I know that on one level, music is abstract — like a thought, as you say. But it’s also like a feeling, a real sensual and emotional pull. Music can make you feel like a room without a roof. When that’s happening, all the categories we build as thinkers recede, and whatever sound made it happen is glorious. –Ann Powers, “Why We Fight About Pop Music”

Why do we fight about popular music? Why do we write about it? Music critic Ann Powers argues that music can “move us in new directions”—emotionally, bodily, personally, intellectually, socially, and politically. In this course, we’ll write about popular music in a variety of nonfiction genres, including reviews, liner notes, infographics, personal essays, mixtape memoirs, and annotated playlists. Students will also produce podcasts, radio shows, or video essays. All of these genres require practice in the craft of creative nonfiction writing: voice, description, scene, storytelling, translation, argument, analysis, and dialogue. As we read the work of other writers in these genres, we’ll pay close attention to how they experiment with elements of craft. But we’ll also seek to balance our examinations of popular music’s meanings with the ineffable experience it makes possible. In Powers’s words, “Music can make you feel like a room without a roof. When that’s happening, all the categories we build as thinkers recede, and whatever sound made it happen is glorious.”

We’ll read about artists like Neko Case, A Tribe Called Quest, The Beach Boys, Childish Gambino, Joni Mitchell, Mashrou’ Leila, Beyoncé, The Sex Pistols, Liz Phair, Eminem, Talking Heads, Dusty Springfield, George Clinton, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, Bessie Smith, The Beatles, Selena, Animal Collective, George Michael, Joy Division, The Carpenters, Daft Punk, Prince, Hole, Elvis Presley, Nirvana, TuneYards, and Michael Jackson, by writers like Ann Powers, Questlove, Hanif Abdurraqib, Tracey Thorn, Rick Moody, Roxanne Gay, Haroon Moghul, Jason King, Charles Aaron, Laurie Anderson, and Zadie Smith.

This course fulfills one of your two Writing-Intensive (W) requirements.

Tuesday & Thursday, 5 – 6:15
Powdermaker 253
Office: Klapper 633
Office Hours: Thursdays, 3:30 – 4:30 or by appointment
Email: [email protected]

Books to Purchase
Ann Powers, Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music (Dey Street Books)
Questlove, Music Is History (Harry N. Abrams)
Marc Woodworth and Ally-Jane Grossan, eds., How to Write about Music (Bloomsbury)

*These books are available through QC’s Online Bookstore. They often offer good prices, but you’re free to buy them wherever you want. Other readings will be available as PDFs on our Calendar page.

Course Goals

• Gain an overview of a range of music writing genres, including the review, the infographic, the artist profile, the blog piece, and the personal essay.
• Practice elements of creative nonfiction writing, including voice, description, structure, analysis, and tone.
• Become adept at close listening, with attention to elements of music including lyrical content, structure, arrangement, instrumentation, genre, and cultural context.
• Experiment with tools and techniques for writing and producing podcasts or radio shows.
• Practice writing in stages and gain understanding of their own writing process, through informal writing (in class and on course blogs), drafting, responding to feedback from peers and the instructor, and revision.
• Practice productive workshop habits, including offering respectful feedback on elements of craft.

Zoom

This class will be largely in-person, but we may have an occasional Zoom class. Here is the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/my/jasontougaw. I will  give you advance notice if we’re going to meet on Zoom. You can also find the link under Bookmarks on our main page.

Note: For the sake of all our privacy–and comfort–you may not record our online sessions. Any recorded material (for example, video or audio) will be done in advance with the consent and participation of those involved. More informally, a good class dynamic depends on us all feeling free to participate, share our ideas, make mistakes, rethink, debate, and explore. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t feel very free to do all this if I were being recorded.

Workshops
This course is a workshop. That means you will read each other’s writing regularly and we’ll have group discussions about what’s working and what kinds of revision might help improve it–with a focus on particular elements of craft: voice, tone, description, sentence forms, imagery, structure, analysis, and reflection. Every student will workshop each of the major writing assignments. It will be important to participate thoughtfully in our conversations, submit all work and feedback on time, treat others in the class with respect and understanding, listen well to them, and write and revise enthusiastically. I’ll check in if I see you struggling, but participation is your responsibility. Please schedule a conference with me at least once during the semester, to talk about your writing, your process, goals, and the course.

The CUNY Academic Commons
You’ll need a CUNY Academic Commons account to post various assignments. I’ll need you to send me the email address you used to sign up for QWriting so that I can make you a member of the site (so you can post).

The Writing Center
The Writing Center is a great resource for getting feedback on your writing, whether you’re struggling or just want to hear the ideas of a trained expert as you’re revising.

Accommodations
If you have any condition that requires accommodation in this class—for example, a medical condition or a difficulty with cognition or psychology—please let me know. You should also contact the Office of Special Services (718-997-5870). That office will strive to offer any services students need.

QC Counseling Services
Counseling Services are available to any Queens College student. We assist students with personal concerns that can affect their enjoyment of and success in college. Services are free and confidential. All sessions take place on Zoom or by Telephone, depending on student preference.

To make an appointment, students should call 718-997-5420 and leave a message with their phone number and CUNY ID. They can also e-mail [email protected].

Academic Integrity
Your written work should be your own. But your ideas should also engage those of other thinkers and writers. Communication gives ideas meaning and creates a community of thinkers. This is where citation and plagiarism can become tricky. Plagiarism is, of course, a serious issue. It is important that you establish your own point of view, make it clear what ideas are yours and which come from your sources, and respond to your sources critically. Be sure also to acknowledge your sources, using conventions common to creative nonfiction. We’ll discuss those conventions, which differ from the citation styles you use for most academic writing. Finally, if you’re struggling with your ideas, your writing, or your sources, be sure to talk to me. Plagiarism sometimes arises from confusion and sometimes from desperation. If you are feeling panicked or just unsure about a writing assignment, talk to me. I can help you with the process. I count on you to take your academic integrity seriously, and I take any breach of the college’s policy on plagiarism seriously, too. You should familiarize yourself with that policy, and let me know if you have any questions about it.