History 4376 The History of Texas Music Online Correspondence Course Deirdre Lannon, M.A. //

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1 History 4376 The History of Texas Music Online Correspondence Course Deirdre Lannon, M.A. // About Your Instructor Allow me to introduce myself in a little more depth. I am Deirdre Lannon, and I hold an M.A. in History from Texas State University, and I am currently in the doctoral program in the Department of History at UT Austin. I wrote my thesis on Texas music (it was entitled Swingin West: How Hollywood put the Western in Texas Swing"), and I have done extensive research in music history western swing, blues, jazz, and more. I have been a Senior Lecturer in the Texas State History Department since 2008 and was the Director of Programs for the Center for Texas Music History from 2003 to I wrote and produced a series of short documentary films that are a part of this course and are in use in different classrooms state-wide. I spent almost 20 years as a rockabilly/honky-tonk musician, and I m passionate about music. This course is writing intensive and challenging, but I am here to help. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you might have. I prefer to use the Messages tool (located in the lefthand navigation menu) to communicate. During the work week, I usually return messages within 24 hours, often sooner. My evenings and weekends are for my family, so do not expect an immediate response during those times, although I might surprise you! Course Description Examination of the evolution of music in Texas and the American Southwest, emphasizing how music reflects the richly diverse ethnic and cultural heritage of the region. It also considers the importance of ethnic identity and other social, political, and economic factors in shaping the Southwest, its people, and its music. (MC) (WI) The course will begin by examining the meaning of the term Texas music. Starting with the earliest traditions of music in the region, the course will cover the development of the many different genres that are representative of and influenced by the heritage and cultures of the Southwest. These genres include música Tejana in its various forms, Cajun, zydeco, the many sub genres of country music, jazz, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and others. We will also look at the historical development of instruments found in the musical tradition of the region, noting the immigration and migration patterns that dispersed these important tools. Prerequisites You must have completed History 1310 and The class is delivered through the TRACS learning management system. The course site runs most successfully on the Mozilla Firefox browser. Please download the most recent version of Firefox and conduct all TRACS course activities from that browser. You must be familiar with TRACS to be successful in this course. For assistance with TRACS, visit the TRACS Help Desk. Texas State University has provided you with a university address. (If you are unclear as to what this address is, contact the Office of Distance and Extended Learning.) The Messages tool (available in the left-hand navigation menu) will be the way we communicate with each other

2 directly; thus, it is important that the spam and junk mail filters on your university account are set to accept s from TRACS. If you have not yet done so, please review the Correspondence Course Information (.pdf) page. This page outlines the policies and procedures of the Office of Distance and Extended Learning. Course Objectives Upon completion of the course, you should be able to: evaluate the importance of ethnic identity, gender, and cross-influence on the evolution of music in the Southwest; articulate an understanding of how other social, political, and economic factors have helped shape the Southwest, its people, and its music; discuss how music reflects the dynamic interplay of a variety of issues and groups within the region; and exhibit an understanding of the complex and culturally diverse nature of Texas society. Learning Objectives By working through the Learning Modules, participating in discussions, reading the materials, and communicating with the instructor, you should be able to: 1. analyze and synthesize primary and secondary historical source materials and use them to formulate an argument about the past (assessed through writing assignments); 2. demonstrate the ability to formulate a thesis and devise an appropriate organizational structure through which to prove your thesis in writing (assessed through writing assignments); and 3. demonstrate technical research and writing skills through citation of primary and secondary sources and appropriate integration of information from these sources in your writing using Kate Turabian s A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (assessed through term paper). Course Materials The course content and many of the materials (screencast mini-lectures, external sources, documentary films, Hearing History playlists, etc.) will be found in this TRACS course site. In addition, there is one required textbook: Gary Hartman, The History of Texas Music (Texas A&M University Press, 2008). ISBN: Because one of the outcomes I will be assessing is the ability to conform to Turabian style in the term paper, you may want to purchase the Turabian style guide: Optional: Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, current edition (University of Chicago Press). Much of the information in the guide is available online, but some students prefer to have the full guide available as they write.

