Course Information
Location
This is a self-paced online course where you will independently complete online activities, as provided in this course.
Instructor Contact Information
E-mail: | keegan.mc@unb.ca |
Phone (optional): | n/a |
Office hours: | I am available to meet students on weekdays between 9am and 5pm AST. Please e-mail me in advance to book a meeting slot and receive your link to the virtual meeting session. |
Typical e-mail response time: | I will respond to emails within three business days. I am often able to respond faster than this, but if it is an especially busy time of the semester it may take me the full three days. |
Typical time to receive feedback and grades: | I will return your assignments with grades and feedback within seven business days. |
Course Objectives
In this course, we analyze a variety of musical practices from around Atlantic Canada to better understand the traditions that make up “East Coast Music”.
To do so, we combine a rigourous focus on written scholarly publications with the broad-based knowledge available online through multimedia resources. In other words, we will read academic sources, but we will also spend much of our time listening to music, watching videos and interviews, and engaging with short documentaries about music in the Maritimes, Newfoundland and Labrador, les îles-de-la-Madeleine, and Québec’s Gaspé Peninsula.
You can think about each module as containing one (or more than one) case study. While there are unifying themes that connect some of the musical practices we cover in this course, many are also quite different from each other. That is ok! You are not expected to come up with an overarching theory of “East Coast music” in this class, but are instead encouraged to make note of both common elements and differences between practices as they arise. Do pay attention to similar social processes, musical elements, economic histories, gendered performances, or experiences of settler colonialism, but remember that each one of these traditions represents a distinct musical culture that cannot always be theorized together in a collective way.
We have three goals in this course:
- Develop a deeper and more critical understanding of East Coast musical practices that you might already be familiar with.
- Gain a broader familiarity with musics of Atlantic Canada that you may not have heard before or know anything about.
- Develop your own critical insights about how “East Coast Music” is conceived. For example: Which musics are included in that definition (and which are excluded)? Who is encouraged or allowed to participate in these musical practices? How are musics put to use for social or political goals? What constitutes “folk music” in the first place?
MUS3793 will challenge many powerful assumptions about music in Atlantic Canada. This will make it a difficult scholarly endeavour, but hopefully it will also be very fun and informative. It is a music course, after all, and we spend a great deal of time actually listening to the traditions we are critically engaging with. I expect a lot from you, but I am also here to help with whatever you may need during your time in this course. Do not hesitate to get in touch with me if you are struggling with the material, if you have questions about the course or assignments, or just want to talk about music with me. I always have time to help.
Happy listening!
Prerequisites and Technical Skills
There are no prerequisites for this course.
Technology
You will need access to the following hardware:
Laptop/Desktop
Headphones or external speakers are very much preferred, although not necessary.
You will need access to the following software:
An internet browser (preferably Chrome)
Microsoft Word
A PDF reader (Preview, Adobe, etc.)
You will need to make a free Spotify account to access some of our listening materials.
Please note that instructions on how to download/access these programs will be provided during the relevant course session. Students are expected to read, understand, and abide by all privacy policies and terms of use for all technology used in the course.
Course Resources
Required Resources
All required readings will be available in PDF form through the UNB Library system. All other assigned resources (audio, visual, blog posts, interviews, etc.) will be available through external links to websites like Spotify and YouTube.
Assessments
There are five assignments in this course. While the Module Responses and Final Test are standalone assignments, the Bibliography, Performance Analysis, and Final Presentation are designed to build on each other. You will choose a topic related to music in Atlantic Canada (genre of music, a performer, a theme, a social trend, etc.) that you are ideally interested in researching for the length of your time in this course. You will begin by putting together a brief Annotated Bibliography on this subject, which will then be used to inform your Midpoint Performance Analysis. You will then use these two elements as the basis for your Final Presentation Assignment, which will be a lengthier critical analysis of your chosen musical subject. Note that sticking with one topic is not mandatory, however. You are perfectly welcome to change your focus for some or all of the assignments. Just keep in mind that doing so may create more work for yourself.
