1.McCarthyism and Modern Parallels Assignment In this written response assignment, you will address the following prompts: Briefly define McCarthyism and offer a synopsis of the political conditions that emerged around the 1950s in relationship to Communism in America. This definition should include a reference to important facts and figures that led to the use of this term in the first place, and also how this term has been levied politically in the years since. How is this McCarthyist episode related to the American Union movement and thereby Folk music, in the 1950s? Is there a political issue or debate today that you believe is at all similar to the McCarthy-led Red Scare of the 1950s? If so, what is the issue that comes to your mind? Is there a contemporary song (or artist) that addresses the modern political issue you referenced? Please embed the song in your response. 2. Song Analysis Worksheet Assignment Using the Song Analysis Worksheet located in your Brightspace classroom: Please select any song from this week’s required listening and complete your own song analysis using the worksheet posted on Brightspace. 3. Sexuality and Identity in Modern Music Discussion Topic In this discussion, please respond to the following prompt; Select a contemporary song (last 15-20 years) that challenges ‘traditional’ American views regarding Gender and/or Sexuality. Embed a video of the song Briefly discuss the message of the song and how you think it might qualify as a protest song in regards to the themes of this week. Upload your original post no later than Thursday at 11:59 pm EST. You must upload your original post before viewing other student posts. Response to two other student posts uploaded no later than Sunday at 1159 pm EST. 4 .Sexual Identity as Manifested in the Classic Blues and the Disco Revolution Assignment Please create a Word document and address the following: Using the two Readings from this week (Blues Legacies & Discophobia) please respond to the following prompts; Part 1: Angela Davis puts forward a theory in Blues Legacies about the centrality of sexuality in the music of the Classic Blues as being unique when compared to other popular music styles that regularly invoke sex in lyrics. Davis makes this point specifically in regards to the African American men and women performing this music at the turn of the 20th century. What is her general argument? Part 2: From Discophobia and the class PowerPoint, what was the ‘Disco Backlash’ of 1979 and how did it manifest culturally? What does Gillian Frank (Discophobia) attribute this backlash to? Taking a cell phone pic of your assignment and posting the photo is acceptable for this assignment, but please make sure the picture is oriented correctly when uploading. 5. Sexual Identity as Manifested in the Classic Blues and the Disco Revolution Assignment Please create a Word document and address the following: Using the two Readings from this week (Blues Legacies & Discophobia) please respond to the following prompts; Part 1: Angela Davis puts forward a theory in Blues Legacies about the centrality of sexuality in the music of the Classic Blues as being unique when compared to other popular music styles that regularly invoke sex in lyrics. Davis makes this point specifically regarding the African-American men and women performing this music at the turn of the 20th century. What is her general argument? Part 2: From Discophobia and the class PowerPoint, what was the ‘Disco Backlash’ of 1979, and how did it manifest culturally? What does Gillian Frank (Discophobia) attribute this backlash to? 5. Research Paper Submission Assignment Please submit your 3-4 page midterm research paper on the international protest artist you have selected for your presentation, and more details on what should be included in this assignment are articulated in the Assignment PDF. 6. Midterm Video Presentation & Comments Discussion Topic Please submit a 1-2 minute presentation video that provides a brief synopsis of your paper on this discussion thread. Additionally, please embed a video of a representative song from the artist you covered in your research. Instructions for embedding a song are included in this announcement post. I also included a couple of short tutorials below. The Assignment PDF contains more details on what should be included in this assignment. After submitting your synopsis and representative song, take the time to read and listen through the other presentations and comment on at least two other presentations by Sunday. How to Embed a YouTube Video on Brightspace (a different approach from what I introduced last week, but maybe a simpler solution for some) 7. Relative ‘Effectiveness’ of Protest Songs (Assignment) Please open up a word document and respond to the following prompts; Given that the focus this week is on musical responses to the Vietnam war, take some time to consider what the “purpose” of this kind of protest music is. In other words, it’s unlikely that elected government officials or military leaders would stop a war based on hearing a protest song once or twice, so they’re likely not the target audience here. With that in mind, it’s more logical to believe these songs were composed to push public opinion against the war effort by targeting the hearts and minds of everyday average Americans. As you saw in the “Origins of the War” video and “Sound Smart” video, it wasn’t until around 1967 that a majority of the American public began to turn against the war effort in Vietnam. If the objective of an anti-war protest song is to change people’s minds, which song from this week’s required listening do you think utilized the most effective approach? Put another way, if you lived during this era and supported the war, could you imagine any of these songs changing your mind? Why or why not? Please explain your reasoning, and try to reference specific elements of the song that stand out to you as effective or convincing. These elements could include; tone of the song (musical and/or lyrical), relatability (or clarity) of the message, emotional drive, etc. Please include lyrics from the song in your response as a reference. Is there another anti-war (or pro-war) song from any point in American history that you feel articulates a particularly persuasive message? What song and what are some representative lyrics? Please embed a video of the song. 8. Guided Final Project: Phase 3 (Assignment) Guided Final Project: Phase 3 – Selecting a Musical Style – Picking a Backing Track on Soundtrap Go onto Soundtrap and review the backing track options I have organized for the final project. Getting Started with Soundtrap Tutorial You can also explore other backing track options by clicking “Browse Loops.” You can also consider creating your own ‘beat’ by using the “Patterns BeatMaker” option. Here are some tutorials for creating your own beats; Getting started Add Drum Sounds Bars and Beats: Basic Theory Edit Your Beats Here are the templates you can choose to use for this project, but you need to be registered on soundtrap for these links to work correctly; Below you will find links to project files on Soundtrap which can serve as an entry point for your individual projects. The files become your own once you click on them (and eventually click SAVE), so you won’t affect things for other people if you make adjustments. Please reference the tutorial videos I posted above to get a sense of how to approach these template project files. 1) Folk Style #1 (Original) 2) Indie Rock Style (Original) 3) Neo-Soul Groove (Original) 4) Folk Style #2 (Original) 5) Soul Style #1 “A Change is Gonna Come” 6) Soul Style #2 “What’s Going On?” 7) Folk Style #3 “Blowin’ in the Wind” 8) Folk Style #4 “Which Side Are You On” Once you have selected (or created) a backing track, please export an mp3 of the track and upload the file to this assignment
McCarthyism and Modern Parallels Assignment In this written response assignment, you will address the following prompts: Briefly define McCarthyism and offer a synopsis of the political conditions that emerged around the 1950s in