School for Studies in Art and Culture: Music
St. Patrick's Bldg. 423
613-520-2342
http://carleton.ca/music
- M.A. Music and Culture
- M.A. Music and Culture with Specialization in Digital Humanities
M.A. Music and Culture
About the Program
The M.A. Music and Culture is designed to offer students a thorough grounding in new, interdisciplinary approaches to musicology. The primary objective is to offer students a forum where new perspectives in musicology can be explored in a critical and integrated manner. This exploration will be grounded in the specifics of music but conducted from within a range of theoretical approaches including (but not restricted to)
- sociology
- linguistics
- critical theory
- feminism
- cultural studies
- historiography
- music perception/cognition
- music philosophy/aesthetics
- music and politics
- reception theory
- media studies
- performance studies
- ethnomusicology
Academic Regulations
See the General Regulations section of this Calendar.
A standing of B- or better must be obtained in each course counted towards the Master's degree.
Admission Requirements
The minimum requirement for admission to the Master's program in Music and Culture is either a B.Mus. degree or a B.A. Honours degree in Music with a minimum B+ average.
Applicants with a B.A. Honours in a related discipline (e.g., Mass Communication, Women's Studies, Philosophy, or Cultural Studies), with a minimum average of B+, will also be considered provided the applicant can demonstrate a strong background in some form of music.
Applicants without the requisite background in either cultural/theory or music may be required to take a maximum of two full credits from designated courses at the undergraduate level in addition to their normal M.A. program requirements.
There are no performance requirements for admission to this degree program.
Applicants without a B.Mus. or B.A. Honours degree in Music, or a related discipline, but who have a three-year degree with a minimum average of B+, may be admitted to a qualifying year program. Students who complete the qualifying year requirements with a minimum average of B+ will be considered for admission to the Master's program.
Program Requirements
The Master's degree in Music and Culture requires the satisfactory completion of a total of 5.0 credits, distributed according to one of the following two options (students are required to choose one option over the other by March 1 of the first year of study):
Thesis Program
| 1. 1.5 credits in required course work | 1.5 | |
MUSI 5000 [0.5] | Music and Cultural Theory I: Intellectual Histories | |
MUSI 5002 [0.5] | Research Methods in Music and Culture | |
MUSI 5004 [0.5] | Music and Cultural Theory II: Current Debates | |
| 2. 1.5 credits in additional course work chosen from available elective courses | 1.5 | |
| 3. 2.0 credits in Thesis | 2.0 | |
| Total Credits | 5.0 | |
Research Essay Program
| 1. 1.5 credits in required course work | 1.5 | |
MUSI 5000 [0.5] | Music and Cultural Theory I: Intellectual Histories | |
MUSI 5002 [0.5] | Research Methods in Music and Culture | |
MUSI 5004 [0.5] | Music and Cultural Theory II: Current Debates | |
| 2. 2.5 credits in additional course work chosen from available elective courses | 2.5 | |
| 3. 1.0 credit in Research Essay | 1.0 | |
| Total Credits | 5.0 | |
Subject to the approval of the graduate supervisor, 0.5 credit may be taken outside the program in a related discipline (such as Philosophy, Women's Studies, etc.)
M.A. Music and Culture with Specialization in Digital Humanities
Thesis Program (5.0 credits)
| 1. 1.5 credits in: | 1.5 | |
MUSI 5000 [0.5] | Music and Cultural Theory I: Intellectual Histories | |
MUSI 5002 [0.5] | Research Methods in Music and Culture | |
MUSI 5004 [0.5] | Music and Cultural Theory II: Current Debates | |
| 2. 0.5 credit additional MUSI course work chosen from available electives | 0.5 | |
| 3. 2.0 credits in: | 2.0 | |
MUSI 5909 [2.0] | M.A. Thesis | |
| 4. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
| 5. 0.5 credit in DIGH (DIGH 5011, DIGH 5012, or annually listed DIGH course) | 0.5 | |
| 6. 0.0 credit in: | 0.0 | |
| Total Credits | 5.0 | |
Research Essay Program (5.0 credits)
| 1. 1.5 credits in: | 1.5 | |
MUSI 5000 [0.5] | Music and Cultural Theory I: Intellectual Histories | |
MUSI 5002 [0.5] | Research Methods in Music and Culture | |
MUSI 5004 [0.5] | Music and Cultural Theory II: Current Debates | |
| 2. 1.5 credits additional MUSI course work chosen from available elective courses | 1.5 | |
| 3. 1.0 credit in: | 1.0 | |
MUSI 5908 [1.0] | Research Essay | |
| 4. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
| 5. 0.5 credit in DIGH (DIGH 5011, DIGH 5012, or annually listed DIGH course) | 0.5 | |
| 6. 0.0 credit in: | 0.0 | |
| Total Credits | 5.0 | |
Deadlines
Thesis Proposal
Full-time students normally will submit their thesis (or research essay) topic to the thesis proposal board no later than April 30 of the first year of registration for students enrolled full-time, and no later than the middle of the fifth term of registration for students enrolled part-time.
