POLS 436 Music, Society and PoliticsMEF UniversityDegree Programs Political Science and International RelationsGeneral Information For StudentsDiploma SupplementErasmus Policy Statement
Political Science and International Relations
Bachelor Length of the Programme: 4 Number of Credits: 240 TR-NQF-HE: Level 6 QF-EHEA: First Cycle EQF: Level 6

Ders Genel Tanıtım Bilgileri

School/Faculty/Institute Faculty of Econ., Admin. and Social Sciences
Course Code POLS 436
Course Title in English Music, Society and Politics
Course Title in Turkish Music, Society and Politics
Language of Instruction EN
Type of Course Flipped Classroom
Level of Course Intermediate
Semester Spring
Contact Hours per Week
Lecture: 3 Recitation: 0 Lab: 0 Other: 0
Estimated Student Workload 135 hours per semester
Number of Credits 5 ECTS
Grading Mode Standard Letter Grade
Pre-requisites None
Expected Prior Knowledge none
Co-requisites None
Registration Restrictions Only Undergraduate Students
Overall Educational Objective To become familiar with the intersections between music, society and politics
Course Description This course enables students to become familiar with the intersections between music, society and politics. It will give a wide range of perspectives covering topics such as music and politics, music and protest, music and industries. Other main topics include the interactions between music and the emergence of legitimate cultures, sub-cultures and modernization efforts. The first part of the course aims to explore theoretical approaches used to discuss music and various other topics (politics, cultures, sub-cultures, industries, protests) that are inherently linked with music. The second part of the course offers a range of articles discussing the politicization of music in the 20th century as exemplified by different countries. In this part, students are also expected to make presentations that relate to the course subjects and materials.
Course Description in Turkish Bu ders, öğrencilerin müzik, toplum ve siyaset arasındaki kesişme noktalarına aşina olmalarını sağlar. Bu ders, müzik ve politika, müzik ve protesto, müzik ve endüstri gibi konuları kapsayan geniş bir perspektif yelpazesi sunacaktır. Diğer ana başlıklar, müzik ile meşru kültürlerin, alt kültürlerin ortaya çıkışı ve modernleşme çabaları arasındaki etkileşimleri içerir. Dersin ilk bölümü, müziği ve doğası gereği müzikle bağlantılı olan çeşitli diğer konuları (politika, kültürler, alt kültürler, endüstriler, protestolar) tartışmak için kullanılan teorik yaklaşımları keşfetmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Dersin ikinci bölümü, 20. yüzyılda müziğin siyasallaşmasını farklı ülkelerden örneklerle tartışan bir dizi makale sunar. Bu bölümde öğrencilerden ayrıca ders konuları ve materyalleri ile ilgili sunumlar yapmaları beklenmektedir.

Course Learning Outcomes and Competences

Upon successful completion of the course, the learner is expected to be able to:
1) Develop critical thinking about the relationship between music, society and politics
2) Express their ideas on solid theoretical grounds
3) Assess the political contents of particular musical pieces
4) Understand different meanings and messages music delivers in different countries
5) Comprehend art works with relation to political, cultural and socio-economic context
Program Learning Outcomes/Course Learning Outcomes 1 2 3 4 5
1) Adequate knowledge of political history necessary to comprehend and effectively evaluate contemporary Political Science and International Relations issues.
2) Understanding of the fundamental concepts that exist in the fields of social and behavioral sciences as well as the correlation between these concepts
3) Ability to analyze the fundamental theories in the field Political Science and International Relations and to assess their reflections into practice
4) Ability to critically discuss different aspects of theories and developments in Political Science and International Relations both individually and in the course of group work during classroom discussions.
5) Ability to conduct research independently, or with a team, about the developments taking place in the international arena, make foreign policy analyses, develop research-based conflict resolution models, and prepare comprehensive reports using computers and relevant software
6) Ability to take decisions as well as to implement these decisions by using the knowledge about the field and the skills that have been acquired during the undergraduate studies
7) Ability to recognize the relations between scientific thought and ethical behavior; pay attention to being tolerant and properly defend different ideas, ideologies and belief systems
8) Ability to work in international institutions and multicultural environments, with the help of the knowledge on different cultures, societies, political systems as well as linguistic skills acquired during the undergraduate studies
9) Ability to display language skills in English at minimum B2 level enough for debating with colleagues on issues of Political Science and International Relations, and also display language skills in a second foreign language at minimum A2 level enough for communicating in daily life
10) Ability to pursue lifelong learning as well as perform advanced/graduate studies in the field Political Science and International Relations and other social sciences disciplines in academic institutions at home and abroad

