KS210: CULTURAL STUDIES OF POPULAR MUSIC
WINTER 2011
Cultural Studies Program
Department of Communication Studies
Wilfrid Laurier University
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. David Hayes (e-mail: davidhayes@sympatico.ca)
TIME: Winter Term on Mondays from 6:00 pm to 8:50 pm
CLASSROOM: BA209, Bricker Academic Building
OFFICE: 2-129, Dr. Alvin Woods Building (DAWB); Mondays from 5:00 pm to 6:00pm
COURSE 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 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.
REQUIRED TEXTS: All of the required materials for KS210 are included in the course package of
photocopied readings, available at the campus bookstore.
COURSE EVALUATION:
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3.
4.
5.
6.
Attendance (5%)
Class participation (5%)
CD analysis (15%)
Reading journals (15%)
Essay (30%)
Final exam (30%)
Attendance (5%)
Students are expected to attend all 12 scheduled classes, barring extenuating circumstances (in which
case, formal documentation is required). A grade will be assigned on weekly attendance that will be
recorded via a sign-in sheet distributed during each class. To receive the full 5% grade, a student must
be present for all 12 scheduled classes; missing one class will result in an attendance grade of 4.6 out
of 5 (i.e. 91.6 % of a perfect grade), and so forth. Partial attendance for classes (i.e. arriving late or
leaving early) may result in partial attendance marks for class.
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,
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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!
Record analysis (15%)
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 21, 2011: the first class following the winter reading week.
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 24, 2011. The second batch, consisting of responses to
Weeks 4, 5, 6 and 7, is due on February 28, 2011. The third batch, consisting of responses to Weeks 8,
9, 10 and 11, is due on March 28, 2011.
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 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 14, 2011 deadline.
Final exam (30%)
The final exam for KS210 is a ‘take home’ assignment, to be written in essay form (approximately
1000 words). You will receive a short list of essay questions at the end of the final class (Monday,
March 28, 2011), and will have until Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 4:00 pm to submit your completed
exam.
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
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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)
It is also extremely important to note that there is a 10% 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. Please don’t try your luck, as I am serious
about this matter!
COURSE SCHEDULE:
Week #1 (January 3, 2011): The Production of Popular Music (Part 1)

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)
Week #2 (January 10, 2011): The Production of Popular Music (Part 2)

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)
Week #3 (January 17, 2011): Consuming Popular Music

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
Independent Record Store (2009)
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Week #4 (January 24, 2011): 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)
Week #5 (January 31, 2011): Fan Identities (Part 1)

Grossberg, Lawrence. 1992. "Is There a Fan in the House?: The Affective Sensibility of
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)
Week #6 (February 7, 2011): Fan Identities (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: Insane Clown Posse: A Family Underground (2009)
February 14, 2011: Reading Week (No class)
Week #7 (February 21, 2011): Popular Music and Gender (Part 1)

Martin, Christopher R. “The Naturalized Gender Order of 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)
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Week #8 (February 28, 2011): Popular Music and Gender (Part 2)

Second batch of Reading Journals (consisting of 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: 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)
Week #9 (March 7, 2011): Popular Music and Race (Part 1)

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 African-American
Culture. New York: BasicCivitas Books. 3-24.

Class viewing: Byron Hurt’s Hip Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes (2006)
Week #10 (March 14, 2011): Popular Music and Race (Part 2)

Essay Assignment due

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)
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Week #11 (March 21, 2011): Popular Music and Socio-Spatial Geography

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)
Week #12 (March 28, 2011): Final Examination Preparation

Third batch of Reading Journals (consisting of responses to material from Weeks 8, 9, 10 and
11) due

Final Examination Topics
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.
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.
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---. 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.
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.
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Undergraduate Regulations>Academic Privileges and Responsibilities).
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are other forms that are equally prohibited. These include the use of another student's essay under your
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