Please submit all assignments through D2L. Do not email them to me. I will not consider an assignment to be submitted unless I can see it in D2L. If you find you are having tech issues, please inform me promptly.
Assessments | Description | Weight (out of 100%) |
Module Responses | After completing the materials for each module, submit a roughly 300 word response to me on the subject matter we have covered in that particular module. You can take several approaches to this. Maybe one aspect of a reading, listening, or viewing stood out to you. Write about this aspect in the context of the larger tradition we are learning about. Or, discuss themes that are common among several articles for this week. Whatever the case, please write this in formal academic style and include specific references to timestamps and pages of readings whenever possible. More details available through D2L. | 10% |
Annotated Bibliography | You will choose a subject that is of interest to you and submit a bibliography of five scholarly sources, with annotations, on this subject. Begin with a 150-250 word introductory description of your chosen subject. Then, write out five bibliographic entries using whatever reference format you prefer. Give each entry an approximately 150 word description of its thesis, scope, what it does well, as well as any gaps you may find in the publication. More details available through D2L. | 15% |
Midpoint Performance Analysis | Find a video (or a series of videos if necessary) of a live performance that fits within your chosen subject for the Annotated Bibliography. Better yet, go see a live performance yourself, if you are able to. This performance will also become the case study for your Final Presentation Assignment. Write a brief essay of 750-1000 words that describes the performance (sonically and socially) and connects it to the readings found in your Annotated Bibliography and/or our other course materials. More details available through D2L. | 15% |
Final Presentation Assignment | This is essentially a longer essay, but in the form of a 20 minute presentation you will record of yourself. Using the sources from your Annotated Bibliography and the performance from your Midterm Analysis as a case study, write and record a presentation that connects your chosen subject in detail to the critical themes we have covered in the course. There are a variety of ways to do this. More details available through D2L. | 30% |
Open Book Final Test | This is an open book test that will become available after you have completed all other course materials. You will respond to two short essay prompts that are based on themes we have covered in the course. Your response to each prompt must be at least 750 words, but you will likely need more space to provide a full answer. Upon beginning the Final Test unit, you will have three days to complete the assignment before it closes. More details available through D2L. | 30% |
Grading
Final grades will be reported as follows.
Letter Grade | Percentage Grade Range | Grade Points | Criteria |
A+ | 4.3 | Excellent performance | |
A | 4.0 | Excellent performance | |
A- | 3.7 | Excellent performance | |
B+ | 3.3 | Good performance | |
B | 3.0 | Good performance | |
B- | 2.7 | Good performance | |
C+ | 2.3 | Satisfactory performance | |
C | 2.0 | Satisfactory performance | |
D | 1.0 | Less-Than-Satisfactory performance | |
F | 0.0 | Failure | |
WF | 0.0 | Failure |
The grade for an assignment will be determined based on the rubric provided in the relevant assignment guide, provided in the course.
Study Plan
Each module consists of two or three scholarly readings and a variety of assigned media. You are expected to read, watch, listen to, and take notes on all materials in the assigned Scholarship and Media sections for each module. Recorded lectures and assignments will draw elements from these two sections.
I have suggested you spend one week completing each module, including the assignment modules which have their own dedicated units (in other words, there is no other work expected from you while you are completing your assignments). It is not mandatory to follow this schedule, but it may help you organize your time since there are fourteen modules, one for each week in a typical semester (including the exam period). This way, you should have plenty of time for each assignment when you arrive at its module. However, I have made the syllabus (with assigned readings, listenings, and viewings), and assignment descriptions available to you from the beginning of the course, so that you can begin thinking about each assignment whenever you feel ready. Preparing for each of your assignments in advance will let you revisit ideas multiple times, something that will no doubt help you in putting together the critical insights I expect from you in this course. This is particularly important for your final presentation assignment, which will require quite a bit of forethought and planning.
