be conducted with civility and
respect for differing ideas, perspectives, and traditions. When in doubt (of any kind) please ask for guidance and
clarification.
Please read carefully the following information, taken from the university website, found at
http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/plagiarism.htm#plagiarism:
Plagiarism encompasses the following:
1. Presenting as one's own the words, the work, or the opinions of someone else without proper
acknowledgment.
2. Borrowing the sequence of ideas, the arrangement of material, or the pattern of thought of
someone else without proper acknowledgment. 1
Plagiarism Statement
Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinions, or factual information from another person without
giving that person credit. Writers give credit through accepted documentation styles, such as parenthetical
citation, footnotes, or endnotes; a simple listing of books and articles is not sufficient. Plagiarism is the
equivalent of intellectual robbery and cannot be tolerated in an academic setting. Student writers are often
confused as to what should be cited. Some think that only direct quotations need to be credited. While
direct quotations do need citations, so do paraphrases and summaries of opinions or factual information
formerly unknown to the writers or which the writers did not discover themselves. Exceptions for this
include factual information which can be obtained from a variety of sources, the writers' own insights or
findings from their own field research, and what has been termed common knowledge. What constitutes
common knowledge can sometimes be precarious; what is common knowledge for one audience may not
be so for another. In such situations, it is helpful, to keep the reader in mind and to think of citations as
being "reader friendly." In other words, writers provide a citation for any piece of information that they
think their readers might want to investigate further. Not only is this attitude considerate of readers, it will
almost certainly ensure that writers will never be guilty of plagiarism (statement of English Department at
George Mason University). 2
1 George Mason University, “George Mason University Honor System and Code” George Mason University,
http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/plagiarism.htm#plagiarism.
2 Ibid.

For guidelines on proper citation, see The Chicago Manual of Style or the Modern Languages
Association’s guide to formatting and style.
Office of Disability Services: If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please
see me and contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) at 993-2474. All academic accommodations must be
arranged through the ODS. http://ods.gmu.edu
Other Useful Campus Resources:
• Writing Center: A114 Robinson Hall; (703) 993-1200; http://writingcenter.gmu.edu
• University Libraries “Ask a Librarian”: http://library.gmu.edu/mudge/IM/IMRef.html
• Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS): (703) 993-2380; http://caps.gmu.edu
• University Catalog: The University Catalog, http://catalog.gmu.edu, is the central resource for university
policies affecting student, faculty, and staff conduct in university academic affairs. Other policies are
available at http://universitypolicy.gmu.edu/. All members of the university community are responsible for
knowing and following established policies.
General Education Learning Outcomes for Global Understanding
A general education course in Global Understanding should address at least three of the following learning
outcomes. Upon completing the course, students will be able to:
• Develop understanding of global patterns and processes and their potential impact on society
• Demonstrate understanding of the interconnectedness, difference, and diversity of a global society
• Identify, evaluate and properly cite resources appropriate to the field, such as audio/visual/online/print
materials, or artifacts
• Apply awareness of global issues to a consideration of individual responsibilities within a global society
• Devise analytical, practical, or creative responses to global problems or issues
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
MUSI 103-002 Fall 2011 Schedule of Classes and Assignments (subject to revision)
8/30 Introduction, Syllabus
9/1 Christopher Small: “Prelude” (blackboard)
9/6 Last day to add classes Excursions Chapter 1 (Introduction)
9/8 Lecture on Musical Fundamentals (No reading assignment or study questions)
9/13 Excursions Chapter 2 (India) Part I (pp. 26-40)
9/15 Excursions Chapter 2 Part II (pp. 40-53)
9/19 Last day to drop classes with a 33% tuition penalty
9/20 Excursions Chapter 7 (Sub-Saharan Africa) Part I (pp. 190-215)
9/22 Excursions Chapter 7 Part II (pp. 216-225)
9/27 REVIEW FOR EXAM 1
9/29 EXAM 1
