| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Brent Keogh
Contact via brent.keogh@mq.edu.au
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| Credit points |
Credit points
3
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| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
12cp
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| Corequisites |
Corequisites
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| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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| Unit description |
Unit description
It is rarely recognised that one of the most distinctive features of the modern world is its sonic environment. Since the late nineteenth century we have for the first time been able to store and mass-circulate sound, and produced a sonic environment that is louder, more dense and more heterogeneous than at any previous time. We are overloaded with sound, it is one of the fastest growing causes of environmental pollution. Today we inhabit multiple and overlapping sonic world in a way once unimaginable. We define ourselves and our space acoustically and some of our most profound experiences are sonic. But while scholars have long meditated on things visual, the invisible world of sound has been barely explored. We will examine various aspects of sound, including its relationship with power, violence, politics and technology. We explore what is unique about sonic experience; the history of sound (and the sound of history); sound and neuroscience; sound and music; sound and image; sounds; sounds and bodies and the sounds of bodies. We analyse the way sonic experience challenges fundamental assumptions that underpin cultural studies including the mind/body split and the cultural construction of identity. This unit will be of broad interest to filmmakers, musicians, sound recordists, listeners, writers and to anyone wanting to deepen their understanding of human communication.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
| Name | Weighting | Due | Groupwork/Individual | Short Extension | AI Approach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract | 20% | Week 5 | No | ||
| Lead the Class | 20% | Ongoing from Week 3 | No | ||
| Research Essay | 40% | Friday Week 13 | No | ||
| Participation | 20% | Weekly | No |
Due: Week 5
Weighting: 20%
Groupwork/Individual:
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach:
Each student is required to write an abstract outlining their proposed argument for the final essay. This will include an annotated bibliography, where students are required to source between 6-10 peer-reviewed academic sources and explain their significance to the overall argument. The final essay questions will be delivered via iLearn.
Due: Ongoing from Week 3
Weighting: 20%
Groupwork/Individual:
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach:
Each student will choose a week to "lead the class" in discussion. There will generally be 2 students presenting each week and they are asked to work together as a group (if possible).
This task requires you to stimulate and manage class discussion. It is about leading a discussion based on the core concepts of the readings and as such, it is not a speech or presentation. The best way to approach the task is simply to be familiar with the readings, and have a few questions ready for your peers. The management of this task will be discussed further in class.
How to prepare: The task is akin to running a meeting, in which you have a clear agenda and need to make sure everyone takes part. Group situation are sometimes difficult to handle. The objective is to try an include as many students in the conversation as possible, and to facilitate and encourage healthy class discussion. Some tips on how to do this will be discussed in tutorials.
Musical examples:
Students are welcome to provide appropriate musical examples if they desire, but are asked to play no more than a couple of minutes of given example.
Due: Friday Week 13
Weighting: 40%
Groupwork/Individual:
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach:
1800 word research essay. Questions and detailed instructions will be uploaded to iLearn in mid-semester. The music research exercise, will be due at the end of Week 13.
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 20%
Groupwork/Individual:
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach:
Tutorials offer students the chance to extrapolate on the ideas of the readings for that week. Your participation mark depends on your committment to exploring and contetxualising the concepts of the course. This requires not only physical attendance at lectures and tutes, but also a willingness to discuss the readings each week.
You will have to be present at ALL of the tutes and demonstrate that you have read and understood the requisite readings for those weeks. If you have not been physically present, you cannot demonstrate your understanding of the readings, and if you have missed three or more tutes, you will be deemed as having fallen behind and thus unlikely to meet the learning outcomes.
ASSESSMENTS
All essays and written work will be submitted through the turnitin link provided on the iLearn page.
REQUIRED READING
For this unit there is one required text: MUS 211 Reader (available in Co-op bookshop)
RECOMMENDED READING
If you want a well written and comprehensive guide to recording in the twentieth century, I would suggest Milner, G (2010) Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music, London: Granta: 3-25.