Module # (Suggested time to complete) | Module Topic Title Activities | Scholarship | Media | What’s Due? |
N/A | Start Here | n/a | n/a | Introduce Yourself |
Module 1 (1 week) | The Folk Concept | McKay, Ian. 1994. “The Idea of the Folk.” In The Quest of the Folk: Antimodernism and Cultural Selection in Twentieth Century Nova Scotia, 3-42. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press. | Stan Rogers – “Barrett’s Privateers” The Rankin Family – “Fisherman’s Son” Don Messer’s JubileeAnne Murray – “Black Rum and Blueberry Pie”Rum Ragged – “The Thing About Fish” | Module 1 Response |
Module 2 (1 week) | New Brunswick (Miramichi) Folksongs | Toner, Peter. 2008. “Nine Sites for the Study of Irish-New Brunswick Folk Music: Some Theoretical and Methodological Considerations.” In Post-Colonial Distances: The Study of Popular Music in Canada and Australia, edited by Bev Diamond, Denis Crowdy, and Daniel Downes, 11-45. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Ives, Edward D. 1988. “Oral and Written Tradition: A Micro-View from Miramichi.” Acadiensis 18(1): 148-56. | Grid City article on Mike BravenerMike Bravener – “Peter Emberley”Marie Hare, Queen of the Miramichi Folksong FestivalFrankie McKibbon – “Lumberman’s Alphabet”Wilmot MacDonald – “Peter Emberley” | Module 2 Response |
Module 3 (1 week) | Maggie Paul and Jeremy Dutcher | von Rosen, Franziska. 2009. “Drums, Songs, Vibrations: Conversations with a Passamaquoddy Traditional Singer.” In Music of the First Nations: Tradition and Innovation in Native North America, edited by Tara Browner, 54-66. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.Woloshyn, Alexa. 2020. “Reclaiming the ‘Contemporary’ in Indigeneity: The Musical Practices of Cris Derksen and Jeremy Dutcher.” Contemporary Music Review 39(2): 206-30.Robinson, Dylan. 2000. “Ethnographic Redress, Compositional Responsibility.” In Hungry Listening: Resonant Theory for Indigenous Sound Studies, 149-200. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. | Maggie Paul – “Let’s All Sing” and “Singing Our Songs”“This is her story as much as it’s my story”Jeremy Dutcher – “Essuwonike” [“Let’s Trade”]Jeremy Dutcher – Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa and Motewolonuwok | Module 3 Response |
Module 4 (1 week) | Assignment: Annotated Bibliography | n/a | n/a | Annotated Bibliography |
Module 5 (1 week) | Acadian Music and Identity I | Boudreau, J. Paul, and Irene Gammel. 1998. “Linguistic Schizophrenia: The Poetics of Acadian Identity Construction.” Journal of Canadian Studies 32(4): 52-68.Forsyth, Meghan. 2013. “Staging La Francophonie: Tradition, Tourism, and Acadian Musical Spaces on Prince Edward Island.” MUSICultures 40(2): 65-93.Forsyth, Meghan. 2012. “Performing Acadie: Marketing Pan-Acadian Identity in the Music of Vishtèn.” Journal of the Society for American Music 6(3): 349-75. | Cayouche – “Export A”Lisa LeBlanc – “Lobster Pet” and “Aujoud’hui, ma vie c’est d’la marde”Vishtèn – “Trois Blizzards” | Module 5 Response |
Module 6 (1 week) | Acadian Music and Identity II | Forsyth, Meghan. 2019. “Improvising on the Margins: Tradition and Musical Agency in les Îles-de-la-Madeleine.” In Contemporary Musical Expressions in Canada, edited by Anna Hoefnagels, Judith Klassen, and Sherry Johnson, 145-76. Montreal, Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.Patterson, Glenn, and Laura Risk. 2014. “Digitization, Recirculation and Reciprocity: Proactive Archiving for Community and Memory on the Gaspé Coast and Beyond.” MUSICultures 41(2): 102-32. | Vishtèn Oral HistoryVishtèn PerformanceErskine Morris: Old Time Fiddle Music from the Gaspé Coast | Module 6 Response |
Module 7 (1 week) | Assignment: Midpoint Performance Analysis | n/a | n/a | Midpoint Performance Analysis |
