INART 116The Popular Arts in America: The History of Rock and Roll-The 1950s

3 credits · Integrative Arts · Penn State

This course examines the roots, development, and significance of rock and roll music in its first decade. INART 116 INART 116 The Popular Arts in America: The History of Rock and Roll-The 1950s (GA;US)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. This course is composed of eight chronologically arranged units of study that examine the major developments in early rock and roll in an historical context.Rock and roll music, especially in the 1950s, was the reflection of the dynamic cross-cultural interplay between country, gospel, rhythm and blues, and mainstream pop. Of central importance in early rock and roll was the influence of African American music and culture and the effect that African American music and culture had when brought into the mainstream. Through an examination of the foundation of emergence of rock and roll in our culture, students gain an understanding of the role played by intercultural cross-influences in shaping both our music and our cultural sensibilities.Both the content of the course and the assignments in the Popular Music Forum are directed at helping students understand, reflect upon, and critically think about the intercultural nature and effect of our musical heritage.The thrust of the course is sociological and cultural rather than musicological, and the intent of the course is to provide students with a comprehensive overview of the early development of rock and roll and its importance in our social and cultural history.Each unit of study will be accompanied by key examples of recorded music from the period of the late 1940s through the 1950s. The course includes approximately 100 important recordings for required study.Grades in INART 116 will be determined by a series of eight objective tests and four assignments in the Popular Music Forum. The Popular Music Forum will examine important issues in popular music and culture concerning or related to rock and roll in the 1950s that require research, critical thinking, the formation of objective opinions, and discussion. The Popular Music Forum is conducted online as a series of asynchronous discussions on Forum topics. The class will be broken into groups of fifteen students for the purpose of discussion.Grading will be based on a point system. There are 1200 possible points that can be earned during the course - 800 points on exams (2/3 of the final grade) and 400 points on written assignments in the Popular Music Forum (1/3 of the final grade).