Course Syllabus
KS210: CULTURAL STUDIES OF POPULAR MUSIC
WINTER 2013
Cultural Studies Program
Department of Religion & Culture, Anthropology, and Cultural Studies
Wilfrid Laurier University
Instructor: Dr. David Hayes
Contact Information: dhayes@ wlu.ca or davidhayes@sympatico.ca
Mail Box: Dept. of Religion & Culture, Anthropology, and Cultural Studies (DAWB 2nd floor)
Office Hours: Mondays from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm, by appointment
Office Location: 2-129, Dr. Alvin Woods Building
COURSE INFORMATION:
Calendar Description:
This course examines the cultural politics of music through an exploration of the critical and analytical
issues related to the production, distribution, consumption, circulation, and regulation of popular music
from a cultural studies perspective. Topics may include youth and subcultures of music, power and
identity, the politics of location, and fan cultures. This course does not assume or require any prior
musical training.
Course Title: Cultural Studies of Popular Music
Course Number: KS210
Course Credit Hours: 0.5 credit
Semester: Winter
Year Offered: 2013
Course Pre-requisites: KS100 or KS101
Course Meeting Times and Days: 6:00 pm to 8:50 pm on Mondays
Course Location: BA110, Bricker Academic Building
Course Overview and Approach:
Cultural Studies of Popular Music provides students with opportunities to interrogate their own
relations with historic and contemporary popular music genres and texts. The first half of the course
begins with an overview of themes associated with the production of popular music (including the
apparent binary of ‘authentic’ independently produced music and ‘inauthentic’ music produced by
multinational music corporations), and then moves to an examination of how music fans consume their
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favourites songs and the impact that technological development has had on this practice. Next, we
discuss fan communities: both those regarded as subcultures due to the prevalence of heavily encoded
signifiers and other, less visibly spectacular yet otherwise meaningful fan bases. The second half of the
course focuses specifically on the processes by which music fans construct and attach meanings to
themselves and others in relation to the social construction of gender and racialized identities of artists
and fan communities. We conclude with an examination of the emergence, promotion,
commodification, and decline of locally developed music communities, focusing on Seattle and the
early 1990s grunge scene.
Each class consists of a lecture on the assigned readings for the week, with opportunities for whole
class discussion whenever pertinent. After a brief break, a documentary (or scenes thereof) is screened,
followed by an interactive debate in which we attempt to relate the night’s readings to the screening.
While an extensive knowledge of the history of popular music is not required to be successful in the
course, it has been my experience that those students with general knowledge of various rock and pop
artists from the 1950s to the present are able to grasp theoretical concepts more readily than those
unfamiliar with the history of popular music over the past half century. In addition, students who
consider themselves as highly influenced by and interested in the music of various artists – regardless
of genre or subgenera – tend to produce more engaging and insightful assignments. I am also a
passionate fan of popular music in its many forms (some might call me a ‘music geek’ – a term I
proudly accept), and attempt to bring emerging music news to the class on a regular basic; of course, I
welcome your contributions as well!
Course Goals and Learning Outcomes:
As a course offered to students in the Cultural Studies Program, KS210 seeks to examine the
complexities of a popular culture form that is often either obscured by the seemingly inconsequential
nature of pop culture (“Gangnam Style,” anyone?) or mythologized beyond the circumstances of its
creation, production, and distribution (Jimi Hendrix is God!). The instructor will provide a variety of
theoretical perspectives useful in the analysis of these and other songs associated with the history of
post-World War 2 Western popular music, including those on your own MP3 playlist!
By the end of this course, you should be able to
 analyze historic and contemporary music texts in terms of their construction of gendered and
racialized messages
 situate your own music preferences in a wider context in terms of the music industry’s
construction of genres
 reflect upon how your preferred method of music consumption is informed by technological
innovation
 comprehend the complex relation between artist, record label personnel, and music fans
 understand how members of music-based fan communities define themselves in relation those
who share and do not share their music preferences
Course Tools and Learning Materials:
All of the required materials for KS210 are included in the course package of photocopied readings,
available at the campus bookstore.
Student Evaluation:
1. Class participation (5%)
3
2.
3.
