ENG4543 – The History of Rock Music in Britain and America

This course will survey the history of British and American rock music from the 1950s to the early 1980s. It will trace the emergence of interracial pop, the rise of the genre during the postwar American economic boom, parallel developments in Britain, the influence of first-generation American artists on Britain, and the development of a new youth culture.

Film, texts, and music will be the primary materials used in the course. Throughout the semester students will be encouraged to think critically about the roots and longer history of rock music and how the genre has shaped the US, the UK, and the world. We will pay special attention to the historical and cultural context of rock, analyzing lyrics, performance, style, and music.

Some questions we will consider include:

• How did rock become the dominant genre of popular music?
• What factors led to the popularity of certain bands and performers?
• What are the key interpretive and scholarly debates?
• What does the splintering of the genre tell us about cultural and social trends?
• How was rock based on earlier styles of music?
• In what ways did rock change society or politics?
• How can we best understand the relationship between fans and musicians?

After completing this course, you:

• will be able to identify and critique the significance events, terms, bands and artists covered in the course,
• can analyze the social and cultural significance of various genres and regional patterns,
• will be able to understand and interpret the various scholarly approaches to the study of pop and rock music in the postwar Anglo-American world,
• can critically analyze and narrate the social, cultural, and political developments related to rock music from the 1950s to the 1970s and discuss and debate these in the seminar.

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

This course is for students admitted to the master programmes European Languages (master) and Lektorprogrammet (masterspesialisering i engelsk).

Students enrolled in other Master`s Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

Seminars, 2 hours per week for 10 weeks. 20 hours in all.

Obligatory activity:

• The submission of a 1-page bibliography and the first draft of the term paper. Read more here about rules concerning valid excuses and how to apply for postponements. Information about guidelines for obligatory activities.
• It is obligatory to show up for a minimum of 60% of the teaching. In this course you have to attend 6 of 10 seminars. The requirement is absolute.

The allowed absence limit will cover all absences, including illness. You will not be granted valid absences with documentation, even when the absence is due to something beyond your control.

In certain circumstances, i.e. serious or chronic illness, you could apply for special needs accommodations.

All obligatory activities must be approved for you to sit the exam. Approved obligatory attendance and assignments are only valid the semester you attend the course.

The form of assessment is a term paper of approximately 10 pages (a standard page consists of 2,300 characters). References and bibliography comes in addition.

You decide the topic of the term paper together with the lecturer. You will have the opportunity to turn in a draft paper for feedback.

Since the form of assessment is a term paper, you must follow the classes and write a new paper in order to qualify. Admission depends on capacity.

A term paper or equivalent that is passed may not be resubmitted in revised form.