The Importance and Power of Music in our Society

The Importance and Power of Music in our Society

Instructors: Marcel Cobussen

Access provided by ExxonMobil

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5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

72 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

2 weeks at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

98%

Most learners liked this course

5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

72 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

2 weeks at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

98%

Most learners liked this course

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

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Assessments

7 assignments¹

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Taught in English

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There are 5 modules in this course

Music plays an important role in our daily lives and is woven into the fabric of society. We listen to music while alone or in company, in a dance club or at home, through simple headphones or via high-end speakers, as background or as foreground, after we get up or before we go to bed. Music accompanies us when we are traveling, doing sports, shopping, working or relaxing. This omnipresence of music raises several questions: how does music affect our lives? What is the relation between the society we live in and the role, function, and position of music within that society? How is music influenced by and does music influence social, political, economic, technological, and multiple other developments?

Do these questions trigger you? Music and Society provides a thorough introduction to the various ways in which music and society are connected through engaging lectures, insightful interviews, challenging assignments, interesting readings, and of course a lot of musical examples. The course aims at increasing your insights on where, how and why we listen to music, how music contributes to shaping our identity, how music forms, expresses, and subverts political ideas, and how music affects our norms and values.

Great that you are joining us! In this course you will learn about the various roles, functions, and positions music can have in our contemporary society. Before you start this course we invite you to first go through the introduction and introduce yourself in the forum to meet your fellow learners. If you encounter any difficulties while studying, please let us know in the forum. For technical difficulties or questions regarding the course certificate, you can always contact the Coursera Learner Helpdesk. Good luck and we hope you will enjoy studying in this course!

What's included

2 videos1 reading1 discussion prompt1 plugin

What do you think about background music? Does it disturb you or does it create a nice atmosphere? Do you think there is too much music played all day long? And why do people play music? In this first module we will basically discuss and reflect on three interrelated items: (1) How and why music is omnipresent in our contemporary society; (2) Music's influence on the specific atmosphere of a space; (3) How music affects and is affected by other societal developments.

What's included

7 videos1 reading1 peer review4 discussion prompts

7 videos Total 65 minutes

"A day in the life of a listener" 4 minutes
Reflection on "a day in the life of a listener" 8 minutes
Music between consciousness and subconsciousness: An interview with Anahid Kassabian 18 minutes
Music between consciousness and subconsciousness: An interview with Thomas van Straaten 11 minutes
Reflection on the interviews with Anahid Kassabian and Thomas van Straaten 6 minutes
"Music for Airports": The various roles of music 9 minutes
Music and atmosphere: Concluding discussion 9 minutes

1 reading Total 15 minutes

How can music and society be related? 15 minutes

1 peer review Total 60 minutes

Keeping a music diary 60 minutes

4 discussion prompts Total 60 minutes

Is the "musicalization of culture" good or bad? 15 minutes
Do you think that background music is ethical? 15 minutes
Can music have specific roles? 15 minutes
Design your own sonic environment 15 minutes

How does music affect identity and how does identity influence music? Is music only an expression of personal taste or is there more to say about this relation? In this module we will discuss and explore the relation between music and identity. We'll do this by discussing (1) how music influences personal identity and (2) how music influences collective identity and (3) how the 'structure of society' influences music as well as identity.

What's included

9 videos3 readings2 assignments1 peer review3 discussion prompts

9 videos Total 92 minutes

Music and identity: An introduction 9 minutes
Music and personal identity: the power from outside vs. the freedom from inside 8 minutes
Music and collective identity: One song, many identities 8 minutes
"I will survive": Music between repetition and difference 10 minutes
Music and clashing identities: An interview with Daniel Barenboim 25 minutes
Reflection on the interview with Daniel Barenboim 5 minutes
Does social position affect musical taste? An introduction to Bourdieu 9 minutes
From inequality in society to inequality in music: Bourdieu’s critique 8 minutes
Music and identity: Concluding discussion 9 minutes

3 readings Total 30 minutes

Music and personal identity 10 minutes
Deconstructing identity: Mark C. Taylor 10 minutes
Music and identity: Exploring Bourdieu’s views 10 minutes

2 assignments Total 60 minutes

Music and personal identity 30 minutes
Music and identity: Exploring Bourdieu’s views 30 minutes

1 peer review Total 60 minutes

Hello my name is... 60 minutes

3 discussion prompts Total 30 minutes

How my position influences my musical taste 10 minutes
Same song, different meaning 10 minutes
My musical preferences are really mine ... or not? 10 minutes

In this module we will investigate and discuss the relation between music and politics: how music affects politics and how it is affected by politics. Music may support political organizations and governmental institutions, it has the power to discipline the behavior of groups and individuals, but it can also act as a form of protest against a political status quo or dominant (political) discourses.

What's included

9 videos3 readings3 assignments1 peer review6 discussion prompts

9 videos Total 84 minutes

Music and politics: An introduction 4 minutes
From noise regulation to national hymns: Music and the state 6 minutes
Music and culture industry: An introduction to Adorno 16 minutes
Power is everywhere: From “politics” to “the political” 4 minutes
Disciplining and controlling: Music and the political 6 minutes
Undermining authority: Music and subversion 9 minutes
The possibility of subversion through music: Adorno revisited 13 minutes
Music, cultural policy, and resistance: An interview with Louis Andriessen 19 minutes
Music and politics: Concluding discussion 8 minutes

3 readings Total 35 minutes

Music and politics: The fetish character in music and the regression of listening 10 minutes
Affective tonality? What's that? 15 minutes
How music becomes noise: Jacques Attali 10 minutes

3 assignments Total 90 minutes

Music and politics: The fetish character in music and the regression of listening 30 minutes
Affective tonality? What's that? 30 minutes
How music becomes noise: Jacques Attali 30 minutes

1 peer review Total 60 minutes

Politics and resistance in "national anthems" 60 minutes

6 discussion prompts Total 70 minutes

When can music become an effective "weapon"? 10 minutes
Regression of listening 10 minutes
Can music really control our behavior? 15 minutes
Enjoyment versus subversion 15 minutes
How can music be subversive? 10 minutes
Can music be harmful and are restrictions therefore justifiable? 10 minutes

In this module we will explore the relation between music and ethics. Music influences behavior and certain judgments of behavior are ethical judgments. We will explore the relation between aesthetic good and ethical good music. We will discuss how hospitality can evoke a fruitful attitude towards music. We will discuss the role of music in human flourishing.