Course goals:

• to develop an understanding of the ways of articulating protest and resistance (specifically in the field of work) through popular music and to learn about the media-specific aesthetics and social and cultural functions of protest and resistance in different historical settings;
• to learn about the formation and development of protest movements and musical scenes of resistance;
• to develop and work on individual research questions guided by the above insights and related to the seminar's topic.

Requirements:

• regular attendance & active participation (e.g. reading assignments and in-class discussions)
• Paper on the basis of a presentation ("Referat mit schriftlicher Ausarbeitung", c. 10-12 pp.) OR Hausarbeit (c. 12-15 pp.), due March 15th 2024.

A note on presentations: Presentations can be given in groups of no more than three students (if needs be, we can accommodate two presentations in one session). You can pick one of the given topics, i.e. prepare and present one of the secondary texts provided and select an exemplary song that fits thematically; or you may want to choose a song and its context yourselves. The presentations of the latter research groups, who would also have to provide at least one (short) secondary text to read for the rest of the class, will take place during the sessions on January 16 and 23, 2024.
Apart from presenting the materials, you are also in charge of chairing the ensuing discussion – accordingly, you may want to prepare some guiding questions that
a) relate to the overall theme of the course;
b) ideally resonate with the example you chose and
c) frame the in-class activities (discussion, group work, ...).