COURSE SYLLABUS

Summer 2012
MUH 2930

The History of Rock and Roll

Course Credit Hours: 3

Instructor:

Dr. Joseph T. Spaniola

Office:
Building 82, Room 211
Phone:
(850) 857-6296
E-mail:
jspaniola@uwf.edu
Office Hours: Almost all contact for this online course will take place via e-mail. As a result,
there will be no set office hours. Direct your questions to the e-mail address listed above.
Prerequisites or Co-Requisites: None
Course Description: This course will explore the way in which rock music develops and
changes as a general musical genre, and as a force in popular culture during the 1950s, 60s and
70s. The music of these periods is juxtaposed with its respective social, political and cultural
issues. Pertinent developments in technology and music business will also be examined.
Listening to music of these periods is a major component of the course. Fundamental elements
of musical form, structure and instrumentation are explored in a manner accessible to an
individual with no musical background.
MUH 2930 The History of Rock and Roll is designated as a General Studies course. The
General Studies curriculum at the University of West Florida is designed to provide a cohesive
program of study that promotes the development of a broadly educated person and provides the
knowledge and skills needed to succeed in university studies. This course has been approved as
meeting the requirement in the Humanities: Fine Arts area. The General Studies learning
outcomes for this course are Diversity and Self-Regulation.
If you are interested in a career in Music you should contact the Department of Music at 850474-2181. If you are undecided about your career field you should contact Career Services at
850-474-2254 and/or your academic advisor.
Course Goals:

Understand the historical elements that helped give birth and aided in the evolution of
rock music (employing a broad definition of rock)
Heightened awareness of music as a reflection of the time in which it was created. That
is to say, music can be a valuable tool toward understanding social, political, cultural, and
generational diversity
Heightened appreciation of a wide variety of musical styles
Basic understanding of the form and structure of musical works

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Development of musical listening skills so as to discern what instruments are playing

Student Learning Objectives:

1. Describe style characteristics of Rock and characteristics of its various genres
2. Identify specific artists with their appropriate genre(s)
3. Attribute specific songs and/or recordings to the proper performing artist/group, songwriter(s),
record label and/or producer(s)
4. Place rock genres in their appropriate decades
5. Evaluate the connections between societal, political, economic issues (and the like), and the
rise and evolution of rock
6. Identify prominent music executives and/or managers and describe the reason for their
prominence
7. Describe changes in the way music business was conducted and explain the impact of the
change
8. Describe technological developments and explain their impact on the music business
9. Recognize and explain basic forms of musical organization or structure
10. Define basic musical terms
11. Recognize and identify some basic musical instruments
12. Articulate and execute specific procedural directions
About this Course: This course is delivered completely online. You must have consistent
access to the Internet.
Learning at a distance may be a very different environment for many of you. You will generally
set your own schedules, participate in class activities at your convenience, and work at your own
pace. You may spend some additional time online during the first few weeks while you become
acclimated to the online class format and you may feel overwhelmed. You should also be
prepared to spend approximately 6 - 8 hours per week online completing lessons, activities, and
taking quizzes. Finally, you may want to incorporate these tips to help you get started:

The reading assignments are critical to understanding course concepts. Do not get
behind.
Set a schedule for yourself -- check the course web site early in the class week to see
what tasks you'll need to work on for the week.
Become very familiar with the site and how to use it. It is a tool to help you learn!
Online presentations (videos and narrated powerpoints) contain a significant amount of
information that is not found in your reading, information that will be covered on quizzes.
The amount of time you spend on each online presentation will be monitored, and the
results will count toward the participation portion of your final grade.
Team up with your classmates to discuss class assignments and questions you might
have. Check the Classlist link for biography info and email addresses.
Ask questions when you need answers. If you have problems, contact your instructor as
soon as possible! I will help you come up with a solution!

