Syllabus for:
The American Avant Garde
 (MUSIC 145 and MUSIC 220)   
 

University of California, Irvine
Winter Quarter, 2003

Course #  04110 (MUSIC 145)
04660 (MUSIC 220)
four units policy on academic integrity
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. sources for reading assignments
Room 316, Music & Media Bldg. course outline
bibliography
instructor:
James Wierzbicki, Ph.D.
office: Room 103, Music & Media Building; (949) 824-3854
office hours: Wednesdays, 10 a.m. – noon.
Fridays, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
or by appointment.
e-mail: jwierz@uci.edu  
course description:
This four-hour class will focus on the American avant-garde tradition that flourished in the middle of the 20th Century but whose roots arguably date back more than 200 years and whose influence still resonates today. Along with their European counterparts, composers whose work will be discussed include Charles Ives, Henry Cowell, Terry Riley, Harry Partch, Conclon Nancarrow, George Antheil, Max Neuhaus, Alvin Lucier, Robert Ashley, Christian Wolff, Pauline Oliveros, Steve Reich, David Tudor, Earle Brown, Morton Feldman, Philip Glass, La Monte Young, and Brian Eno. The centerpiece of the discussion, however, will be the innovative music and ideas of the American composer-philosopher John Cage.

In part, “The American Avant Garde” is a music history/literature class, and students will be expected to acquire a working knowledge of who did what, where, and when. Also in part (indeed, in large part), “The American Avant Garde” is a class in aesthetics and the philosophy of music; to that end, students will be expected – in the form of both discussion and writing – to deal critically with the various concepts behind the avant-garde movement. 

Along with material from various books that will be placed on the instructor’s reserve shelf in the Media Center of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, students will be expected to read in its entirety Michael Nyman’s Experimental Music: Cage and Beyond (second edition. Cambridge University Press, 1999). This landmark study of the avant-garde tradition contains many complete scores, and students (including those who are not proficient at reading musical notation) will be expected to help realize some of these scores during class sessions

As a final project, students will be expected to create a piece of their own in the avant-garde/experimental vein, to present the piece or supervise a performance of the piece in class, and to submit a formal essay (ca. 1,000 – 2,000 words) that offers a rationale for the piece.
grades:
Grades for "The American Avant Garde" will be based on the following scheme:
for undergraduates signed up for MUSIC 145 (Course #04110):
25 % In-class mid-term exam.
25 % In-class final exam.
25 % Completion of reading and listening assignments and participation in in-class discussions and performances.
25 % Final project/composition and supporting documentation (i.e., an essay of ca. 1,000 – 2,000 words, typed or printed, delivered to the instructor’s mailbox by 5 p.m. on the last day of the final exam period).
for graduate students signed up for MUSIC 220 (Course # 04660):
20 % In-class mid-term exam.
20 % In-class final exam.
20 % Completion of reading and listening assignments and participation in in-class discussions and performances.
20 % Final project/composition and supporting documentation (i.e., an essay of ca. 1,000 – 2,000 words, typed or printed, delivered to the instructor’s mailbox by 5 p.m. on the last day of the final exam period).
20 % Delivery of a one-hour presentation on a topic (e.g., a composer, a genre, a medium, performance techniques) of the student’s choice, subject to approval by the instructor.
policy on academic integrity:
Plagiarism of any kind is a violation of UCI policy on Academic Honesty, and penalties for plagiarism can be severe. Students are expected to attribute due credit to the originator of any ideas or words that are incorporated substantially into a student’s work. This applies particularly to the citation of sources for quotations that students include in their writings. Violations of this policy will be reported to the office of Academic Affairs for disciplinary action.