Humanities 223: Ethnic music
Springfield College – Benedictine University
Midterm Exam · Fall Semester 2008
Below are three essay questions – one worth fifty (50) points out of a hundred, and two shorter essays worth 25 points each. Please write at least two to four pages (500-1,000 words) on the 50-point essay and one to two pages (250-500 words) on each of the 25-point short essays. That adds up to three essays. Use plenty of detail from your reading in the textbook, the internet and handouts I have given you, as well as class discussion, to back up the points you make. Your grade will depend both on your analysis of the broad trends I ask about, and on the specific detail you cite in support of your analysis. I am more interested in the specific factual arguments you make to support your points than in whether you like or dislike a particular piece of music. So be specific. Remember: An unsupported generalization is sudden death in college-level writing. Due in class Tuesday, Oct. 7.
1A. Essay (50 points). African American religious music began with spontaneous congregational preaching and singing, what Shane White and Graham White called the “hollers, stories, prayers, sermons, work songs and, yes, spirituals" of 19th-century slaves. In Nashville, the Fisk Jubilee Singers turned the spirituals into a very popular art form with classical overtones. And musicians including African American opera star Paul Robeson and English composer Sir Michael Tippett made them into classical music. Do religious songs lose anything when they go from “fairly close-knit homogeneous communities possessing a strong sense of group solidarity” (one definition Daniel Kingman, author of our textbook, gives for folk music) to being sung by popular singers and by classically trained musicians? Do the songs gain anything when they cross over from folk to popular or art music? Or is it a trade-off?. Does the music transcend the specific cultural and religious norms of the people who sing it? If so, how? Be specific.
2A. Self-reflective essay (25 points). What have you learned about American roots music in this class so far that you didn’t know before? Consider what you knew at the beginning of the course and what you know now. What point or points stand out most clearly to you? What points are still confusing? In answering this question, please feel free to look at the “Tip Sheet on Writing a Reflective Essay” linked to my faculty webpage. In grading the essay, I will evaluate the relevance of your discussion to the main goals and objectives of the course; the detail you cite to support or illustrate your points; and the connections you make.
2B. Short essay (25 points). In class I will play a version of Bruce Springsteen and his Seeger Session Band playing the African American folk ballad “John Henry” as recorded live on BBC-4 television -- available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2evoXZ-xgd0. Write your response to the song, asking yourself: (1) What about this work stands out in my mind? 2. What in my background, values, needs and interests makes me react that way? 3. What, specifically, about the performance makes me feel that way? Is there anything in the song that transcends cultural boundaries?
Springfield College – Benedictine University
Midterm Exam · Fall Semester 2008
Below are three essay questions – one worth fifty (50) points out of a hundred, and two shorter essays worth 25 points each. Please write at least two to four pages (500-1,000 words) on the 50-point essay and one to two pages (250-500 words) on each of the 25-point short essays. That adds up to three essays. Use plenty of detail from your reading in the textbook, the internet and handouts I have given you, as well as class discussion, to back up the points you make. Your grade will depend both on your analysis of the broad trends I ask about, and on the specific detail you cite in support of your analysis. I am more interested in the specific factual arguments you make to support your points than in whether you like or dislike a particular piece of music. So be specific. Remember: An unsupported generalization is sudden death in college-level writing. Due in class Tuesday, Oct. 7.
1A. Essay (50 points). African American religious music began with spontaneous congregational preaching and singing, what Shane White and Graham White called the “hollers, stories, prayers, sermons, work songs and, yes, spirituals" of 19th-century slaves. In Nashville, the Fisk Jubilee Singers turned the spirituals into a very popular art form with classical overtones. And musicians including African American opera star Paul Robeson and English composer Sir Michael Tippett made them into classical music. Do religious songs lose anything when they go from “fairly close-knit homogeneous communities possessing a strong sense of group solidarity” (one definition Daniel Kingman, author of our textbook, gives for folk music) to being sung by popular singers and by classically trained musicians? Do the songs gain anything when they cross over from folk to popular or art music? Or is it a trade-off?. Does the music transcend the specific cultural and religious norms of the people who sing it? If so, how? Be specific.
2A. Self-reflective essay (25 points). What have you learned about American roots music in this class so far that you didn’t know before? Consider what you knew at the beginning of the course and what you know now. What point or points stand out most clearly to you? What points are still confusing? In answering this question, please feel free to look at the “Tip Sheet on Writing a Reflective Essay” linked to my faculty webpage. In grading the essay, I will evaluate the relevance of your discussion to the main goals and objectives of the course; the detail you cite to support or illustrate your points; and the connections you make.
2B. Short essay (25 points). In class I will play a version of Bruce Springsteen and his Seeger Session Band playing the African American folk ballad “John Henry” as recorded live on BBC-4 television -- available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2evoXZ-xgd0. Write your response to the song, asking yourself: (1) What about this work stands out in my mind? 2. What in my background, values, needs and interests makes me react that way? 3. What, specifically, about the performance makes me feel that way? Is there anything in the song that transcends cultural boundaries?
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