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Topics Covered:
1. Guidelines for studying rock music.
2. Cultural overview of the 1950s
3. The beginnings of rock and roll
4. Typical formal types in American Popular Music
5. Listening to all of the instruments in the rock sonic picture
6. Corporate Music catches up to the market
7. Cultural overview of the 1960s
8. The Beatles and the British Invasion
9. American Responses
10. Motown and Southern Soul
11. Psychedelia
12. Cultural overview of the 1970s
13. The growing rock monster
14. Black pop and the rise of disco
15. Mainstream Rock, Punk, and New Wave
Required Text: Covach, John, Whats That Sound? An Introduction to Rock and its History.
New York, W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. Second Edition (Not first or third Editions.
The course text is available in hardcopy or in two Ebook formats, a downloadable version
and an online version. The Ebook formats are less expensive than the hardcopy. All formats
contain the same information, so there is no preferred format.
The text is available at the UWF Bookstore as well as other book sellers.
The Ebook, downloadable version ($52.49) is available online at:
http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail.aspx?ID=18786 This ebook is Flash based and will
not work on the iPad, iPhone, or some Android devices.
The Ebook, online version (180 day access for $26.25, or 360 day access for $39.38) is
available online at: http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail.aspx?ID=18785
NOTE: The first or third Editions contain some, but not all of the same information found in
the Second Edition. I strongly discourage using the first or third editions. If you do
decide to use the first or third editions, know that you are still responsible to know the
information that is presented in the second edition. Page references in all assignments will
be based on the second edition.
Required Online Music Service: grooveshark.com (http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/ )
grooveshark.com is a free, online community that has music, video, and blogs. Your required
listening can be found on this site (any exceptions will be clearly noted). Playlists for each of
your listening assignments have already been established for you. For any songs not found on
this site, you will be provided with links to other specific sites. As a result, you will have free
access to all of the required listening for this course.

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Required Materials:
Access to a computer with audio capability
Internet access
E-mail account
Grading/Evaluation:
Participation:
Listening Journal:
Quizzes:

10%
30%
60%

For Quizzes:

You must take these examinations during specified windows of time. These dates and
times are clearly listed on your e-learning course pages.
You must use Respondus Lockdown Browser to take all quizzes.
Once you start a quiz, you have a limited amount of time to finish. You cannot start and
stop, e.g. once you start Quiz #1, you have 40 minutes to complete it.
No one will be allowed to take a quiz after the posted window of time has passed, e.g. if
the end of a quiz window is 10:00 PM on a Sunday, starting at 10:01 PM, you will no
longer have access to the exam.
If you miss a quiz window, you will receive a Zero for that exam

Grading Scale:
A
AB+
B
BC+

94 -100
90 93
87 89
83 86
80 82
77 79

C
CD+
D
DF

73 76
70 72
67 69
63 -66
60 62
0 -59

Special Technology Utilized by Students: This course is totally online. All instructional content
and interaction takes place over the WWW. In addition to baseline word processing skills and
sending/receiving email with attachments, students will be expected to search the internet and
upload/download files. In addition, students may need one or more of the following plug-ins:

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Microsoft Word
PowerPoint Viewer
Windows Media Player
Quicktime Player
Real Player

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Macromedia Flash Player

Assistance for Students with Special Needs:

Students with special needs who require specific accommodations for examinations or other
course activities should contact the Student Disability Resource Center, Building 19, Room
100D, sdrc@uwf.edu (850) 474-2384. DSS will provide the student with a letter for the
instructor that will specify recommended accommodations for individual students.
Expectations for Academic Conduct/Plagiarism Policy:
Honesty in our academic work is vital, and we will not knowingly act in ways which erode that
integrity. Accordingly, we pledge not to cheat, nor to tolerate cheating, nor to plagiarize the work
of others (UWF Student Life Handbook). Academic dishonesty is a serious offense and will be
taken seriously. Please refer to the UWF Student Life Handbook for a list of behaviors that fall
under the definition of academic misconduct. The handbook also outlines the penalties for
academic misconduct and the due process procedures that must be followed.
Academic Conduct Policy: (Web Format) | (PDF Format) | (RTF Format)
Plagiarism Policy: (Word Format) | (PDF Format) | (RTF Format)
Student Handbook: (PDF Format)