Thinking Critically About Pop (& UnPop)

This class will explore a wide range of critical writing about popular music as well as various forms of underground or alternative music. We start with jazz criticism in the mid-20th Century, then proceed through various eras of rock and pop criticism, and then explore the critical discourses around hip hop, electronic dance music, and internet microgenres of the 21st Century. Although the greater part of the focus will be on journalistic writing, we'll take on the ideas of scholars, sociologists, and philosophers. And we'll look also at fan discourses, the sorts of non-professional but passionate and deeply personal writing about music that flourishes in blogs, on message boards, and in other online spaces.

Alongside tracing the evolution of ideas and arguments about music - its value, purpose, social function, private pleasures, role in identity formation, etc - we'll also be exploring writing from the standpoint of style and the pure entertainment value of reading. There will a practical element to the course, with the skills and techniques involved in journalistic and critical writing discussed, and guidance offered to those who are interested in pursuing music criticism as a career.

The fundamental objective of the class is to explore all the ways in which critical writing expands our understanding of music - the roles it plays in our lives, the motivations of musicians, how music genres evolve and mutate, etc - and enriches our enjoyment. But the class is also intended to be a celebration of great writing and deep thinking as a worthwhile and rewarding pursuit for writer and reader alike.