Jazz in America, MUS 103 Syllabus

Course Description: 

Jazz in America will trace the history of one of America's only true art forms.  You will study the various stylistic and musical elements of jazz in order to learn how to distinguish one period from another.  You will also learn to develop listening skills to gain insight into the many levels of appreciation that are possible with this type of music as well as with all other types.  Another integral component of this class will be to trace the early roots of jazz as the influences of West Africa, through the black slave population in this country, combined with European influences in the establishment of this truly unique style.

Textbook Information:

All the readings for this class are provided in the modules, so there is no required textbook for this class. HOWEVER, you do need to have access to a video documentary series called "Jazz - A Film by Ken Burns." It is a set of 10 videos. For most of you, this will mean purchasing the documentary series. The easiest way to do this is to purchase it from YouTube. This can be done for $4.99 per episode, or you can purchase the whole set of episodes for $39.00. A link is provided on Canvas to direct you to the video playlist on YouTube.

Student Learning Objectives: 

You will:

• Express your understanding of jazz music, musical concepts, and specific contributions of important musicians using an appropriate jazz terminology.  
• Listen, and then analyze the characteristics and context of music from different stylistic periods of jazz music and distinguish between music of those different periods.
• Express in written form an assessment of the various cultural influences on jazz including race relations, the contributions of women, and social movements in the United States,
• Write a music review of a live jazz performance that employs descriptive, interpretive and evaluative criticism as well as an effective use of an appropriate musical vocabulary.

Meet Your Instructor:  Brian Kehlenbach

Course Syllabus: MUS 103 syllabus Spring 2018 8 weeks-1.pdf

Course Map (timelines): MUS 103 spring 2018 course map.pdf