Relation to Program Outcomes and Competences

N None S Supportive H Highly Related
     
Program Outcomes and Competences Level Assessed by
1) Adequate knowledge of political history necessary to comprehend and effectively evaluate contemporary Political Science and International Relations issues. S Exam
2) Understanding of the fundamental concepts that exist in the fields of social and behavioral sciences as well as the correlation between these concepts S Exam
3) Ability to analyze the fundamental theories in the field Political Science and International Relations and to assess their reflections into practice S Participation
4) Ability to critically discuss different aspects of theories and developments in Political Science and International Relations both individually and in the course of group work during classroom discussions. S Exam
5) Ability to conduct research independently, or with a team, about the developments taking place in the international arena, make foreign policy analyses, develop research-based conflict resolution models, and prepare comprehensive reports using computers and relevant software S Participation
6) Ability to take decisions as well as to implement these decisions by using the knowledge about the field and the skills that have been acquired during the undergraduate studies N
7) Ability to recognize the relations between scientific thought and ethical behavior; pay attention to being tolerant and properly defend different ideas, ideologies and belief systems S Participation
8) Ability to work in international institutions and multicultural environments, with the help of the knowledge on different cultures, societies, political systems as well as linguistic skills acquired during the undergraduate studies N Participation
9) Ability to display language skills in English at minimum B2 level enough for debating with colleagues on issues of Political Science and International Relations, and also display language skills in a second foreign language at minimum A2 level enough for communicating in daily life H Exam
10) Ability to pursue lifelong learning as well as perform advanced/graduate studies in the field Political Science and International Relations and other social sciences disciplines in academic institutions at home and abroad H Exam
Prepared by and Date CANSU GÜLEÇ , January 2024
Course Coordinator CANSU GÜLEÇ
Semester Spring
Name of Instructor Prof. Dr. CİHAT AŞKIN

Course Contents

Week Subject
1) Introduction
2) Music and Politics
3) Protest and Music
4) Noise and Politics
5) Social Movements, Music and Race
6) Music and Boundaries: Race and Folk
7) Subcultures
8) Midterm
9) Jazz, Censorship and Cultural Life - the Soviet Union
10) The Music of Protest in the 1960s – America
11) Labor and Industrial Protest Songs – Canada
12) Arabesk Culture, Modernization and Popular Identity – Turkey
13) Skinheads and Nazi Rock – England & Germany
14) Tango, Politics and Economy - Argentina
15) Final Exam Period
16) Final Exam Period
Required/Recommended ReadingsAttali, J. (1985). Listening. In Noise: The Political Economy of Music. Minneapolis/London: University of Minnesota Press, 3-20. Brown, T. S. (2004). Subcultures, Pop Music and Politics: Skinheads and "Nazi Rock" In England and Germany. Journal of Social History, 38 (1), 157-178. Clarke J, Hall S, & Jefferson, T. (1976). Subcultures, Culture and Class: A Theoretical Overiew. In Hall, S. & Jefferson, T. (Eds.), Resistance Through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain (pp. 9-74). London: Routledge. Damodaran, S. (2016). Protest and Music. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia. DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.81 Fowke, E. (1969). Labor and Industrial Protest Songs in Canada. The Journal of American Folklore, 82 (323), 34-50. Hebdige, D. (1979). Subcultures: The Meaning of Style. London: Routledge, pp. 1-19. Lücke, M. (2007). Vilified, Venerated, Forbidden: Jazz in the Stalinist Era. Music and Politics, 1 (2), 1-9. Luker, M. J. (2007). Tango Renovación: On the Uses of Music History in Post-Crisis Argentina. Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana, 28 (1), 68-93. Özbek, M. (1997). Arabesk Culture: A Case of Modernization and Popular Identity. In Bozdoğan, S. & Kasaba, R. (Eds.), Rethinking Modernity and National Identity in Turkey (pp. 211-232). University of Washington Press. Rosenstone, R. A. (1969). The Times They Are A-Changin: The Music of Protest. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 32, 131-144. Roy, W. (2010). Social Movements, Music and Race. In Social Movements, Folk Music,and Race in the United States. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1-28. Roy, W. (2010). Music and Boundaries: Race and Folk. In Social Movements, Folk Music,and Race in the United States. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 28-49. Street, J. (2014). Music as Political Communication. In Oxford Handbook of Political Communication. Kenski, K. & Hall Jamieson, K. (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press
Teaching MethodsFlipped Classroom methods such as pre-class quizzes, pre-class videos, group discussions, group debates, presentations, and essay type exams.
Homework and ProjectsNone
Laboratory WorkNone
Computer UseNone
Other ActivitiesNone
Assessment Methods
Assessment Tools Count Weight
Attendance 14 % 30
Presentation 1 % 10
Midterm(s) 1 % 30
Paper Submission 1 % 30
TOTAL % 100
Course Administration gulecc@mef.edu.tr
: (212) 395 3610
Attendance and active participation are required. There would be no late presentations and make up exams unless medical report provided. MEF university values academic integrity. Therefore all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the code of student conduct and disciplinary procedures.

ECTS Student Workload Estimation

Activity No/Weeks Hours Calculation
No/Weeks per Semester Preparing for the Activity Spent in the Activity Itself Completing the Activity Requirements
Course Hours 14 2 2 1 70
Paper Submission 13 3 2 65
Total Workload 135
Total Workload/25 5.4
ECTS 5