MUS2651 ¨C Music and the environment

Course content

What is the relationship between music and the environment? Music has been thought of as "the sound of circulation in Nature¡¯s veins" and likened to "the clutter of the unkempt forest." It has evoked breathtaking landscapes and voiced environmentalist criticism. But music has also contributed to noise pollution, and it has generated tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, music has always been a significant exploiter of both natural and human resources.

This course is about the history of musical thought and scholarship on the environment. It is equally about the history, current state, and future of the relationship between music and the environment. We will learn about foundational fields such as acoustic ecology and soundscape studies as well as emerging fields such as ecomusicology and the environmental humanities.

Learning outcome

On passing this course, students will be able to:

1. Critically analyze relationships between music and the environment, drawing upon:

• A range of musical genres and practices since the nineteenth century and around the world
• A range of traditions of critical thought both within and without musicology as such acoustic ecology, soundscape studies, political ecology, and environmental humanities

2. Describe and evaluate the broad history and development of music¡¯s relationship to the environment in theory and practice, including:

• How these histories manifest in past and present musical practices.
• Questions arising from environmental studies, soundscape studies, and infrastructural media studies.

3. Outline and participate in current debates, explain different theoretical and academic positions, concepts, and methodologies relevant to musical and environmental research, in forms such as:

• Short critical written summaries of key literature
• Oral presentation and discussion
• Scholarly essay in the form of a white paper

Admission to the course

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

Overlapping courses

• 10 credits overlap with MUS4651 ¨C The Political Ecology of Music (discontinued).

Teaching

• 8 double lectures
• 4 double periods of seminars

Compulsory activities

• Qualification Assessment 1 (English or Norwegian): three short critical summaries on core readings of the student`s choice, with their submissions distributed evenly throughout the semester (i.e. approximately one critical summary per month). Students should submit their summaries after the core readings have been presented and discussed in class, so that they may incorporate class discussion into their own commentaries.
• Qualification Assessment 2: Oral presentation (English): a 10-minute presentation on the research for their final essays, followed by 5 minutes of class discussion. Takes place in the seminars.

Information about the qualification assessments and the deadlines will be given during the teaching and in Canvas. You must hand in the assessments by the deadlines and you are responsible for familiarising yourself with the requirements for the qualification assessments.

Read more about compulsory activities here.

Apply for a valid absence from compulsory activity or attendance.

Examination

• Term paper (10 pages, each containing approx. 2,300 characters, spaces not included or 5 pages for students who choose to submit a creative/practical component)
  • Creative/practical components may include recordings, videos, devices, and so on¡ªas long as the creative component may be submitted for assessment. The creative component will account for half of the overall grade for the written examination.

More information about the exam requirements will be given in Canvas and during the teaching.

You must fulfill the requirement for compulsory activities to submit the exam.

The grading guidelines for MUS2651 can be found here.

Language of examination

You may write your examination paper in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.