Table of Contents

Inclusivity in Learning

Your success in this class is important to me. We will all need accommodations because we all learn differently. If there are aspects of this course that prevent you from learning or exclude you, please let me know as soon as possible. Together we’ll develop strategies to meet both your needs and the requirements of the course.

I encourage you to visit Disability Services to determine how you could improve your learning as well. If you need official accommodations, you have a right to have these met. If you have a documented learning disability or other condition that may affect academic performance you should: 1) make sure this documentation is on file with Disability Services (SUB I, Rm. 4205; 993-2474; http://ds.gmu.edu) to determine the accommodations you need; and 2) talk with me to discuss your accommodation needs.

Content Warning

This class will discuss a lot of popular music. Popular music often involves themes that can be offensive and/or upsetting to various groups of people—violence, sexism, racism, explicit language, overt sexuality, transphobia, fatphobia, etc. I recommend you be prepared to encounter these subjects at any point in the course content, as it would be difficult for me to promise to warn you each time something arises.

It can be instructive to feel uncomfortable in your learning to some degree, but at the same time, you can’t learn if you don’t feel safe.

If you have a particular concern along these lines, please let me know so we can work together on how best to deal with this.

Anyone should feel free to take a break from class at any point, and especially if you are feeling distressed to the point that you cannot learn.

Instructor Info

  • Name: Dr. Lavengood (she/her), pronounced “LAY-ven-good”
  • Email: mlavengo@gmu.edu
  • Phone/text: 703-993-6272 (this is a work number so don’t worry about intruding)
  • Office: deLaski Performing Arts Building (PAB) A-421
  • Communication: I will answer emails within 24 hours Monday–Sunday. I am also happy to use Teams to chat with you in a channel or one-on-one.

One-on-one appointments

  • You may drop in without an appointment during my office hours. Times TBD.
  • If you like, you can book time with me to let me know that you’ll be coming.
  • If you want to meet virtually instead of in-person, please book in advance so I know to be online.
  • If you are not available during my office hours, email me to schedule a special appointment time.

Course Information

Meetings

  • Time: Wednesday evenings, 7:20–10 PM
  • Location: Online via Teams

Goals

  1. Introduction to the academic subfield of organology as broadly construed in the 21st century
  2. Development of several crucial skills for the professional musician:
    • analysis skills through your assignments
    • writing skills through your weekly responses
    • presentation skills through your in-class presentations
  3. Exposure to new types of music from myself and your peers

Organization and Modality

  • This course is online and synchronous.
  • This course is run as a discussion-based seminar. There will not be substantial lecturing from me. Instead, you will be expected to do the readings and contribute to a lively discussion in our meetings.
  • Microsoft Teams will be used for most functions of the class, including meetings, file sharing, grading, and so on.

MUSI 611

Course Materials

There is no required text. Materials will be accessible online or via the library.

Recommended (not required):

  • Teams (app)
  • Spotify (app)
  • An app for making black-and-white .pdf scans from your phone. I recommend ABBYY FineScanner, which has a free version suitable for our purposes. I have also used CamScanner.

Grading

Weighting

  • 10% – In-class participation. Because participation means different things to different people, participation will be self-evaluated at the end of the term. You will be asked to provide the grade you think you deserve and a brief explanation.
  • 10% – Attendance. This is a simple calculation based on whether or not you attended class. I do not distinguish between excused/unexcused absences. More information under policies below.
  • 20% – Weekly assignments. These are graded pass/fail.
  • 10% – Discussion leading.
  • 50% – Final project (15% presentation, 35% paper). Your final project will be an analysis of a piece of your choosing using one or more of the methodologies from our readings. More information will be provided.

Letter grades

Percentage/Points Letter Grade
93–100% A
90–92% A–
87–89% B+
83–86% B
80–82% B–
77–79% C+
73–76% C
70–72% C–

Assignment information

You will have work due on most Wednesdays and Sundays of the semester.

Due Wednesday, 12PM EST: Reading response

Each week, you will be assigned one or two readings to complete before our synchronous meetings on Wednesday evenings.

Due Sunday end of day: Written assignment

After our Wednesday discussion, you will have some type of written assignment to submit to me. This may be an analysis of a piece, a transcription, a simple listening journal, a summary of a reading, or some other kind of activity. You’ll submit this by uploading it to your folder in the General channel of teams: General > Files > homework submit > lastname.

These assignments are graded pass/fail. If you do the assignments on time and do a good job (or at least try to!), you will get a “pass.”

Discussion leading responsibilities

Students will sign up for one reading for which they will lead discussion. Most classes have two readings, which means that there may be two discussion leaders per class.

A discussion leader should:

  • Create a Spotify (ideal) or YouTube playlist of the music cited in the readings and post it to Teams by the Sunday before class
  • Clearly and concisely summarize the main argument of the text, to begin discussion. This should take up no more than five minutes of time. Everyone should have done the reading, so this is a reminder of the reading, not a full explanation. Try to identify:
    • Thesis statement
    • Repertoire discussed (artists, songs, albums, genres, etc.)
    • Analytical focus (harmony? form? culture? rhythm? etc.)
    • Connections to other readings we’ve done
    • A favorite sentence/paragraph and why you liked it
    • Important conclusions
  • Have a few discussion questions prepared
  • Interact with the guest expert (if there is one in attendance)

If you do each of these things satisfactorily, you will get an A. Please note that you are not lecturing or presenting on the reading. You are leading discussion, which means your primary goal is to get the class to discuss and participate.