Module 8 (1 week) | Cape Breton Fiddle | Feintuch, Burt. 2004. “The Conditions for Cape Breton Fiddle Music: The Social and Economic Setting of a Regional Soundscape.” Ethnomusicology 48(1): 73-104.Alexander, Kathryn. 2016. “Cape Breton Girl: Performing Cape Breton at Home and Away with Natalie MacMaster.” MUSICultures 43(1): 89-111.Hennessy, Jeff. 2008. “Fiddle Pop: Cape Breton Fiddle Music in Popular Culture.” In “Fiddle Grooves: Identity, Representation, and the Sound of Cape Breton Fiddle Music in Popular Culture.” PhD dissertation, University of Toronto. | Shelley Campbell – Cape Breton Fiddle StyleLee Cremo – “Ko’jua”Morgan Toney – “Ko’jua”Natalie MacMaster, accompanied by Mac MorinAshley MacIsaac on Rita and Friends | Module 8 Response |
Module 9 (1 week) | Traditional Music in Contemporary Newfoundland | Tulk, Janice Esther. 2007. “Cultural Revitalization and Mi’kmaq Music-Making: Three Newfoundland Drum Groups.” Newfoundland Studies 22(1): 259-85.Everett, Holly. 2016. “Do You Play Newfoundland Music? Tracking Traditional Music in the Tourist Imaginary.” MUSICultures 43(1): 112-31. | Great Big Sea – “The Night Pat Murphy Died” The Dardanelles – “Polly Moore”CBC NL interview with Chief Mi’sel JoeTravel Documentary about Miawpukek. | Module 9 Response |
Module 10 (1 week) | Assignment: Final Presentation | n/a | n/a | Final Presentation Assignment |
Module 11 (1 week) | Moravian Music in Labrador | Gordon, Tom. 2023. Called Upstairs: Moravian Inuit Music in Labrador. Preface, Chapter 1, and Chapter 7. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press. | Called Upstairs companion website. | Module 8 Response |
Module 12 (1 week) | European Art Music in Atlantic Canada | Keillor, Elaine. 2008. Music in Canada: Capturing Landscape and Diversity. Chapters 3 and 4. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.Elliott, Robin. 1988. “Canadian Music.” Queen’s Quarterly 96(1): 110-6. | Kelsey Jones – “Miramichi Ballad”Alan Mills – “The Jones Boys”Wilmot MacDonald – “Peter Emberley”Mike Bravener – “The Lumberman’s Alphabet” | Module 9 Response |
Module 13 (1 week) | East Coast Popular Music | Hennessy, Jeffrey J. 2015. “Deterritorialization and Reterritorialization in Atlantic Canadian Popular Music.” MUSICultures 42(1): 66-88.Rosenberg, Neil V. 1988. “Ethnicity and Class: Black Country Musicians in the Maritimes.” Journal of Canadian Studies 23(1-2): 138-56. | Stan Rogers – “Barrett’s Privateers” The Rankin Family – “Fisherman’s Son” Anne Murray – “Black Rum and Blueberry Pie”Rum Ragged – “The Thing About Fish” | Module 10 Response |
Module 14 (1 week) | Open Book Final Test | n/a | n/a | Open Book Final Test |
Academic Integrity
For information on Academic Integrity, please go to the following UNB websites.
Undergraduate:
Graduate Studies:
It is the student’s responsibility to know the regulations.
Unethical Practices
The following behaviours are considered unethical:
- Telling an instructor that you ‘need’ a certain grade.
- Asking for extra assignment(s) for the purpose of raising your grade.
- Asking your grade to be raised because it is very close to the next higher grade.
- Asking a grade to be raised because you did very well on one part of the course or grading scheme.
- Asking for a higher grade because you did not like the grading scheme.
- Asking to be allowed to turn in an assignment late – even a few minutes late – because of computer or printer problems, or any other reason.
- Asking to be treated better than other students by making an exception to the rules.
- Asking for any other unfair advantage in grading.
- Writing module responses together with other students in the course.
- Writing assignments and the final test together with other students in the course.
- Using ChatGPT, Bard, or other Artificial Intelligence applications to write your assignments for you.
Student Support
UNB provides many resources to help and inform students. Please visit the Contact Us section of this course for more information.