Religion, Arts, and Culture RELS120.2 Music and Religion in American Culture TR 3:05 – 4:20 PM ECTR 103 Instructor Courtney Tepera [email protected]

Office Hours: Thursdays 4:30 – 5:30 PM or by appointment Office hours will be held at Tricera Coffee unless otherwise noted.

Email is the best way to contact me, followed by visiting during my office hours. I will usually respond to email within 1 business day. Feel free to drop in without appointment during my office hours or to make an appointment for another time. Course Description For several hundred years, American musicians and theologians have asked why the devil should have all the best music. This course will explore that question by listening to, reading about, and discussing sacred and secular music throughout American history. We will look deeply at what is deemed sacred and what is deemed demonic or profane in American music, from Puritan psalm-singing to the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil.” In doing so, this course will help students understand how religion penetrates American society and how people experience the sacred and sublime in both music and religion. This course will help students become critical consumers of pop culture as we analyze, appreciate, and articulate deeper meanings in mass forms of entertainment. This class will consist of a mixture of lecture, discussion, group work, and student activities. It is essential that you attend class on a regular basis and come to class prepared. To help you come prepared, there will be regular readings for this course. The Blackboard site will also have the syllabus and any handouts distributed during class. Make sure you are familiar with it. Prerequisites None. Course Goals By the end of the semester, the successful student of this course will:  Understand, interpret, and contextualize musical texts from one or more religious traditions.  Demonstrate an appreciation of the diversity of human religious experience and the challenges faced by religious traditions in the today’s world, particularly the interaction between religion and culture.  Demonstrate effective writing skills with the ability to craft an argument in defense of a coherent thesis statement using and analyzing supporting evidence from primary and secondary sources.  Recognize and explain some of the major theoretical perspectives and key issues of debate in the academic study of religion  Come to a better understanding of themselves as religious or non-religious individuals and to a better understanding of the role of religion in the life of others, able to interact with others about religion in a positive way. This course also satisfies the General Education Student Learning Outcomes: 1. Students analyze how ideas are represented, interpreted and valued in various expressions of human culture

2. Students examine relevant primary source materials as understood by the discipline and interpret the material in writing assignments These two Gen. Ed. learning outcomes will be assessed in the 2nd Participant Observtion paper (10% of grade). Required Materials Robin Sylvan, Traces of the Spirit: The Religious Dimensions of Popular Music Stephen Marini, Sacred Song in America: Religion, Music & Public Culture David Stowe, How Sweet the Sound: Music in the Spiritual Lives of Americans Readings and audio files on the course website Any edition of the textbooks is acceptable as long as it is relatively recent and not an abridged or Cliffs Notestype version. You will need reliable internet access regularly in this class. The school computer labs are available for your use. Computer difficulties will not be accepted as an excuse for any assignment. Grading The relation between letter and numerical grades is as follows: A 100-93 B82-80 A92-90 C+ 79-77 B+ 89-87 C 76-73 B 86-83 C72-70 Grading Breakdown Reading Quizzes & Listening Activities Participant Observation Paper In-class Presentation Mid-Term Exam Final Exam Total

D+ D DF

69-67 66-63 62-60 59 and below

20% 20% 10% 25% 25% 100%

Reading Quizzes & Listening Activities (20%): There will be various quizzes and activities to do throughout the semester both in class and online. Some will be announced, some will not. None of these may be made up, though the two lowest grades in this category will be dropped at the end of the semester. Participant Observation Paper (20%): Students will visit a religious site and make observations of the use of music there OR will attend a concert or other live music venue and make observations of the music and atmosphere there, comparing it to what has been learned about the religious aspects of popular music. These observations will be written up in a 4-6 page paper which will be due November 22nd. A rubric and guidelines will be given out to guide your work. In-class Presentation (10%): Students will do a 10 minute presentation on the topic of their Participant Observation Paper on a date which they will sign up for. They will present the class with the pertinent information and put it into context with our discussion so far. A rubric and guidelines will be given out to guide your work. You are responsible for remembering the date you sign up for. Mid-Term Exam (20%) & Final Exam (25%): The mid-term and final exams will be a mixture of multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answer, essay, matching, and interpretive dance. You can bring a 3x5 notecard with whatever material you deem relevant – both sides and typed are acceptable. The mid-term is October 13th. The final exam is 4-7PM December 13th. Note that this is the end of the exam period. Plan accordingly.

Schedule of Topics and Activities Date Topic 23-Aug Syllabus

Reading/Assignment

25-Aug What is Religion?

