Below are three suggested essay titles. Please select whichever one you feel most comfortable with:

Stevie Wonder:
‘“Dr. King left an unfinished symphony which we must finish,” (Stevie Wonder)… No music of the seventies contributed more to finishing King’s symphony than the albums Wonder released once he had established his creative independence within the Motown empire.’
Werner, C. (1999) A Change is Gonna Come, Middlesex: Penguin Books Ltd, p187 Why was Innervisions such a culturally significant album?

“Nothing would have happened without the Pistols. It was like, "Wow, I believe in this." What they were saying was: "It’s a load of shite. I’m going to do what I do and I don’t care what people think." That was the key to it. People forget that, but it was the main ideology for me: we don’t care what you think—you’re shit anyway. It was the attitude that got people moving, as well as the music.” Discuss
Robb, J. (2007) Punk Rock: An Oral History, London: Ebury Press p.163.

“Rage Against The Machine changed the shape of music with their rampant self-titled debut album in 1992. Here was a politically charged troupe that took advantage of major label backing yet spoke out on issues that few stars in the spotlight dared to – never afraid to insist their message was just as important as the music.” Discuss Stenning, P. (2008) Rage Against The Machine: Stage Fighters

Aims:

Students will be encouraged to examine significant moments in the evolution of popular music genres. Important artists and their work within each genre will be analysed according to the factors that have made them influential cultural icons. This will include:

*Lyrical inventiveness and musical creativity
*The cultural, social and political context of the time
*Economic, social and technological change
*Theoretical approaches to popular music, such as critical theory and
postmodernism

Assignment Brief
Essay (4,000 words)

This assignment asks you to evaluate the social, cultural and political context of an important and influential album release in the period 1970 to the present day.
Students are required to develop a clear and coherent written argument that demonstrates deep reading (including material on the course reading list and peer review academic journals) and shows an appreciation of the module’s rationale.

Choose an artist from the period 1970-present day and examine their relationship to their cultural and social context with reference to an important or influential album.
Analyse your chosen artist and album in relation to their associated genre.

Discuss their social context and their lyrical and musical creativity. Evaluate their impact on popular music and on wider popular culture as a whole. Engage with appropriate theoretical approaches such as critical theory, postmodernism, and others where relevant.

Demonstrate that you have engaged with the course reading material and appropriate academic peer reviewed journals. All quotes and ideas should be fully referenced using HRS and all written work submissions should include a bibliography.

The work should be well structured and free from grammatical errors.

Outcomes:

1: Demonstrate a detailed knowledge and informed understanding of the career of a genre-defining artist. Comment critically on the contribution of that artist to their associated genre of popular music and their wider contribution to popular culture.

2: Critically evaluate the contribution of a key artist in relation to societal and cultural changes in the period. Comment on the interaction between popular music and important cultural and/or social developments in the period. Present arguments coherently and clearly.

3: Present a detailed evaluation of contribution of an important artist from the period. Make informed references to influential work from a key artist. Engage with appropriate theoretical approaches to popular music studies.

4: Demonstrate academic rigour by engaging with a wide range of literature (including peer review journals and other resources on the
reading list). Present fully referenced work accompanied by a detailed and relevant bibliography. Engage with appropriate theoretical approaches to popular music studies

I