4.
5.
CD analysis (20%)
Reading journals (15%)
Essay (30%)
Final exam (30%)
Learning Activities, Assignments, Tests and Examinations:
1. Class participation (5%)
Active participation in class discussions is a crucial component in learning, and thus will be
reflected in my final evaluation of each student. Unlike the tracking of attendance, it is difficult if
not impossible to accurately track everyone’s comment and question in a large class, although I will
take notes at the end of each class. To ensure that you receive a high grade in this component of the
course evaluation, please (a) place a visible display of your name on your desk for each class and
(b) make your presence felt on a regular basis via questions and comments that reflect your growing
understanding of course material and relevant topics!
2. Record analysis (20%)
For this assignment, you will select one full-length album of popular music (broadly defined) and
write an analysis (approximately 1200 words) of your affective relation with it. In particular, I
would like you to focus on possible reasons why you suspect this recording engenders (or
previously has engendered) such a strong response for you (including but not limited to issues of
gender, race, ethnicity and economic class, as well as the potential for participation in fan
communities). This assignment is due on February 11, 2013: the class before the winter reading
week.
3. Reading journals (15%)
For each weekly group of course readings and accompanying class viewing, you are required to
write a journal response that reflects upon what you consider to be some (but not all) of the relevant
issues. Each response should begin by briefly summarizing the key arguments and insights of each
article under consideration for the week in question, followed by your own thoughts on the topic
under consideration for the week (supported, where necessary, by references to these and other
academic and popular works).
Each weekly journal response should be a minimum of 300 words, but should not exceed 500
words. Reponses will be submitted in batches throughout the course, with the first batch (consisting
of responses to Weeks 1, 2 and 3) due on January 28, 2013. The second batch, consisting of
responses to Weeks 4, 5, 6 and 7, is due on March 4, 2013. The third batch, consisting of responses
to Weeks 8, 9, 10 and 11, is due on April 1, 2013.
4. Essay assignment (30%)
For the essay assignment, you will be asked to select one musician/band that has produced a
significant body of work and critique her/his/its recordings in a 2000 to 2500 word essay, using a
combination of any of the theoretical perspectives discussed in class. While I encourage you to
choose a musical act whose work has achieved a certain degree of prominence, I also want you to
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select one that engenders a certain degree of affectivity for you; if you’re having difficulty striking
this balance, please see me well in advance of the essay’s March 25, 2013 deadline.
5. Final exam (30%)
The final exam for KS210 is a multiple choice exam consisting of 75 questions, based on a
combination of information presented in course readings, lectures, and videos viewed in class. This
year, the final exam for KS210 will be written during the university’s formal examination period
(not in-class, as previously conducted). The date, time, and location of the final exam will be
announced at a later time.
Note:
I expect all of the above assignments to adhere to the following standards:
o All work must be typed in regular 12 point Times New Roman font
o Each printed page must have a 3 cm margin on all sides
o All pages will be numbered in the upper right-hand corner
o All assignments will be stapled in the upper left-hand cover (no duo-tangs or other
coverings, please)
COURSE SCHEDULE:
Week
1. Jan. 7, 2013
Topic
The Production
of Popular
Music (Part 1)
2. Jan. 14, 2013
The Production
of Popular
Music (Part 2)
3. Jan. 21, 2013
Consuming
Popular Music
Lesson Activities
 Adorno, Theodor W. 1990. “On Popular Music.” On Record:
Rock, Pop, and the Written
Word. Ed. Simon Frith and Andrew Goodwin. New
York: Pantheon. 301-314.
 Class viewing: Part 1 of Ondi Timoner’s Dig! (2004)
 Fenster, Mark and Thomas Swiss. 1999. “Business.” Key Terms
in Popular Music and
Culture. Ed. Bruce Horner and Thomas Swiss. Malden,
MS: Blackwell. 225-238.
 Frith, Simon. 1998. “Genre Rules.” Performing Rites: On the
Value of Popular Music.
Cambridge: Harvard UP. 75-95.
 Class viewing: Part 2 of Ondi Timoner’s Dig! (2004)
 Jones, Steve and Amanda Lenhart. “Music Downloading and
Listening: Findings from the Pew
Internet and American Life Project.” Popular Music and
Society 27.2 (2004): 185-200.
