SYLLABUS

The Beatles  were an unprecedented popular music phenomenon, they were central players in the sixties cultural rebellion and they represent a significant instance of popular entertainment attaining the status of high art.  This course will examine the music and lyrics of the Beatles, focusing on their work as songwriters and record makers.

By the close of the course students will:

·        have an understanding of a modern creative process;

·        have investigated ways in which this creative process is bound up with social and cultural factors;

·        be aware of the issues and debates surrounding the concept of popular culture;

·        be able to place the Beatles' works within an historical context;

·        have practice with close reading techniques as applied to their music and texts.

Texts:

Required

Walter Everett. The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver through the Anthology. NY: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN: 0195129415.

Walter Everett. The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul. NY: Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN: 0195141059.

The Beatles. The Beatles Complete Scores. Transcriptions by Tetsuya Fujita, Uji Hagino, Hajime Kubo, and Goro Sato. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard, 1989. ISBN: 0793518326.

E-Reserves

The additional required readings for this course are available in electronic form on the Manhattanville Blackboard site.

Sound Recordings

The Beatles released 12 albums in England. Having access to all 12 (as well as the two volumes of Past Masters which collect the many singles which are not included on albums) is ideal. The class will emphasize those albums marked with a *:

Video Recordings

The following DVD recordings will be shown in Pius X Hall through the semester. We will arrange schedule in class. Invite friends:

Class Work:

Students are expected to do the reserve reading for each class session and to demonstrate that they've done so by participating in class discussion. In addition, students will submit the following pieces of written work:

The grading breakdown is as follows:

Journal entries. Each week of class from week 2-13, students will submit a journal entry (about 1 page in length) on a reading chosen from the list of readings scheduled for that week. This will make for a total of 11 journal entries by course's end. These journal entries will be collected each week.

Song Analysis. Each student will, by the end of the semester, present analysis of two songs to the class: once during weeks three through nine and a more formal presentation during the final two weeks. Guidelines for this assignment will be discussed in class.

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