This is an archived copy of the 2014-2015 calendar. To access the most recent version of the calendar, please visit http://calendar.carleton.ca.

Music and Culture

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):

  

M.A. Music and Culture - Thesis program (5.0 credits)
1.  1.5 credits in required course work1.5
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 courses1.5
3.  2.0 credits in Thesis2.0
Total Credits5.0

 

M.A. Music and Culture - Research Essay program (5.0 credits)
1.  1.5 credits in required course work1.5
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 courses2.5
3.  1.0 credit in Research Essay1.0
Total Credits5.0

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

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 in additional MUSI course work chosen from available electives0.5
3.  2.0 credits in:2.0
MUSI 5909 [2.0]
M.A. Thesis
4.  0.5 credit in:0.5
DIGH 5000 [0.5]
Issues in the Digital Humanities
5.  0.5 credit in DIGH (DIGH 5011, DIGH 5012, or annually listed DIGH course)0.5
6.  0.0 credit in:0.0
DIGH 5800 [0.0]Digital Humanities: Professional Development0.0
Total Credits5.0
M.A. Music and Culture with Specialization in Digital Humanities - 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 courses1.5
3.  1.0 credit in:1.0
MUSI 5908 [1.0]
Research Essay
4.  0.5 credit in:0.5
DIGH 5000 [0.5]
Issues in the Digital Humanities
5.  0.5 credit in DIGH (DIGH 5011, DIGH 5012, or annually listed DIGH course)0.5
6.  0.0 credit in:0.0
DIGH 5800 [0.0]
Digital Humanities: Professional Development
Total Credits5.0

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

Note: the majority of courses are open to non-Majors; students are advised to consult the Discipline. Priority is given to Music students.

MUSI 5000 [0.5 credit]
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.
Precludes additional credit for MUSI 5001 (no longer offered).

MUSI 5002 [0.5 credit]
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.

MUSI 5004 [0.5 credit]
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.
Prerequisite(s): MUSI 5000 or permission of the School.

MUSI 5006 [0.5 credit]
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.

MUSI 5007 [0.5 credit]
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.

MUSI 5008 [0.5 credit]
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.

MUSI 5009 [0.5 credit]
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.

MUSI 5010 [0.5 credit]
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.

MUSI 5011 [0.5 credit]
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.

MUSI 5013 [0.5 credit]
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).

MUSI 5014 [0.5 credit]
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.
Precludes additional credit for MUSI 5100 (no longer offered).

MUSI 5015 [0.5 credit]
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.
Precludes additional credit for MUSI 5101 (no longer offered).
Also offered at the undergraduate level, with different requirements, as MUSI 4103, for which additional credit is precluded.

MUSI 5016 [0.5 credit]
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.
Precludes additional credit for MUSI 5102 (no longer offered).
Also offered at the undergraduate level, with different requirements, as MUSI 4104, for which additional credit is precluded.

MUSI 5200 [0.5 credit]
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.

MUSI 5201 [0.5 credit]
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.

MUSI 5300 [0.5 credit]
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.
Prerequisite(s): permission of the School.

MUSI 5900 [0.5 credit]
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.
Prerequisite(s): permission of the School.

MUSI 5908 [1.0 credit]
Research Essay


MUSI 5909 [2.0 credits]
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

June 30, 2015 11:30 AM