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MUSI 2361
MUSIC AND CULTURE*
Fall 2019
Section 15140, TTh 10:00-11:30, MSM 118
3 credits

Professor: Dr. Barbara Rose Lange

Office: MSM 219, 713-743-3315
E-mail: rlange@central.uh.edu
Office hours (may change or be preempted by committee meetings): Th 1:30-2 and by
appointment. (Dr. Lange typically can’t meet just before or after class.)

This course introduces music from different parts of the world outside of Western Europe, and
explores its meaning for the people of the area. It will cover the elements of musical style from
these regions, and what we call cultural context: different religions, histories, and political
systems all have an effect on musical life. Therefore in addition to exploring musical sound, we
will discuss its significance for musicians and audiences. We will also touch on the respective
music theory systems, tuning standards, instrument histories, and musical forms of these world
areas. This survey is in no way comprehensive - it focuses on just a few of the many kinds of
music in the world. This semester, the course selects music from Indonesia, Eastern Europe, and
Africa.

Course Objectives: If you successfully complete the course, you should have increased
understanding of important musical traditions outside Western Europe; you will understand some
of the ways that major forces of society shape these kinds of music in their various world
regions. This course also prepares you for the Western music history sequence, so that you write
essay exams that are in depth and well organized, and so that your independent research projects
for those courses are clearly focused.

This course fulfills the following Learning Outcomes:

-Students will be acquainted with diverse repertoire
-Students will be able to write clearly and effectively on a musical subject involving one or more
of the following modes of thought: quantitative or analytical; historical or cultural; aesthetics or
criticism; philosophy or ethics; interdisciplinary
-Students will demonstrate proficiency in aural skills.
-These outcomes will be measured through three exams and one paper.

COURSE PREREQUISITIES: Theory I and II, ENGL 1304. This course is for music majors,
music literature minors, and music theory minors. It is the first one in your music history
sequence. The order is: 2361, 2362 (taken as sophomores), 3363, 3364 (taken as juniors).

**
©Barbara Rose Lange, 2019. Instructor reserves the right to change this syllabus. This syllabus constitutes the
instructor’s intellectual property; copying, uploading, or utilizing any component of this syllabus for other courses is
prohibited.
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COURSE MATERIALS:

1. Reading packet available at the University Bookstore. Required.

2. Rice, Timothy. 2004. Music in Bulgaria. New York: Oxford University Press.
Required. ISBN 9780195141482.
3. Required listening from CDs on reserve in the music library. Many examples are from
the CD set for Worlds of Music, 4th ed. and the CD set for Excursions in World Music;
these CDs (UH library #2403 and #8517) are on reserve in the music library.

EVALUATION: Your grade is made up of the following:

Exam I 20%
Exam II 20%
Exam III 21%
Paper 36 %
Quiz 3%

QUIZ: The quiz and tutorial on Blackboard are about quoting and paraphrasing from research
sources. View the video tutorial on Blackboard and then take the quiz.

EXAMS: Exams have a combination of multiple-choice, short answer, and essay questions.
These exams are non-cumulative tests. They can be made up only in case of medical emergency,
verified by a doctor's signed letter, or in the case of a qualifying religious holiday, also verified
in writing.

PAPERS: The paper is short –minimum 1000 words including a works cited list. This is a
research paper. See detailed guidelines downloadable from Blackboard; we’ll go over these in
class. Choose ONLY from the list of accepted topics in the paper guidelines. You have the
option to revise and resubmit for a better grade (the better grade completely replaces the other
one). All deadlines must be observed – no end-of-the-semester rewrites or paper makeups are
allowed.

E-MAIL COMMUNICATION: If we need to communicate with you via e-mail for this class, we
will use the e-mail address that is listed for you in PeopleSoft. You are responsible for keeping
that address up to date. So your FIRST STEP is to UPDATE your e-mail address in PeopleSoft,
so that we know how to reach you! Do this by September 5. If you register late for the class, you
need to update your e-mail address in PeopleSoft within three days of registering. E-mail
communications from you may not receive an immediate response from me; allow at least 48
hours and please e-mail me only if you have a substantial question that your fellow students or
the TAs cannot answer. Grades will not be given via e-mail, but this information is now
accessible variously via the Blackboard gradebook and PeopleSoft.

