Bob Marley and the Globalization of Jamaican Popular Music Assignment Prompts

The class presentations of research projects will take place on Dec 2, Dec 4, and Dec 9.  If you have not signed up for a specific panel/time, contact Jason immediately - you will be given a time.  Presentations are intended to give you the opportunity to share your work with your peers and to receive constructive feedback before the written portion of the project is due.  You are grouped into a "panel" of six or seven presentations; a question and answer session will occur after all panelists have presented. 

Guidelines

Give a brief summary of your project, explaining:

• how you have addressed issues of globalization
• what specific musical examples you have analyzed
• what questions guided your project
• how you have answered these questions (maybe in unexpected ways)

There is a strict 5 minute time limit for your presentation.

IMPORTANT:
If you plan on using AV examples during your presentation, contact Jason BEFORE the day of your presentation to discuss technical issues.  There will be very little time to problem solve during presentations.

The cornerstone of your experience in this course is a multi-stage, semester-long research project that culminates in a written document and class presentation.  Your project can take the form of your preference, such as a traditional research paper, an ethnographic study, or some other creative possibility.  There are three components to the project: proposal (due online by 8pm on Tuesday October 7), written document (due Thursday December 4), and class presentation (occurring during the weeks of December 1 and December 8).  The proposal is submitted through the course website and available for peer comments and suggestions.

Proposal Instructions:

Submit your project proposal at the Project Proposals link on the course website no later than 8pm on Tuesday Oct 7.  Your project proposal should include:

• 250-500 word narrative description of your project, outlining all its major components.
• A list of five theoretical questions central to your project.
• A succinct explanation of the role of globalization in your project.  Explain how you will draw upon the work of Arjun Appadurai and Stuart Hall.
• A (briefly annotated) bibliography, discography, and/or videography that will be used in your project

ENGAGING OTHER PROPOSALS:
As part of the proposal process, you are asked to post comment on at least three other proposals submitted by your peers.  Your comments must be posted no later than 8pm on Tuesday Oct 21.  Instructions will be posted at the Project proposals link on the course website.

Written Document:

REVISED DUE DATE - BY EMAIL - no later than 5pm Friday December 12

Your project should be approximately ten typed, double-spaced pages in length (or equivalent) and must include a works cited page.  You will be graded on depth of analysis, the use/engagement of specific musical examples, and the extent to which you engage themes and questions central to the course.

Class Presentations:

You will be asked to give a ten-minute presentation to the class outlining your project.  This will occur sometime during the weeks of Dec 1 and Dec 8.

REVISED due date: Thursday Sept 18

In a two to three page typed and doubled-spaced essay, explain the phenomenon of “-scapes” as described by Arjun Appadurai.  How do these concepts help us to understand cultural globalization?  Using Stuart Hall’s notion of “new ethnicities” and Paul Gilroy’s questioning of “authenticity,” how might we account for the emergence of Nyabingi and other hybrid musical and cultural practices of the African diaspora?

[NOTE: the Stuart Hall essay "New Ethnicities" has gone missing on E-reserves.  Because of this, disregard the Stuart Hall element of the prompt.]

Due Thursday Oct 9

In a two to three page essay, compare and contrast The Harder They Come and Rockers: It’s Dangerous.  How is Jamaican popular music woven into their plots?  How does the use of music help to shape their representations of Jamaican popular culture?

Due Thursday Nov 20

In a two to three page typed and doubled-spaced essay, bring the following essays into dialogue:

• Louis Chude-Sokei.  “Post-Nationalist Geographies: Rasta, Ragga, and Reinventing Africa.”
• Charles Taylor.  “The Politics of Recognition.”
• Jocelyne Guilbault. “On Redefining the ‘Local’ through World Music.”

Use specific musical examples to illustrate key concepts.