Final project

Your final project is a scholarly essay on a project of your own choosing (e.g., an analysis of a piece of music or otherwise supporting a scholarly argument with evidence).

The final project has two components: a video and a final paper. More details are forthcoming.

Policies

Late work

I can be flexible with work that you do independently (e.g., Sunday written assignments), but as graduate students, I expect you to generally have good time management skills and to submit assignments on time. Late submissions should rarely occur, and if you cannot meet a deadline, I expect you to communicate with me in advance so that I know what to expect from you.

Work that involves your classmates (discussion, peer review, etc.) may not be submitted late unless arranged in advance with me and your classmates.

Attendance

Your attendance and contributions to discussion are what makes this course work. Therefore, I do track your attendance and consider it as part of your grade.

My philosophy in a nutshell is that you should be prioritizing your class attendance and absences should be only under the most extenuating of circumstances. You are adults that can make your own decisions about your priorities. Therefore I don’t consider, e.g., your participation in a concert to be an excused absence, but rather a choice you’re making to prioritize the concert over the class (a valid decision, but one that has consequences for this class).

I do record the classes, and you should probably watch the videos to keep up with the class if you miss it, but I don’t believe in creating extra work for us (for example, a written response to the video that I then have to read/asssess) to accommodate an absence.

If you are up against extenuating circumstances, e.g., sustained illness, death of a loved one, or another emergency, please communicate with me so we can figure out a fair way to move forward with the course.

Of course, I am happy to work with any documented accommodations.

Generative AI

Please be thoughtful if you choose to use AI tools. I understand that AI tools can aid your learning—for example, checking your grammar and suggesting better phrasing—but it should not be replacing your learning.

AI-produced text likely will not meet the standards of the course. And above all, as doctoral students, you should be working to become an expert on music and music studies, and writing yourself without using AI is an important part of that process.

If you use AI to generate text in a way that you believe is acceptable, you should indicate that clearly in your assignment submission; failure to do so constitutes a violation of academic integrity.

Common Course Policies

View the Common Policy Addendum

Community Agreements

Adopted by Mason School of Music faculty on August 17, 2022

I am committed to being respectful

I am committed to respecting the personhood of all community members across sociocultural identities, social status, and affiliation in the Dewberry School of Music, CVPA, and at Mason. This includes using community members’ preferred names and pronouns. I am committed to respecting others’ artistic professionalism with open and timely communication and input on decision-making whenever appropriate. This atmosphere of respect applies both in-person and across digital media platforms.

I am committed to being an active participant

I am committed to participating as actively as I can and will communicate when something is taking away my attention. I understand that active participation may look different for each community member and I trust that each member is showing up to the best of their capacity.

I am committed to using “I” statements and hearing “I” statements

I am committed to speaking from my own experience and feelings by using “I” statements rather than generalizing. (I think, I feel, I believe.) I am committed to practicing hearing the experiences of historically and institutionally marginalized community members individually. And seeing each community member as individuals who represent themselves and not the whole socio-cultural groups to which they belong.

I am committed to practicing empathy

I am committed to appreciating how others may be feeling and thinking. Practicing empathy also means considering how internal and external context, such as societal issues, affects how community members may show up.

I am committed to acknowledging intent, and addressing impact

Not all harm that is experienced comes from an intentionally harmful place, often bias-based harm is rooted in stereotypes and prejudice formed through socialization. This doesn’t mean that the harm feels any less hurtful. I am committed to acknowledging the harm intentional or unintentional, tending to the hurt person, and working to prevent future harm. I recognize that there is both burden and value in the contribution of community members with historically marginalized identities.

I am committed to acknowledging the liveliness of language

Language and the way we engage with language are contextual and constantly evolving. Our community includes individuals with various cultural identities, ethnic and racial identities, religions, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and intersecting backgrounds. Having sensitivity to language is essential in cultivating the conditions of inclusion for all community members. As an example, “guys” is often used in addressing groups of people however the phrase is not gender-neutral and may feel exclusionary to some non-binary members in our community (recommended replacements, folks, y’all, everyone).

I am committed to being okay with agreeing and disagreeing respectfully and challenging my assumptions

I am committed to the practice of separating the point of view or statement with which I disagree from the person when actively engaging in moments of disagreement. I am committed to the practice of calling in (suspending judgment without shame) instead of calling out (shaming). I will lead with curiosity, listen to understand, and ask for clarity. I recognize that meeting people where they are, requires each of us to do the internal work to challenge our assumptions and build self-awareness of our socialization that is connected to those assumptions.

I am committed to seeking harmony

While I will do my best to show up for and with other, I understand that there may be moments of disharmony. I am committed to self-reflection and concern for others and being an instrument of positive change. When moments of discord, dissent, or disagreement happen, I am committed to doing the individual internal work for the co-creation of peace.