 Rodman, Gilbert B., and Cheyanne Vanderdonckt. “Music for
Nothing or, I Want My MP3: The Regulation and Recirculation
of Affect.” Cultural Studies 20:2-3 (2006): 245-261.
 Hayes, David. “‘Take Those Old Records Off the Shelf’: Youth
and Music Consumption in the Postmodern Age.” Popular Music
and Society 29:1 (2006): 51-68.
 Class viewing: Brendan Toller’s I Need That Record!: The Death
(or Possible Survival) of the
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Independent Record Store (2009)
4. Jan. 28, 2013
5. Feb. 4, 2013
6. Feb. 11, 2013
Feb. 18, 2013
7. Feb. 25, 2013
8. Mar. 4, 2013
Youth and
Subcultural
Participation

First batch of Reading Journals (consisting of responses to
material from Weeks 1, 2 and 3) due
 Hebdige, Dick. 1979. Subculture: The Meaning of Style.
London: Methuen. 73-112.
 Willis, Paul. 1990. “Style, Fashion and Symbolic Creativity.”
Common Culture. Boulder, CO:
Westview. 84-97.
 Class viewing: Paul Rachman’s American Hardcore (2007)
Fan
Identities
 Grossberg, Lawrence. 1992. "Is There a Fan in the House?: The
Affective Sensibility of
(Part 1)
Fandom." The Adorning Audience: Fan Culture and
Popular Media. Ed. Lisa A.
Lewis. London: Routledge. 50-68.
 Jelson, Joli. 1992. "Fandom as Pathology." The Adorning
Audience: Fan Culture and
Popular Media. Ed. Lisa A. Lewis. London: Routledge.
9-29.
 Class viewing: Roger Nygard’s Trekkies (1999)
Fan
Identities
 Record Analysis due
(Part 2)
 Cavicchi, Daniel. 1998. “Touched by the Music: Defining
Fandom.” Tramps Like Us:
Music and Meaning among Springsteen Fans. New York:
Oxford UP. 38-59.
 Sardiello, Robert. 1994. "Secular Rituals in Popular Culture: A
Case for Grateful Dead
Concerts and Dead Head Identity." Adolescents and Their Music:
If It's Too Loud, You're Too Old. Ed. Jonathon S. Epstein. New
York: Garland. 115-140.
 Class viewing: Brent Meeske’s The Grateful Dead: The End of
the Road (2005)
Reading Week: no class will be held.
Popular Music and
 Martin, Christopher R. “The Naturalized Gender Order of
Gender (Part 1)
Rock and Roll.” Journal of Communication Inquiry 19:1
(1995): 53-74.
 Waksman, Steve. “California Noise: Tinkering with
Hardcore and Heavy Metal in Southern California.”
Social Studies of Science 34:5 (2004): 675-702.
 Class viewing: John Heyn and Jeff Krulik’s Heavy Metal
Parking Lot (1986)
Popular Music and
 Second batch of Reading Journals (consisting of
Gender (Part 2)
responses to material from Weeks 4, 5, 6 and 7) due
 Lafrance, Mélisse. 2002. "A Cultural Studies Approach
to Women and Popular Music."
Disruptive Divas: Feminism, Identity and Popular Music.
Ed. Lori Burns and Mélisse Lafrance. New York:
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


9. Mar. 11, 2013
Popular Music and Race
(Part 1)



10. Mar. 18, 2013
Popular Music and Race
(Part 2)


11. Mar. 25, 2013
Popular Music and
Socio-Spatial
Geography




12. Apr. 1, 2013
Review for Final
Examination



Routledge. 1-29.
Leblanc, Lauraine. 1999. “‘I Will Slap on My Lipstick
and Then Kick Their Ass’:
Constructing Femininity.” Pretty in Punk: Girls’ Gender
Resistance in a Boys’ Subculture. New Jersey: Rutgers
UP. 134-165.
Leonard, Marion. 1997. "'Rebel Girl, You are the Queen
of My World': Feminism,
'Subculture' and Grrrl Power." Sexing the Groove:
Popular Music and Gender. Ed. Sheila Whiteley.