BLACKBOARD LOGISTICS: Quiz, research resources, course materials, and other information
is posted in Blackboard. It is your responsibility to have the necessary information and
registrations for Blackboard so that your papers and assignments are complete by the due date
(uh.edu/Blackboard; Cougarnet login). UH tech help: 3-1411 (during business hours) and
http://www.uh.edu/infotech/ (live chat button, screen lower right; per UH infotech, a near-24-
hour hotline). Dr. Lange and the TAs can’t provide technical help with Blackboard.
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NOTE: Blackboard tracks individual student involvement – whether you viewed an instructional
video, how long you spent viewing it, whether and when you downloaded course materials like
exam review sheets, whether you viewed the comments I and the TAs wrote when we graded
your papers. Stay involved!

ACADEMIC HONESTY AND PLAGIARISM:

Aspects of academic honesty in papers:
Don't write on the same subject twice.
Don’t use someone else’s paper and turn it in as your own.
Don’t represent the work of other authors as your own – paraphrase or use
quotation marks and specifically cite your source. If you directly use distinctive
language from a source you must put quotation marks around it AND cite the
source, with specific page number; if not, this constitutes plagiarism. If you
paraphrase information, you must cite the source of your information; uncited
paraphrases also constitute plagiarism! Use MLA or Turabian citation style (some
of you have studied MLA style; the next courses in the music history sequence
will be using Turabian style). Cite your sources IN THE BODY OF THE PAPER.

Penalties:
All papers that refer to a source of any kind must cite the sources of that
information. If you do not follow this practice, then because you are representing
someone else's writing and research work as your own, this constitutes academic
dishonesty. PLAGIARIZED PASSAGES IN YOUR PAPERS OR FULLY
PLAGIARIZED PAPERS CAN RESULT IN FAILING GRADES FOR THE
PAPER OR FOR THE CLASS. This policy is STRICTLY enforced. Please see
the Academic Policies section of the UH student handbook for further information
regarding academic honesty.

In this class, a grade of 1% indicates that a paper has directly used language from
a source without attributing it properly. On your paper grading template, a piece
of paper that we hand back to you, you’ll see the mark NG (for No Grade); we
can’t write that on Turnitin or Blackboard, so it translates there as 1%.

SUBMITTING PAPERS:

Grace period: papers will be accepted up until the class that follows the due date (i.e.
Monday night at midnight is a paper's due time. You could turn yours in late -- with a
penalty -- but only until the next class period, Thursday, at 10 AM). There IS a penalty
during this grace period; 1/2 grade (3 percentage points) is deducted for each weekday a
paper is late. (Therefore if you submitted your paper on Thursday instead of Monday by
midnight, 9 percentage points would be taken off your grade.)

Late papers with excuse: after the grace period, late essays are only accepted without
penalty when there is a medical emergency, verified by a doctor's signed letter.

Blackboard/Turnitin logistics and policies: You will submit your papers on line this year
—no hard copies! Submit your paper to Blackboard/Turnitin by the time noted on the
syllabus. There is often a rush in the minutes leading up to midnight, so it’s a good idea
to post it by 11:30 at least, if not earlier! In the case of a UH system breakdown you have
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to DOCUMENT this with a printout of your confirmation or a screen shot with the date
and time noted. We will still be giving paper grade templates back to you in hard-copy
format. The TAs and I will make comments on your papers via Turnitin, but for full
feedback you need those and the hard-copy grading guidelines that we return to you.
NOTE: Do not e-mail papers.

NOTE: Make sure that you submit your papers to the right Turnitin dropbox--there are
two of them. Keep computer files of ALL your work for occasions such as this. Save/e-
mail yourself a copy of your paper for your own records! Save screen shots/printouts of
your Turnitin receipts!

