Short Paper Assignment

Basics

There will be four short papers assigned throughout the term.  They are to be typed, double-spaced in a 12-point Times New Roman or similar font with standard margins.  These papers should be 2-3 pages in length and will be worth up to 20 points each. 

Purpose

The purpose of the short papers is to give you the opportunity to put the ideas from the readings from the week into your own words and to make connections between those ideas and your own experiences of music.

Assignment

There are two main questions to answer:

What are the main points of at least two of the readings for the week?

How to these ideas compare to your experiences of music?

In responding to the first question, put the main ideas for the readings into your own words, and cite the page numbers you are putting into your own words.  If you don’t cite the author’s name and page number, it’s considered plagiarism, and you can expect to lose points.  For example, “Name, #” would be the format to follow.  So, in this section, you may have a parenthetical citation at the end of each sentence.  Putting only one at the end of a paragraph of summary is not acceptable.

In responding to the second question, you will need to provide specific examples of experiences of music that inform your answer.  These can be concerts, specifics songs, music videos, etc.  The more specific the better.  So, if you say, “I think Kivy is right here, because I went to a concert once where I experienced…..” is not as strong as saying “I think Kivy is right here because I went to a performance of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ where….”  Giving multiple points (at least 3) of connection between your experience of music and the readings for the week is required.

Assessment

Your short papers will be assessed across several dimensions:

Are you providing an accurate account of ideas in the reading(s) that are properly cited?

Are you providing at least 3 examples of how your own experience compares to the ideas from the readings?
Are your examples specific and do you clearly explain the connections you describe?

Paper 1: 

Readings: Philosophy of Music, Peter Kivy , Ch. 1, “Philosophy of…”;Ch. 4, “A Little More History”;Ch. 2, “A Little History”

PDF, “Formal and Technical Qualities”;

This is Your Brain on Music, Daniel Levitin, Ch. 1, “What is Music?”  Ch. 3, “Behind the Curtain”

Paper 2: May 22-May 27

Readings: 

                    PDF, Plato, Republic, Bk. VII;

                    PDF, Plato, Republic, Bk. X; 

                   This is Your Brain on Music, Daniel Levitin Ch. 2, “Foot Tapping;”

                     PDF, Hegel, “Introduction to the Philosophy of Art”; 

                      Philosophy of Music, Peter Kivy , Ch. 7, “The Emotions in You”