London: Routledge. 230-55.
Class viewing: Shane King and Arne Johnson’s Girls
Rock: The Movie (2008)
Kelley, Robin D. G.. 1997. “Looking for the ‘Real’
Nigga: Social Scientists Construct the Ghetto.” Yo'
Mama's Disfunkional!: Fighting the Culture Wars in
Urban America. Boston: Beacon Press. 15-42.
Kitwana, Bakari. 2002. “The New Black Youth Culture:
The Emergence of the Hip-Hop Generation.” The Hip
Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in AfricanAmerican Culture. New York: BasicCivitas Books. 3-24.
Class viewing: Byron Hurt’s Hip Hop: Beyond Beats &
Rhymes (2006)
Cutler, Cecila A. “Yorkville Crossing: White Teens, Hip
Hop and African American English.” Journal of
Sociolinguistics 3/4 (1999): 428-442.
Hayes, David. "Fear of (and Fascination with) a Black
Planet: The Relocation of Rap by White Non-Urban
Youth." Topia 12 (2004): 63-82.
Class viewing: James Spooner’s Afro-Punk (2003)
Essay Assignment due
Berland, Jody. 1988. "Locating Listening: Technological
Space, Popular Music, Canadian Meditation." Cultural
Studies 2.3: 343-58.
Gaines, Donna. 1994. "The Local Economy of Suburban
Scenes." Adolescents and Their Music: If It's Too Loud,
You're Too Old. Ed. Jonathon S. Epstein. New York:
Garland. 47-65.
Class viewing: Doug Pray’s Hype (1996)
Third batch of Reading Journals (consisting of responses
to material from Weeks 8, 9, 10 and 11) due
In-class review for Final Examination
University and Course Policies:
1. Academic Integrity/Misconduct (cheating): Laurier is committed to a culture of integrity
within and beyond the classroom. This culture values trustworthiness (i.e., honesty, integrity,
7
reliability), fairness, caring, respect, responsibility and citizenship. Together, we have a shared
responsibility to uphold this culture in our academic and nonacademic behaviour. The
University has a defined policy with respect to academic misconduct. You are responsible for
familiarizing yourself with this policy and the penalty guidelines, and are cautioned that in
addition to failure in a course, a student may be suspended or expelled from the University for
academic misconduct and the offence may appear on their transcript. The relevant policy can be
found at Laurier's academic integrity website along with resources to educate and support you
in upholding a culture of integrity. Ignorance of Laurier’s academic misconduct policy is not
a defense. <see: www.wlu.ca/academicintegrity >
2. Special Needs: Students with disabilities or special needs are advised to contact Laurier’s
Accessible Learning Centre for information regarding its services and resources. Students are
encouraged to review the Academic Calendar <see:
http://www.wlu.ca/page.php?grp_id=1365&p=5123 > for information regarding all services
available on campus.
3. Plagiarism: Wilfrid Laurier University uses software that can check for plagiarism. Students
may be asked to submit their written work in electronic form and have it checked for
plagiarism. (Approved by Senate May 14, 2002)
4. Classroom Use of Electronic Devices – see Policy 9.3 (Approved by Senate March 8, 2012)
http://www.wlu.ca/documents/50202/9.3_Electronic_Device_Policy.pdf
5. Late Assignment Policy – It is also extremely important to note that there is a 5% per day
deduction on all assignments submitted after the stated due dates. I will be consider reasonable
requests for extensions, but you must contact me at least two days prior to the due date;
otherwise, only assignments accompanied by authenticated medical or legal certificates will be
accepted. (Approved by Senate May 23, 2012)
6. Final Examinations – Students are strongly urged not to make any commitments (i.e.,
vacation) during the examination period. Students are required to be available for examinations
during the examination periods of all terms in which they register. (See Academic Regulations
– examinations in the academic calendars)
7. Foot Patrol, Counselling Services, and the Student Food Bank (Approved by Senate
November 28, 2011 – see below)
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APPENDIX
1. Grading Rubric for Response Journals (example of rubric for Reading Journal Batch #1):
KS 210: CULTURAL STUDIES OF POPULAR MUSIC
Dr. David Hayes
Evaluation of Reading Journal Batch #1
Student Name: ______________________________
Reading Journal #1: The Production of Popular Music (Part 1)
Descriptor
Below Level One
Level One
Level Two
(less than 50%)
(50-59%)
(60-69%)
Content of reading
journals
Reading journals not
submitted
Reading journals
generally lack
detailed responses
to the text; major
revisions required
Reading journals
would benefit from
additional detail;
minor revisions
required
Level Three
(70-79%)
Level Four
(80-100%)
Reading journals
contain insightful
responses to the
text, meeting
expectations
Reading journals
contain detailed,
insightful
responses to the
text, exceeding
expectations
Comments: ________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Reading Journal #2: The Production of Popular Music (Part 2)
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2. Recommended Readings:
Bangs, Lester. 1988. Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung. New York: Knopf.