OAKS: Sociology of Religion Reader - Durkheim & Marx p. 5-16 OAKS: Sociology of Religion Reader Geertz p. 16-23; Frequencies “Saint February” http://frequencies.ssrc.org/2011/09/06/saint-february/ OAKS: Benzon - Some Varieties of Musical Experience (From Beethoven's Anvil) & Frequencies “The Walkman” http://frequencies.ssrc.org/2011/11/16/the-walkman/ Sylvan 1 - The Connection Between Music and Religion Sacred Origins

30-Aug Religion and Culture

1-Sep What is Music? 6-Sep Music & Religion Native American 8-Sep Songway 13-Sep Protestant - Hymns African American - Trance 15-Sep Dance 20-Sep Catholic - Liturgy 22-Sep Jewish - Cantors 27-Sep Islamic - Chant

29-Sep 4-Oct 6-Oct 11-Oct 13-Oct

Native American - Ghost Dance African American - Jubilee Songs African American - Gospel Jewish - The Jazz Singer

18-Oct 20-Oct 25-Oct 27-Oct

Protestant - Gospel Protestant - CCM Catholic - Vatican 2 Islamic - Punk

1-Nov 3-Nov 8-Nov 10-Nov 15-Nov 17-Nov 22-Nov 24-Nov 29-Nov 1-Dec 13-Dec

Channeling Divine Power Sound as Sacred Religiously Inspired Deadheads Raves Metal Hip Hop Country

Marini 1 Songway – Sacred-Song Traditions of Native America Stowe 1 - O For a Thousand Toungues to Sing (Wesley & Puritans) Sylvan 2 - West African Possession Religion and American Popular Music Marini 2 Pilgrimage & Penitence: Sacred Song Traditions of the Hispanic Southwest Marini 5 - Klezmorim & Sephardim: The Jewish Music Revival OAKS: Blumhoefer - Women Who Recite (Islam) Religious Change Stowe 5 - Dances with Ghosts Stowe 4 - Holding the Fort Stowe 8 - Come Sunday Stowe 7 - Yossele, Yossele! MID TERM Marini 11 - Gospel Music – Sacred Song and the Marketplace, OAKS: Wolfe Gospel Boogie OAKS: Beaujohn - David Crowder; & Luhr - Punk Missionaries Marini 9 - Troubadour for the Lord – Catholic Charismatics & Sacred Song Watch "The Taqwacores" Music as Religion Stowe 3 - Marching to Zion (Shakers & LDS) Stowe 9 - From Ephrata (F-Ra-Ta) to Arkestra Fall Break Mosher - Ecstatic Sounds Sylvan 3 - Deadheads Sylvan 4 - Raves Sylvan 5 – Metal; PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION PAPER DUE Thanksgiving Sylvan 6 - Hip Hop OAKS: Fillingim - Home in Country and Gospel Music FINAL EXAM 4-7 PM

Policies Late Work: No late work will be accepted for the Reading Quizzes & Listening Activities grade at all. Exams may only be made up within one week of the original, and only if you have proper documentation of extenuating circumstances. If you do take an exam late, you will receive a different exam than that taken by the rest of your classmates. The papers will be docked one letter grade (10 percent of total points) for each day it is late. Classroom Behavior: While you are in class, feel free to eat and use your computer to take notes, but if you disrupt the learning environment for the rest of the class you will be asked to leave. Cell phones should be turned off. Attendance: Attendance records will be kept for each class. There will be 3 allowed absences; 4 or more absences will negatively affect your grade. After 8 absences a student will be dropped and earn a WA grade, which is equal to an “F.” If you have excused absences please let me know and contact the Undergraduate Dean’s Office to document the reason for your absence. You are responsible for making up any absences; please get any notes on missed lectures from classmates before seeking clarification from me. If you have a serious life event which will require your absence for a length of time, speak to me beforehand, or immediately after if it is unavoidable. Disability Statement: The College will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Students should apply at the Center for Disability Services / SNAP, located on the first floor of the Lightsey Center, Suite 104. Students approved for accommodations are responsible for notifying me as soon as possible and for contacting me at least one week before any accommodation is needed. Policy on Academic Honesty: There is a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism or any other form of academic dishonesty in this course. This means that anyone caught taking credit for work that is not his or her own, or cheating in any other way, will receive a failing grade for the entire course. A student found responsible for academic dishonesty will receive a XF in the course, indicating failure of the course due to academic dishonesty. If you are not familiar with the details of the College Honor Code, you can find it here: http://studentaffairs.cofc.edu/honor-system/