MUSIC IN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE: APPRECIATING MUSIC TODAY - 2025/6

Module Overview

This is an innovative module offered to students of all disciplines across the University of Surrey, regardless of prior musical experience, which explores multiple aspects of music in contemporary culture. Through an overview of contemporary issues and academic approaches to the appreciation of today¿s music, you will consider the relationship between music, culture, and society, emphasising critical listening, cultural context, and music¿s relationships with other disciplines. Case studies will be drawn from areas including popular music, film and television music, musical theatre, experimental music, classical music, and opera, together with the intersections and crossovers between these genres.

This module will equip you with a sophisticated understanding of the academic approaches to music and contemporary culture which will inform and illuminate your work in other disciplines. It will be delivered primarily through lectures (incorporating class discussion) by specialist staff from the Department of Music and Media, supplemented by guest talks from industry professionals and trips to relevant musical events.

Module provider

Music & Media

Module Leader

WILEY Christopher (Music & Med)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 5

Module cap (Maximum number of students): 30

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None (for the Performance and Composition assessment options, students will be expected to have attained a level equivalent to FHEQ Level 5 through private study)

Module content

This module examines music, its appreciation, and its place within contemporary culture from a range of perspectives, each considered through one or more case studies. It embraces forms including popular music, film and television music, musical theatre, experimental music, classical music, and opera.

Possible areas explored crystallise around three areas ¿ music in popular culture, the future of classical music, and the mediation of technology ¿ and indicatively include the following: Contemporary musical theatre on the West End and Broadway; The popular music industry today; Concepts in film and television music; Reworkings, remixes, and mashups; The status, legacy and future directions of classical music; Current and future trends in opera; From page to stage: Music performance studies in the 21st century; Data sonification and musical codification; The enduring prevalence of early recording technologies; Creative music technology.

By taking this module, you will discover new perspectives and garner a fresh appreciation for the place of music in contemporary culture, as well as its historical development and possible future trajectories. The module will also include at least one guest talk from an industry professional or trip to a relevant musical event.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

None

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the issues surrounding the appreciation of a range of music in contemporary culture, and scholarly approaches associated with its study, through engagement with selected music within its cultural, historical, and academic contexts.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

A patchwork text of maximum length 1500 words, comprising c.300-word critical summaries of any four of the lectures plus a concluding section, with bibliography (addresses ILOs 1¿5)

An elective coursework; students choose one of the following: essay with a maximum length of 1500 words plus bibliography; video essay (10 minutes); audio podcast (10 minutes); music performance (5 minutes); music composition (5 minutes) (addresses ILOs 1¿5)

Formative assessment

A plan and (if applicable) bibliography.

Feedback

Detailed written feedback will be provided within three semester weeks, following submission, for the summative assessment.

Formative feedback will be given to students during class discussions as well as during individual tutorials on coursework plans.

Module aims

• Introduce a range of different music, contexts, and approaches to its academic appreciation, with reference to appropriate theoretical concepts
• Broaden and develop academic understanding of music in contemporary culture
• Explore the interdisciplinary nature of music and its connections to other art forms and disciplines
• Strengthen students¿ ability to undertake independent research, including the use of both physical and digital resources
• Improve written (and optionally oral) communication skills in the discussion of contemporary music and musical developments at a level suitable for HE

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

Develop awareness of some of the intellectual means by which the academic appreciation of music in contemporary culture is sought and achieved, and develop the ability to employ some of these means to inform discussion of different types of, and approaches to, music as performed, composed, and consumed. This will involve directed reading and listening, class discussion, and the formation of critical responses to secondary literature and lecture content in the coursework. The strategy will also reinforce techniques and styles of academic writing and critical thinking introduced in the FHEQ Levels 4 and 5 that are critical to success in FHEQ Levels 5 and 6.

The learning and teaching methods include:

¿ Lectures, incorporating class discussions as appropriate
¿ Individual tutorials
¿ Guided reading/listening/viewing
¿ Use of SurreyLearn

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MUS2065

Other information

The Department of Music and Media is committed to developing graduates with attributes encompassing employability, digital skills, global and culture awareness, sustainability as it relates to music and the wider arts and, finally, resourcefulness and resilience. This module provides opportunities to engage with these attributes in myriad ways including: Cultural and global capabilities: developing an appreciation of different aspects of music in contemporary cultures and traditions internationally, encompassing a range of practices and different types of music as a cultural and global phenomenon. Digital capabilities: these may include conducting research using digital resources (text, score-based and audio), preparation of digital documents (e.g. word processing) and optionally specialist music software (e.g. notation software; applications used in the creation of music) to create digital artefacts. Resourcefulness and resilience: independence of research, developing skills and work for assessment, maximising available resources, finding creative ways to address assessments and exercising resilience in doing so, overcoming difficulties and other challenges in undertaking a wider range of pursuits. Sustainability: depending on the topics studied during the modules and the students¿ pursuit of independent study for assessment, issues of sustainability may also be addressed. Employability: developing a general awareness and appreciation of music in contemporary culture and society suited to many careers in the diverse arts industries, as well as transferable skills appropriate to all graduate destinations delivered through the guest talk or field trip. These values are embedded within the module's learning outcomes and educational aims, and throughout the University¿s programmes.

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.