Undergraduate Course: Music and State Socialism in the Twentieth Century (MUSI10081)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course explores the roles, production, and reception of music in different socialist systems of the twentieth century. |
| Course description |
Spanning a global range of twentieth-century socialist regimes from the Soviet Union to Cuba, this course examines the roles, production, and reception of music in socialist societies. The course will introduce students to Marxist aesthetics. It will chart the politicisation of music and music making by socialist states and their citizens, and it will survey a large repertoire--from Western art music through nueva cancíon to punk--against the backdrops of the rise of communism, the Cold War, and decolonization.
Topics covered include: socialist realism; socialist modernism; nation-building; propaganda; dissidence, opposition, compromise, and conformism; musical diplomacy; international solidarity; Second-Third World circulations; late socialism; the 1989 revolutions.
The course will be taught through weekly seminars focused on set reading, listening, and audio-visual materials.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least two semesters in Music History. We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 26 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Formative Assessment Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
171 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has 2 components of assessment.
1. Essay (1500 words, 40%, Week 7) [LO1, LO2]
2. Collection of music reviews (3000 words, 60%, to be submitted during the examination period) [LO2, LO3]
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| Feedback |
Formative feedback
Students will receive verbal formative feedback on an essay plan prior to the submission of the essay, and on their selection of music prior to the submission of the music review assignment. A portion of the seminar in weeks 8-11 will be dedicated to the latter.
Summative feedback
Written summative feedback will be provided for the essay and music reviews. It will be provided according to University regulations. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate awareness and understanding of the broad roles of music under state socialism.
- Analyse the nuances of musical cultures and the ethics of music production and consumption in different socialist societies.
- Communicate complex information about music and its political contexts clearly and effectively.
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Reading List
A full reading list is available on LEARN. The following is a representative sample:
Bohlman, Andrea F. Musical Solidarities: Political Action and Music in Late Twentieth-Century Poland (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020).
Djebbari, Elina. "Cultural Diplomacy in the Cold War: Musical Dialogues between Cuba and West Africa, 1969-1970," in Cuba and Africa, 1959-1994: Writing an Alternative Atlantic History, ed. Giulia Bonacci, Adrien Delmas and Kali Argyriadis (Johannesburg: Wits University Press, 2020), 183-204.
Hayton, Jeff. Culture from the Slums: Punk Rock in East and West Germany (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022).
Fairclough, Pauline. Classics for the Masses: Shaping Soviet Musical Identity (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2016).
Kelly, Elaine. Composing the Canon in the German Democratic Republic: Narratives of Nineteenth-Century Music (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014).
Moore, Robin D. Music and Revolution: Cultural Change in Socialist Cuba (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006).
Ouyang, Lei X. Music as Mao's Weapon: Remembering the Cultural Revolution (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2022).
Schmelz, Peter. Such Freedom, If Only Musical: Unofficial Soviet Music During the Thaw (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009). |
Additional Information
| Course URL |
www.music.ed.ac.uk |
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Research and enquiry: Analytical engagement with music and aesthetics in the context of different socialist politics will help students to develop the ability to evaluate information, undertake critical analysis, and make informed judgements.
Personal and intellectual autonomy: The creation of a portfolio of music reviews will facilitate students to develop the ability to work autonomously and follow an individual path of research.
Communication: The different modes of writing across the course assessments will require students to develop the capacity to communicate complex information clearly and effectively across various formats. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
1 x 2-hour seminar each week. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Elaine Kelly
Tel: (0131 6)50 8248
Email: Elaine.Kelly@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Rowan Paton
Tel:
Email: rpaton5@ed.ac.uk |
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