Unit can be accessed at: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au/.
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Unit Schedule: Overview |
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Week 1 |
25th February |
Introduction Milner, G (2010) 'Intro: "Testing, Testing" in Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music, London: Granta: 3-25. |
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Week 2 |
4th March |
Sound and Hearing Bull, M and Back, L (2003) ‘Introduction: Into Sound’, in Bull, M and Back, L (eds), The Auditory Culture Reader, Oxford and New York: Berg: 1-18 Attali, J. (1985), 'Listening' in Noise : The Political Economy of Music, trans. B. Massumi, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press: 3-20
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Week 3 |
11th March |
Studios in the Frame: Screen Sound Doyle, P (2013) '“Burn me up this time fellas!”: when movies represent the recording studio' (Forthcoming) Giuffre, L (2010) ‘Sounding East of Everything – Australian Television, Music and Place’ Screen Sound, n 1. |
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Week 4 |
18th March |
Refrains and Territory Murphie, A (1996) “Sound at the end of the world as we know it: Nick Cave, Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire and a Deleuze-Guattarian ecology of popular music”, in Perfect Beat v2n4, January: 18-42 Deleuze, G and Guattari, F (1988) A Thousand Plateaus : Capitalism and Schizophrenia, trans. Brian Massumi, London: Athlone Press: 310-323 and 342-350 |
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Week 5 |
25th March |
Schizophonia: a brief cultural history of sonic machineries Sterne, J (2003) The Audible Past: Cultural Origins of Sound Reproduction Durham: Duke University Press: 287-333 |
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Week 6 |
1st April |
Music, Records, Space and Depth Doyle, P (2004) “From “My Blue Heaven” to “Race with the Devil”: echo, reverb and (dis)ordered space in early popular music recording‟, Popular Music, v23n1: 31-49 |
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Week 7 |
8th April |
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Benjamin,W (1969), 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction' in Illuminations, New York: Schocken Books: 217-252. |
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MID SEMESTER BREAK |
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Week 8 |
29th April |
Sound and Power Johnson, B (2009) ‘Low Frequency Noise and Urban Space’, Popular Music History, v4n2: 177-195 Giuffre, L and Sharpe, L. (2014) ‘Exploring the acoustic environment of the Montreal Metro by doing the ‘Dou-Dou-Dou’, Social Alternatives, Vol 33, Issue 1. |
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Week 9 |
6th May |
The Sound of Music Johnson, B and Cloonan, M (2008) ‘Technologized Sonority’, in Dark Side of the Tune: Popular Music and Violence, Aldershot: Ashgate: 49-63 |
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Week 10 |
13th May |
Phonodreams of Near and Far Lomax, A (1993) 'Rise Up, Dead Man' in The Land Where the Blues Began, New York: The New Press: 256-313 O’Brien, G (2005) Sonata for Jukebox, Counterpoint: 283-316, 321-324 Gibson, W (2012) Distrust That Particular Flavor, New York: Berkley: 49-54 |
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Week 11 |
20th May |
Renegade Refrains: Sampling, the Turntable and the Digital Milner, G (2010) 'Tubby's Ghost' in Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music, London: Granta: 293-346. Shapiro, P (2002), 'Deck Wreckers: The Turntable as Instrument' in Young, R (ed) Undercurrents: The Hidden Wiring of Modern Music, London: Continuum: 163-180. |
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Week 12 |
27th May |
Digital Aesthetics Colebrook, C (2007) Paul Virilio (Routledge Critical Thinkers Series), London and New York: Routledge: 114-118 Caleb K, (2009) Cracked Media: The Sound of Malfunction, Cambridge, Mass and London: The MIT Press: 45-82 |
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Week 13 |
3rd June |
The Sound of Accident Milner, G (2010) 'Perfect Sound? Whatever' in Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music, London: Granta: 185-236 |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
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Additional information
MMCCS Session Re-mark Application http://www.mq.edu.au/pubstatic/public/download/?id=167914
Information is correct at the time of publication
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
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