Regulations governing requirements for the Master's thesis, including deadlines for submission, are outlined in the General Regulations section of this Calendar.
Language Requirements
Students are required to demonstrate a reading knowledge of French (or another language related to their research, to be approved by the Music and Culture graduate supervisor).
Music (MUSI) Courses
Music and Cultural Theory I: Intellectual Histories
The research process, including the phases of conceptualization, gathering of sources, and writing up the completed research. Topics include: issues related to applying interdisciplinary methodologies to musical objects of study, conducting ethnographic research and writing for scholarly publications, conference presentations, and grant applications.
Research Methods in Music and Culture
The research process, including the phases of conceptualization, gathering of sources, and writing up the completed research. Topics include: issues related to applying interdisciplinary methodologies to musical objects of study, conducting ethnographic research and writing for scholarly publications, conference presentations, and grant applications.
Music and Cultural Theory II: Current Debates
Selected debates within contemporary theory and culture and their relevance to music. The focus will be on a limited range of debates and issues selected by the instructor for in-depth discussion and analysis. Topics will vary from year to year.
Music and Identity
Music as a medium for the construction and maintenance of cultural identities, including the relationship between music and traditional cultures, geography, the nation state, urban subcultures, gender and sexuality, race, class, and ethnicity.
Music and Visual Culture
The relationships between musical and visual cultures, including traditional arts, fine art painting, film, television, and digital gaming and interactive media, and the ways in which meanings are dependent upon the various connections between them.
Technologies of Music
The role that technologies, including musical instruments, notation, sound recording, and digital media, play in the concepts and practices associated with music. Topics include: technology as material culture, technology and musical practices, and the increasing importance of technology in contemporary music and culture.
Music, Meaning and Representation
Theories of meaning and representation as applied to music. Major source traditions and critiques to be considered include: semiotics and structuralism, analytic philosophy, formalism, cognitive theory, and post-structuralism.
History of Genres
Theories of genre, including theories derived from literary theory and film studies, and their application to the history of music. Topics may include relationships between genre and musical style, production and reception, social contexts, markets, and the legitimization and organization of knowledge.
Music and Social Institutions
Historical relationships between music and society, including that of Western art music to sacred and secular institutions; the rise of the cultural industries (sound recording, radio and film); the relationship of science, the arts, and the academy; and state policies of arts funding and multiculturalism.
Repertoires, Genres and Canons
A study of the organizational and hierarchical principles whose role is to differentiate, categorize, and legitimize music making within specific historical and social conditions. Topics may include musical canons and their relationship to issues of class, nationalism, taste cultures, and the development of musicology itself.
Music and Performance
Music as a form of social practice rooted in traditions of performance. The variable, multimodal character of music as understood through theories of performance and gesture drawn from the histories and literatures of music, theatre, and dance (in art, popular, and non-Western forms).
History of Canadian Music: Notated and Liturgical Music
Selected aspects of notated Canadian music from 1600 to the present; liturgical music; social and economic conditions of Canadian musical life; regional studies; individual composers and performers.
Ethnomusicology of Canadian Traditions
Issues of anthropological, sociological, and analytical significance are examined in the context of selected developments in folklore and ethnomusicological research on Canadian traditions.
Also offered at the undergraduate level, with different requirements, as MUSI 4103, for which additional credit is precluded.
Music of Canada's First Peoples
The context and significance of musical expressions of selected Canadian Aboriginal groups and the contributions of individuals in the creation of music and meaning in First Peoples' communities.
Also offered at the undergraduate level, with different requirements, as MUSI 4104, for which additional credit is precluded.
Special Topics in Music and Cultural Theory
Selected topics focusing on aspects of music and cultural theory not available in regular program offerings. Topic will vary from year to year.
Special Topics in Music Genres
Selected topics focusing on specific genres of music not available in regular program offerings.
Topic will vary from year to year.
Practicum in Music
Academically informed practical experience in music-specific projects such as music recording, librarianship, concert management, research, multimedia creation at local institutions. A maximum of 1.0 credit of practicum may be used in fulfilment of M.A. requirements.
Directed Readings and Research
Course designed to permit students to pursue research on topics in music and culture chosen in consultation with a member of the faculty. A maximum of 1.0 credit of directed studies may be used in fulfilment of M.A. requirements.
Research Essay
M.A. Thesis
Summer session: some of the courses listed in this Calendar are offered during the summer. Hours and scheduling for summer session courses will differ significantly from those reported in the fall/winter Calendar. To determine the scheduling and hours for summer session classes, consult the class schedule at central.carleton.ca
Not all courses listed are offered in a given year. For an up-to-date statement of course offerings for the current session and to determine the term of offering, consult the class schedule at central.carleton.ca