Examination arrangement

Course content

Music is all around us in our everyday lives, in our headphones, in advertisements, in movies and in shops and restaurants. It can give joy and a sense of meaning and can be used as self-therapy but can also manipulate and irritate and be used in different negative ways. The course addresses how music can stir emotions, and what impact music may have on identity, both in the shaping of identity and as an expression of identity, both individually and in groups. You will learn about when music can have a beneficial health effect and when it can be damaging to wellbeing. Based on contemporary interdisciplinary research, the course will address questions such as: How does listening to music on the headphones all day affect our concentration? Is it good or bad to listen to music while studying or while driving a car? How does music in advertisements affect us? The content of the course is mainly based on theories and research in music psychology and music sociology. The course is interactive, containing both theory and practical exercises, as well as experiments with music listening, reading, discussions and self-reflection. After the course, you will as a student have become more aware of the different functions that music has in society and what it does to us as human beings.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

A candidate who successfully completes MUSV3142 will

• Understand how music can affect human beings emotionally, socially and from an identity perspective.
• Have knowledge on how music’s role in human beings’ lives is viewed from different theoretical perspectives.
• Have acquired a deepened understanding of their own relationship to music.

Skills:

A candidate who successfully completes MUSV3142 can:

• Theoretically explain and discuss how and why music affects human beings from different interdisciplinary perspectives.
• Use music consciously to reach specific emotional moods and states, for themselves and others.
• Consciously evaluate music in public spaces.
• Present their own thoughts and views in current debates, in a coherent and convincing form both orally and in writing.

Learning methods and activities

The course consists of lectures and seminars with compulsory attendance (at least 80%), active participation, completion of continuous writing assignments and group assignments for reflection and in-depth study.

It is expected that the students are well prepared and ready to engage in discussions during lectures and seminars.

Compulsory assignments

• Attendance at lectures and seminars (at least 80%)
• Writing of reflections and reading and commenting on each other’s reflections
• Participate in group work in small and large groups between lectures

Further on evaluation

Assessment consists of:

1) one semester essay (6-8 pages, font size 12, line spacing 1.5)

2) contributions to a group reflection journal (3-4 pages, font size 12, line spacing 1.5)

3) an observation report from a community music event such as a choir/band rehearsal or a performance/concert (2-3 pages, font size 12, line spacing 1.5)

If the course is not passed, the student must only retake the part of the assessment that was not passed. If the candidate takes a new exam, it is not necessary to take the compulsory assignments again.

Specific conditions