ID:
509559
Duration (hours):
36
CFU:
6
SSD:
ETNOMUSICOLOGIA
Located in:
CREMONA
Year:
2025
Overview
Date/time interval
Secondo Semestre (02/03/2026 - 12/06/2026)
Syllabus
Course Objectives
At the end of the course, students will be able to navigate the historical study of popular music, recognising the fundamental aspects of the development of these cultural practices and knowing how to evaluate the sources on which to base their research. Regardless of the specific focus on a particular historical period or geographical area, the educational objective of the course is to provide an understanding of the breadth and complexity of contemporary musical practices, at the intersection of music history, social history, cultural history and media history.
Course Prerequisites
Knowledge of the main analytical approaches and specific research methodologies in the field of popular music, as a historical and critical study of contemporary musical practices characterised by their privileged relationship with the media, as outlined in the “Popular Music” course of the Bachelor’s degree programme (which is recommended as preparatory content). The synchronic approach of the course also encourages the inclusion of popular music in the global cultural production of the 20th and 21st centuries, offering a cross-cutting and inclusive view of classical, experimental and jazz music, as well as the history of the arts and society in general. It is therefore desirable to be aware of the overall picture of current trends in different musical practices and traditions, especially around the key decade of the 1960s, around which the course programme will be structured.
Teaching Methods
Lectures, with the aid of textual and graphic presentations, supplemented by listening and collective viewing of audio or audiovisual extracts. The structure of the lessons will be geared towards collective discussion, and students will be encouraged to participate actively with short individual presentations and weekly assignments.
Assessment Methods
For attending students, the assessment of the skills acquired during the course will take into account various factors, such as participation in classroom activities and group discussions, the quality of the work produced and presented during the lessons and in preparation for the final exam, and the ability to summarise and present the contents of the reference bibliography. The exam discussion will focus on a list of specific bibliographical references that will be handed out at the end of the course, on the discussion and commentary of audio and audiovisual examples, and on the final paper to be handed in one week before the exam (min. 20,000 characters, on a topic of the student's choice). For non-attending students, the exam will be limited to a discussion of the reference bibliography indicated in the syllabus (volumes by Fabbri, Covach and Tomatis, plus one volume of their choice from the Global Popular Music series).
Texts
The main reference texts for the course are the volumes in the series ‘Global Popular Music’, edited by Franco Fabbri and Goffredo Plastino and published by Routledge. An overview of the publications in this series is available at http://www.globalpopularmusic.net/ and on the website of the series publisher, Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Global-Popular-Music-Series/book-series/RGPMS. In addition to these, there are some general reference texts on Anglo-American and Italian popular music, in particular: - J. Covach, What’s That Sound? An Introduction To Rock and Its History, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 2018; - F. Fabbri, Around the Clock. Una breve storia della popular music, UTET, Torino, 2008; - J. Tomatis, Storia culturale della canzone italiana, Il Saggiatore, Milano, 2019.
Contents
The decade 1965-1975 in the global history of popular music. The course will deal synchronically with the main figures and developments in pop, rock and dance music practices during the decade 1965-1975, examining how a series of global trends (such as mediatisation, the emergence of cultural hegemonies influenced by global geopolitical balances, and the formation of countercultures) are reflected in the production of individual national contexts. On the other hand, we will seek to highlight the contribution of local musical productions – particularly outside the Anglo-American axis – to the overall development of a popular culture with increasingly international and transmedia horizons.
Course Language
Italian
Degrees
Degrees
MUSICOLOGY
Master’s Degree
2 years
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