About the Interpretations Assignment
The Interpretations Assignment has three primary goals:
- to help students prepare students for an engaged in-class discussion
- to reflect on assigned songs and documentaries
- to present what students have uncovered from research inspired by the songs and documentaries
The assignment is informed by three Course Learning Objectives:
Objective 1. Critical Awareness of the Social Role of Media
Students will understand the history and context of the role that communication media (recording devices, music, lyrics, samples, videos, etc.) has played in social movements. Students will be able to articulate and critique the role media has historically played and currently plays in society.
Objective 2: Effective Communication
Students will understand the principles, practices, and ethics of effective media communication, in particular in terms of how it applies to social movements, society, and protest music.
Objective 3. Ethical and Curiosity-Informed Research
Student will develop and enhance their ability to engage in ethical, curiosity-informed research practices with the goal of increasing their understanding of music and its social contexts.
Objective 4: Reflection
Students will develop their understanding of the important role of reflection during the reading, creation, and communication process.
Objective 5: Experimentation
Students will know what it feels like to step out of their comfort zones and take risks with their approaches to and understanding of protest and social justice themed music.
Interpretations Assignment Specifics
Students will compose their interpretations in class using a pencil or pen in response to a prompt. The goal is to explore the ideas in the prompt in a way that is thoughtful, engaged, and as nuanced as possible in the time permitted.
As part of their discussion, students will be asked to incorporate what they have learned from any research they have conducted. At first the research portion will be extra credit; as the semester moves on it will become a required and integrated part of the discussion. Students must bring the citations with them to class so the citations can be stapled to the response.
When doing research, do not rely on AI or Wikipedia alone. You may start with Wikipedia for summary, but always go further by looking into the citations. AI summaries are not reliable. Do not use them. You can actually remove that Google-generated AI response at the top of search results by including “-AI” in any search term, such as “what role did music have in shaping identity in the civil rights movement -AI.”
Students will also required to compose two thoughtful questions the prompt and/or the material for the week inspires. The questions can be those that inspired research you conducted prior to class and/or inspired by the prompt. Questions should not be yes/no, fact based questions easily answered in a Google search. They should be invited thoughtful discussion.
Initially composing your discussions will be uncomfortable and somewhat odd, especially because they are hand-written. But, over time, you will become more familiar with the format, and will compose in such a way that shows an exploration of ideas and an integration of texts.
Course Info at a Glance
- Office Hours: MW 2:00 – 3:00
- Office Location: Bronstein Annex 202
- Protest Music s26 Quicklinks
Grading
Each Interpretation discussion will be graded on the basis of 20 points—up to 10 for the discussion, 6 for the quality of the research you incorporate, and up to 4 for questions you may ask. The overall Interpretations grade is 30% of your final grade. The two lowest grades (including any 0s due to an absence) will be dropped. Research can include work on the Readings and Texts page.
Rubric
17 – 20 pts
Thorough, nuanced, insightful, and organized discussion. Connections made to research conducted outside of the class. Prompt directly addressed. Very high quality research, including scholarly work. Questions are incisive and could be used to spur class discussion. Overall it significantly exceeds expectations.
14 – 16 pts
Interesting, engaging, and thoughtful discussion of the texts. Connections made to research conducted outside of the class directly addressed. Decent quality research. Questions are thoughtful and discerning. Overall it generally meets or exceeds expectations.
10 – 13 pts
Generally thoughtful but slightly disorganized discussion of the texts. Prompt not fully addressed. Weak discussion of outside research. Low quality research. Very general, fact-based, yes/no questions that could be found with a quick Google search. Overall it is below expectations.
9 pts and below
A generally disorganized Response that does not address the prompt and does not engage the texts. No discussion of outside research and/or no research completed. No questions asked. Overall it is significantly below expectations.