Midterm Creative Project Assignment

 

Instructions: Choose one of the topics below. Your task is to research the musical politics associated with this topic and put together a creative project that presents those issues clearly and analyzes them thoroughly. Your project will take shape as a page you create on our conference’s website: http://blogs.reed.edu/hist311-fall2016/ , which you will share with your colleagues in a 15 minute presentation. Please feel free to be adventurous and creative! And if you have any questions along the way, don’t hesitate to ask me, in person or by email ( goldmanl@reed.edu ).

How to Create and Post Your Page: In the menu at the top of the WordPress site, go to the “New” menu and select “Page.” On the next screen, enter a title and your content. When you’re done, on the right side of the page, select “Publish”. (If you want to change anything later, you can always come back to this page and click “edit” at the bottom.) Then, return to the main page of the WordPress site. From the menus at the top, select “Customize,” which will generate a list of things on the left side of the screen. Select “Menus,” then “Main Menu.” Drag your page from its spot at the bottom of the list up to just below “Midterm Projects.” Make sure to indent it, so it will appear under this tab on the main page. Select “Save and Publish.” You did it!

 

 Dates for Presentations: When you choose a topic, choose a date, as well.

Oct. 10: Vasiliki                        

Oct. 12: Willow                        

Oct. 24: Ray

Oct. 26: Will

Oct. 31: Rachel

 

Topics

  1. Igor Stravinsky’s ballet, The Rite of Spring
  1. The Stalinist movie musical Volga, Volga (WILLOW)
  1. Benjamin Britten’s oratorio, War Requiem
  1. American jazz performers in Europe in the 1900s-1920s (Josephine Baker is a good place to start)
  1. Cold War pop songs (for example, Nena’s “99 Luftballoons,” Sting’s “I Hope the Russians Love Their Children, Too,” etc.) (WILL)
  1. Turkish singer (and drag queen) Zeki Müren (RACHEL)
  1. George Harrison and Ravi Shankar’s Concert for Bangladesh
  1. Ludwig van Beethoven’s music in German history (VASILIKI)
  1. Late Soviet avant-garde composers (may include: Edison Denisov, Alfred Schnittke, Arvo Paert, Sofia Gubaidulina, and others) (RAY)
  1. Socialist choruses in Western Europe before WWII