3 For the term paper, you will be required to find and use additional scholarly secondary sources. These may be found using the Alkek Library database, or you may choose to purchase these sources, once I have approved your use of them. Course Procedure The course is presented in a series of Learning Modules, intended to be completed in sequence. These modules are identical in structure, and each contains material relevant to that module s topic. You should work through each module starting at the beginning and advance page by page using the Next link at either the top or bottom of the page. To work through the module, you will read, view, and listen to the material within that module, while reading the assigned section from the textbook. Follow the directives near the end of each module you may be prompted to post a new thread to the Discussion Forums, to take an online quiz, to write a paper, or to prepare to take an exam. (You may complete no more than two Learning Modules per week in this course.) Assignments All assignments for this course are outlined on the Course Study Schedule (.pdf). Song Analysis Exercises Because I think that songs and song lyrics are excellent primary sources, we will work at analyzing and interpreting songs in historical context. There are examples in the Learning Modules, but I encourage you to draw your own conclusions. Interpreting primary sources is a very subjective activity, so there are no hard and fast, right or wrong answers. I encourage you to review the song analysis exercise grading rubric (.pdf) before submitting. Discussion Forums Near the end of each module, you will be prompted to post a new thread to the Discussion Forum. These posts are mini-essays, meant to help you begin to articulate an interpretation of the material. Please familiarize yourself with the discussion forum grading rubric (.pdf) before posting. First read the topic, then create a new thread and post an original, thoughtful, substantive response to the prompt. Then, read any existing threads posted by other students. Remember, these threads more than likely were posted before your enrollment, so don t expect interchange. Rather, consider what has been said and add to it. This will engage you with the experiences and impressions of students who came before you and will leave a valuable contribution to those who come after. Quizzes Modules 1-6 conclude with a 10-question quiz, which is available by clicking the Quizzes link in the navigation menu at left. The questions come from the textbook, screencast mini-lectures, Hearing History playlists, documentary films, and external sources. Term Paper

4 You will write and submit one term paper. The paper must be submitted after you have taken your final exam. This paper should be 12 pages long and must adhere to Turabian style. For this paper, you will choose at least one additional secondary source on a topic of your choice. Using that book or journal article(s), the textbook, and the module materials, you will be expected to present and develop an original thesis, supporting it with specifics from the entire course. Any additional research or sources must be preapproved by the instructor. Because this course is writing intensive, and because it is an upper-division course, students are expected to submit work that is well organized and free of spelling and grammatical errors. To this end, you are strongly encouraged to have your work reviewed through one of the free online tutoring resources available to correspondence students. For information on accessing that tutoring, visit the Office of Distance and Extended Learning s Free Tutoring page. Exams There will be one midcourse and one final exam. Exams will consist of term identifications and an essay question. The midcourse exam will cover Modules 1-3. The final exam will cover Modules 4-6. To guide your preparation for the exams, be sure to review the exam essay grading rubric (.pdf) and the exam term identification questions grading rubric (.pdf). To pass the course, you must have an average exam score of 60% or better. Exams will be delivered online. Follow the instructions at the end of Module 3 and Module 6 to prepare for and schedule these exams. Grading There are 1000 total points available for the course, plus 30 extra credit points: The Introduction Assignment is worth 10 points extra credit. Quizzes: 50 points (5 quizzes 10 points each) *Quiz 6 will be worth 10 points extra credit. Song Analysis Exercises: 50 points (5 exercises 10 points each) *Song Analysis Exercise 6 will be worth 10 points extra credit. Discussion Forum Posts: 300 points (6 posts 50 points each) Midcourse Exam: 200 points Final Exam: 200 points Term Paper: 200 points Final grades will be determined by the following scale: A = B =

5 C = D = F = Again, to pass the course, you must have an average exam score of 60% or better. TRACS Technical Support Texas State s Information Technology Assistance Center (ITAC) provides phone and LiveChat technical support for TRACS 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. To take advantage of these services, visit ITAC online or call ITAC (4822). Note also that a number of online TRACS tutorials are available from TRACS Facts. Before beginning this online course, it is recommended that you review the minimum hardware and software requirements and other important information available on the ITS Course Information page. Faculty-Student Contact According to Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education, faculty-student contact is very important. Even though this is a correspondence course, I encourage you to contact me if you have any concerns, questions, or problems. You are welcome to message me by using the Messages tool in the left navigation menu. (It is important to keep all communication related to this course contained within this TRACS site.) My policy is that during non-holiday breaks or announced away times, any I receive between Monday morning and Thursday at midnight will receive a reply within 24 hours. s received between Friday at 12:01 a.m. and Sunday night will receive a reply on the next business day. Academic Honesty Particularly in the online environment, students must be aware that academic honesty policies govern their behavior. Plagiarism, collusion, and other violations are not tolerated, and are seriously penalized by the University. Copying any material, whether a sentence, paragraph, or an entire paper, from another source, is strictly prohibited. Remember, I have access to all the same sources you do. Make sure your work is original. The Texas State Academic Honor Code serves as an affirmation that the University demands the highest standard of integrity in all actions related to the academic community. The Honor Code applies to all Texas State students, including correspondence students. Students with Disabilities The Office of Distance and Extended Learning is committed to helping students with disabilities achieve their educational goals. A disability is not a barrier to correspondence study, and we strive to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals in coursework and test taking. Students who require special accommodations need to provide verification of their disability to the Office of Disability Services, Suite LBJ Student Center, (voice/tty). Students should then notify the Office of Distance and Extended Learning of any disabilityrelated accommodation needs as soon as possible to avoid a delay in accommodations.

6 Now that you've read through the Orientation Module and the syllabus, click the Learning Modules link in the left-hand navigation menu, select Module 1, and begin advancing through the content.