Brake, Mike. 1980. The Sociology of Youth Culture and Youth Subcultures: Sex and
Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll?. London, UK: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
10
Burns, Lori, and Mélisse Lafrance, eds. 2002. Disruptive Divas: Feminism, Identity and
Popular Music. New York: Routledge.
Cavicchi, Daniel. 1998. Tramps Like Us: Music and Meaning among Springsteen Fans.
New York: Oxford UP.
Cohen, Stanley. 1972. Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and
Rockers. London: MacGibbon & Kee.
Du Gay, Paul, Stuart Hall, Linda Janes, Hugh Mackay, and Keith Negus, eds. 1997. Doing Cultural
Studies: The Story of the Sony Walkman. Ed. London: Sage.
Epstein, Jonathon S., ed. 1994. Adolescents and Their Music: If It's Too Loud, You're Too
Old. New York: Garland.
Forman, Murray. 2002. The 'Hood Comes First: Race, Space and Place in Rap and HipHop. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP.
Fricke, Jim, and Charlie Ahearn. 2002. Yes Yes Y'all: The Experience Music Project Oral
History of Hip-Hop's First Decade. Cambridge, MS: Da Capo Press.
Frith, Simon. 1983. Sound Effects: Youth, Leisure and the Politics of Rock. London, UK:
Constable and Company.
---. 1998. Performing Rites: On the Value of Popular Music. Cambridge: Harvard UP.
Frith, Simon, and Andrew Goodwin, eds. 1990. On Record: Rock, Pop, and the Written
Word. New York: Pantheon.
George, Nelson. 1989. The Death of Rhythm & Blues. New York: E.P. Dutton.
---. 1998. Hip Hop America. New York: Penguin.
Hebdige, Dick. 1979. Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Methuen.
---. 1987. Cut 'N' Mix: Culture, Identity and Caribbean Music. London, UK: Comedia.
Heylin, Clinton. 1993. From the Velvets to the Voidoids: A Pre-Punk History for a PostPunk World. New York: Penguin.
---. 1995. Bootleg: The Secret History of the Other Recording Industry. New York: St.
Martin's Press.
Horner, Bruce, and Thomas Swiss, eds. 1999. Key Terms in Popular Music and Culture.
Malden, MS: Blackwell.
Kelley, Robin D. G.. 1997. Yo' Mama's Disfunkional!: Fighting the Culture Wars in
Urban America. Boston: Beacon Press.
11
Kitwana, Bakari. 2002. The Hip-Hop Generation. New York: BasicCivitas Books.
Leblanc, Lauraine. 1999. Pretty in Punk: Girls’ Gender Resistance in a Boys’ Subculture.
New Jersey: Rutgers UP.
Lewis, Lisa A., ed. 1992. The Adorning Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media.
London, UK: Routledge.
Mitchell, Tony. 2001. Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA. Middletown,
CT: Wesleyan UP.
Moore, Thurston. 2005. Mix Tape: The Art of Cassette Culture. New York: Universal.
Savage, Jon. 2001. England's Dreaming: Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock, and Beyond.
New York: St. Martin's Griffin.
Whiteley, Sheila, ed. 1997. Sexing the Groove: Popular Music and Gender. London:
Routledge.
Revised: June 6, 2012