Women in contemporary pop music – Pop singers and 21st-century feminism

Reading: Camille Paglia, “Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Hollywood Are Ruining Women,” Hollywoodreporter.com, 6 December 2012: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/taylor-swift-katy-perry-hollywood-398095
Ramin Setoodeh, “Taylor Swift Dishes on Her New Album ‘Red,’ Dating, Heartbreak, and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’,” Dailybeast.com, 22 October 2012: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/22/taylor-swift-dishes-on-her-new-album-red-dating-heartbreak-and-grey-s-anatomy.html

Viewing: Katy Perry accepting Billboard’s “Woman of the Year” award in 2012: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/473884/katy-perrys-woman-of-the-year-acceptance-speech-video#/news/katy-perry-s-woman-of-the-year-acceptance-1008036452.story

Listening: Taylor Swift, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
Katy Perry, “I Kissed a Girl”

Tasks:

• Respond to Camille Paglia on Katy Perry and Taylor Swift [critical writing]

Women in art music today – Living women composers

Reading: Kristin Kuster, “Taking Off My Pants,” New York Times “Opinionator” blog, 17 July 2013: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/17/taking-off-my-pants/?_r=0
Amy Beth Kirsten, “The ‘Woman Composer’ Is Dead,” Newmusicbox.org, 19 March 2012: http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/the-woman-composer-is-dead/

Listening: TBD [Class selections of music by living women composers]

Tasks:

• Living women composers: examples [participation]

Gender in Heavy Metal and Rap – Misogyny in Music Video

Reading: Excerpts from Walser, Running with the Devil: Gender and Power in Heavy Metal Music and Weitzer/Kubrin, “Misogyny in Rap Music : A Content Analysis of Prevalence and Meanings”

Viewing: Watch a selection of the videos linked on Blackboard

Listening: Kanye, “Gold Digger”
Queen Latifah, “Ladies First”

Tasks:

• Gender in heavy metal or rap [critical writing]

Women and Rock and Roll – Fans and Groupies

Reading: Maura Johnson, “How Not to Write About Female Musicians: A Handy Guide” Village Voice blog, 10 Feburary 2012 (http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2012/02/sexism_women_in_rock_female_musicians.php)
Mavis Bayton, “Women and the Electric Guitar”

Listening: TBD

Tasks:

• Respond to Camille Paglia on Katy Perry and Taylor Swift [critical writing]
• Living women composers: examples [participation]
• Gender in heavy metal or rap [critical writing]
• How not to write about female musicians: examples [participation]
• Response paper to “Free to Be You and Me” [critical writing]
• Blueswomen: other views [research]
• Blackboard engagement [participation]
• Dressing for success (or failure!) [participation]
• Suffrage song analyses [critical writing]
• Chorus girls [research]

Pop Music and Second-Wave Feminism – Interpreting Pop Music

Reading: Gillian Gaar, Excerpt from “Hear Me Roar” in She’s a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll
Dan Kois, “Free to Be,” Slate, 22 October 2012 (http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/doublex/features/2012/free_to_be_you_and_me_40th_anniversary_how_did_a_kids_album_about_gender/free_to_be_you_and_me_40th_anniversary_how_did_a_kids_album_by_a_bunch_of.html)

Listening: Lesley Gore “You Don’t Own Me”
Aretha Franklin, “Respect”
Helen Reddy, “I Am Woman”
Loretta Lynn, “The Pill”
Excerpts from Marlo Thomas and Friends, Free to Be You and Me

• Response paper to “Free to Be You and Me” [critical writing]

4/1 – Women in Blues and Jazz – Black feminist criticism

Reading: Hazel Carby, “‘It Jus’ Be’s Dat Way Sometime’: The Sexual Politics of Women’s Blues”

Listening: Clara Smith, “Freight Train Blues”
Bessie Smith, “In House Blues”
Ma Rainey, “Sweet Rough Man”
Ethel Waters, “No Man’ Mama Now”
Ida Cox, “One Hour Mama”

• Blueswomen: other views [research]

Women’s Fashion and Musical Performance

Reading: Noola Griffiths, study description and discussion from “‘Posh music should equal posh dress’: an investigation into the concert dress and physical appearance of female soloists”

Listening: None

Tasks:

• Dressing for success (or failure!) [participation]