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Revision 1 closed, replaced by current version.
Delivery mode: Individualized study.
Credits: 3 - Reading course - Humanities
Prerequisite: None. HUMN 285 or MUSI 285 and HUMN 286 or MUSI 286 are strongly recommended.
Precluded course: HUMN 420 is a cross-listed course—a course listed under 2 different disciplines—with MUSI 420. HUMN 420 may not be taken for credit by students who have obtained credit for HUMN 422 or MUSI 420.
Centre: Centre for Global and Social Analysis
HUMN 420 has a Challenge for Credit option
Anglo-American Popular Music Traditions examines the genesis and development of various folk and other popular music traditions in Britain and North America before World War I. Among the topics studied are English and Scottish ballads and folk lyrics, broadside ballads, industrial song, music hall, the transformation of Anglo-Celtic folk music when transplanted to North America, indigenous American folk music, Afro-American musical forms, spirituals, early blues, minstrel shows, and ragtime.
This course is designed for students in the last year of their degree program. It should normally be attempted only by students who have already completed six credits in the history of popular music (such as HUMN 285 and HUMN 286 or their equivalent at another university). It does not require more than a basic knowledge of music theory and terminology, but it is not an introductory course and it does demand a high level of reading and writing skills. Students are expected to make extensive use of library materials to complete the reading and written assignments.
Anglo-American Popular Music Traditions is divided into the following twelve units:
Unit 1: Old High Cultures? The Origins and Styles of Traditional Music
Unit 2: British Folk Music Traditions I: Ceremonial Songs and Narrative Ballads
Unit 3: British Folk Music Traditions II: Lyrical Songs and Later Ballads
Unit 4: North America and the Debt to Africa
Unit 5: Forms of Popular Music in America, 1620-1880
Unit 6: Parlour Music
Unit 7: Concert Music and the Music-Hall in Victorian England
Unit 8: Community Music in Victorian England
Unit 9: Politics, Patriotism, Social Comment, and Industrial Song
Unit 10: Africa and the Origins of the Blues
Unit 11: The Influence of the Blues in Popular Music
Unit 12: Ragtime
To receive credit for HUMN 420, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent) and a grade of at least 50 percent on the examination. A supplemental final exam is available. Weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
| Essay 1 | Essay 2 | Final Exam | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30% | 35% | 35% | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.
Lloyd, A. L. 1967. Folksong in England. New York:
International Publishers.
Russell, Dave. 1987. Popular Music in England, 1840-1914:
A Social History. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Van der Merwe, Peter. 1989. Origins of the Popular Style.
London: Oxford University Press.
The course materials also include a study guide, a student manual, and a reading file.