Blackboard/Turnitin grade viewing advisory: we have set up Blackboard and Turnitin so

that your grades are not visible until they are finalized. The TAs and I will try to have
papers and tests ready for you 2 1/2 weeks after they are turned in. Sometimes Turnitin
and Blackboard do override our hide-grade commands. If you see a grade on Blackboard
or Turnitin before we turn back your tests and grading templates, this grade is an interim
one and it is subject to change (either down or up).

A NOTE ON AUTO-TRANSLATE PROGRAMS: If you have written your paper in another

language, you are going to have to do your own human translation -- don’t insert it into auto-
translate! Auto-translated papers have severe problems of logic, grammar, and vocabulary, so
using auto-translate can lower a paper grade by many points.

CONDUCT AND ETIQUETTE: It is very important to stay quiet in class and not to distract or
disturb others around you.

Note the following language from the University of Houston Student Code of Conduct
section 3, Prohibited Conduct: 3.5, Disruption/Obstruction: “Obstructing or interfering
with University functions or any University activity. Disturbing the peace and good order
of the University by, among other things . . . excessive noise . . . including but not limited
to, a disruption by the use of all types of cameras, electronic tablets, cell phones, and/or
communication devices.”

Translating this to the MSM classes -- talking, arriving to class late, going in and out of
the classroom during the middle of class, yawning audibly, eating, texting, having a cell
phone that rings, leaving class to answer a phone, leaving early, reading e-mail, checking
Facebook and Instagram, watching YouTube, playing solitaire, watching other people’s
screens, and doing anything on your laptop or phone during the time we are viewing
videos in class are examples of disruption and obstruction.

Do not schedule lessons during class time, and do not leave class early for such activities
as warming up for performances! Let me know ahead of time if you have an extenuating
circumstance such as a family issue, etc. that would cause you to come late to class or
leave early.

If you do any of this, the potential exists that you will be told to leave the class and your
overall grade will be negatively affected. This written statement stands as your warning.

http://www.uh.edu/dos/_files/student-code-of-conduct.pdf
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Note that audio recording of lectures (i.e. recording the class on your phone) is NOT allowed,
see copyright notice on p. 1.

GRADE APPEALS POLICY: All grade appeals must be submitted IN WRITING. State the test
item or aspect of the paper you would like to have re-evaluated, and explain the reason why, in
writing. Submit grade appeals the class session after exams or paper grading templates have been
returned; no late appeals accepted.

ADA: The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires that the university make reasonable
accommodation to persons with disabilities as defined in the act.  Students who feel they need
assistance under the ADA guidelines should approach the instructor to discuss such
consideration.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) can help students who are having difficulties
managing stress, adjusting to college, or feeling sad and hopeless. You can reach CAPS
(www.uh.edu/caps) by calling 713-743-5454 during and after business hours for routine
appointments or if you or someone you know is in crisis. Also, there is no appointment necessary
for the “Let's Talk” program, which is a drop-in consultation service at convenient locations and
hours around campus. http://www.uh.edu/caps/outreach/lets_talk.html.
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Schedule:

August 20-September 19: Indonesia. Readings: Worlds of Music (WOM) pp. 279-307 and
Excursions in World Music (EWM) pp. 155-63 in course packet. Required listening to be
announced in class.

September 3, midnight: Due date for quiz/pledge on quotation, paraphrasing, and plagiarism (see
Blackboard).

September 9, midnight: Paper 1 due to the Turnitin dropbox via Blackboard. EVERYONE must
submit this paper.

September 24: Exam 1 (covers Indonesia).

September 19- October 15: Bulgaria and Eastern Europe. Readings from Rice, Music in
Bulgaria. Required listening to be announced in class.

October 17: Exam II (covers Bulgaria and Eastern Europe).

October 22-Nov. 26: African music. Readings from Worlds of Music, course packet pp. 7-8 and
Excursions in World Music, course packet pp. 171-99. Required listening to be announced in
class.

November 5, midnight: Paper revision due to the Turnitin dropbox via Blackboard. Optional.

December 5, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (note time): Exam III (covers African music).

This schedule may be subject to revision. Make sure that you don’t schedule airline or other trips
for class days. You will not be excused if a test has to be rescheduled.