9/30 (Friday): Final drop deadline (67% tuition penalty)
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Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
10/4 Excursions Chapter 6 (Indonesia) Part I (pp. 162- 177 top of page)
10/6 Excursions Chapter 6 (Indonesia) Part II (pp. 177-193)
10/11 No Class (Monday classes meet)
10/13 Excursions Chapter 3 (Middle East) Part I (pp. 54-73)
10/18 Excursions Chapter 3 Part II (73-87)
10/20 First Two Concert Reports Due Reading TBA
10/25 Excursions Chapter 10 (Caribbean) Part I (please read all)
10/27 Excursions Chapter 10 Part II
Week 10
11/1 Feld: The Poetics and Politics of Pygmy Pop (blackboard)
11/3 REVIEW FOR EXAM 2
Week 11
11/8 EXAM 2
11/10 Excursions Chapter 11 (Native North America)
Week 12
11/15 Claudia Gorbman: “Scoring the Indian” (blackboard)
11/17 In-class film TBA
Week 13
11/22 Excursions Chapter 9 (Latin America)
11/24 No class: Thanksgiving Break
Week 14
11/29 In-Class Samba Workshop
12/1 Last Concert Report Due Charles A. Perrone: “Brazil” (blackboard)
Week 15
12/6 Charles A. Perrone: “Myth, Melopeia, and Mimesis” (blackboard)
12/8 REVIEW FOR EXAM 3
EXAM 3: Tuesday, December 13, 1:30 PM to 4:15 PM
Complete References for Materials on Blackboard:
Feld, Steven. “The Poetics and Politics of Pygmy Pop.” In Western Music and Its Others, edited by Georgina Born
and David Hesmondhaugh, 254-279. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
Gorbman, Claudia. “Scoring the Indian.” In Western Music and Its Others, edited by Georgina Born and David
Hesmondhaugh, 234–253. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
Perrone, Charles A. “Brazil.” Popular Music 6, no. 2, (1987): 219–26.
––––––––. “Myth, Melopeia, and Mimesis: Black Orpheus, Orfeu, and Internationalization in Brazilian Popular
Music.” In Brazilian Popular Music and Globalization, edited by Charles A. Perrone and Christopher
Dunn, 46-71. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2001.
Small, Christopher. “Prelude: Music and Musicking.” Musicking: The Meanings of Performing and Listening, 1-18.
Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1998.

Faculty: Carroll, Lepore, Owens, Robinson (coordinator)
Interdisciplinary Minor in World Music
Performing Arts Building, Room A417
Phone: 703-993-1380; Web: music.gmu.edu
Requirements: Students must complete 16 to 18 credits, with a 10-credit core and opportunities to take electives in
several departments at Mason.
Prerequisite: Students must first demonstrate to the World Music coordinator a basic level of knowledge and
training in some area of Western or non-Western music, or earn a grade of B or higher in MUSI 103 or 431.
Prerequisites for specific courses are indicated below.
University policy states that students must earn 8 distinct credits that are not used for their major toward their minor.
Course Work: This program is designed for those who wish to widen their scope of knowledge about music while
deepening their understanding of the world’s peoples. Students learn in the classroom, as well as experientially, in
the form of applied studies and exercises in field work how music making functions within cultural contexts,
conveying varied meanings in bodily action and musical sound worldwide. Students gain skills that will serve them
in many fields of endeavor, from developing specific musical expertise to acquiring proficiency with technological
and anthropological aspects of ethnographic enquiry.
Core (10 credits)
• MUSI 103 - Musics of the World Credits: 3
• ANTH 114 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Credits: 3
• MUSI 497 - Independent Study Credits: 1-3
• One of the following two courses (1 credits):
o Applied Music (PMI)
or
o Ensembles (Selection of private music instruction or ensemble must be approved by minor
coordinator.)
Electives (6-8 credits)
Electives must be approved by the minor coordinator and should be selected from the following:
• Applied Music (PMI) (1-3)
• MUSI 485 - Chamber Ensembles Credits: 1
• MUSI 102 - Popular Music in America Credits: 3
• MUSI 107 - The Development of Jazz Credits: 3
• MUSI 379 - Introduction to Jazz Improvisation Credits: 1
• DANC 118 - World Dance Credits: 3
• DANC 119 - Dance in Popular Culture: Afro-Latino Dance Credits: 3
• COMM 157 - Video Workshop Credits: 1
• COMM 305 - Foundations of Intercultural Communication Credits: 3
• ENGL 333 - Folklore and Folklife Credits: 3
• AFAM 200 - Introduction to African American Studies Credits: 3
• AFAM 390 - Special Topics in African and African American Studies Credits: 3
• AVT 378 - The African American Experience in the Performing Arts Credits: 3
• ANTH 302 - Peoples and Cultures of Latin America Credits: 3
• ANTH 306 - Peoples and Cultures of Island Asia Credits: 3
• ANTH 309 - Peoples and Cultures of India Credits: 3
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