Latest Module Specifications
Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026
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Description This module aims to develop students’ knowledge, critical thinking abilities, and research skills in the area of Western Art Music from the 19th century to the present. Students will engage with a diverse range of repertoire and compositional styles in music originating in Europe and the United States. Musicological issues such as the historical neglect of composers who have traditionally been under-represented in scholarship and performance, particularly women, will be explored. A vocabulary for the analysis and discipline-appropriate description of music will be developed, and students will engage experientially with repertoire through critical listening and performance of select stylistic features. The module will equip students with academic writing and research skills for historical and cultural studies in music, through judicious interaction with primary and secondary sources, databases, recordings, and resources in the digital humanities. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Learning Outcomes 1. Distinguish between and analytically discuss music of different styles in the history of Western Art Music, including early and late 19th-century, 20th-century, and contemporary; understanding the impact of cultural context on the nature and purpose of music throughout this time. 2. Utilise research and writing skills appropriate to the fields of musicology and cultural history. 3. Engage in detail with the music of female and under-represented composers as a core part of understanding musical historiography, critically reflecting on reasons for their neglect in the past. 4. Incorporate a deep understanding of music of the 19th century to the present in music teaching activities for Junior and Senior Cycle, and of creative ways of engaging with such music in a classroom setting. 5. Critically evaluate compositional approaches from the relevant time period in a diverse selection of repertoire, approached using a range of primary and secondary literature including music scores, recordings, resources in the digital humanities, and research databases. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml |
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Indicative Content and Learning Activities
Music History and Culture from the 19th century to the present Repertoire, form, musical style and compositional approaches. Connection between music and cultural context in Europe and the United States, and how this evolved throughout the time period covered by the module. Issues in musicology, including the neglect of female and other under-represented composers. Research skills for music: writing style, databases, resources in the digital humanities. Developing a vocabulary of discipline-specific terminology for the advanced understanding and description of musical style and features and themes through analytical engagement with music through scores, recordings, and experiential performance. Indicative list of composers explored: Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, Richard Wagner, John Field, Clara Schumann, Claude Debussy, Charles Ives, Amy Beach, Jean Sibelius, Ethel Smyth, Ina Boyle, Benjamin Britten, John Cage, Béla Bartók, Florence Price, Rhona Clarke, Jennifer Walsh. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Indicative Reading List Books:
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Other Resources None | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||