Seminar on the Portrayal of Crime in Music

Seminar on the Portrayal of Crime in Music

CJUS 4000

Who:Dr. Charisse T. M. Coston; 5081 Colvard Building; 687-0745.

Where:Department Of Criminal Justice and Criminology

When:Fall Semester 2017

Office Hours:Thursdays 1-2

Email address:

Course Description: This course provides an in-depth historical examination of the impact of music on criminal behavior in the United States as well as the portrayal of crime in music. Related theory and sample recordings will accompany various topics including: poverty, hate crimes/racism, sexual assault, the police, crimes/gangs, courts, corrections, unsafe products, environmental pollution and consumers’ fraud, to name a few. An examination of citizen attitudes and stereotypes associated with the criminal justice system will beexplored.

Grading:The final grade for this course will be calculated as follows:

1.one half hour group presentation - 40 points; and

2.one 20-page group paper (due the last day of classes) - 40 points.

3.attendance - 20 points-(2 points per day).

Do you want a final exam? We will discuss it during the first week of class.

Initial guidelines for organizing your Group Presentation and Paper: Pick a type of music from the list below, identify several songs with either one or several crime themes and discuss the following:

1.The origin of the style of music;

2.The socio-political historical context of the music;

3.Theoretical and empirical criminological/sociological evidence relating to the style of the music’s influence on crime and or portrayal of

crime themes in the music; and

4.Implications and conclusions.

The entire presentation should last no more than one half hour so as to leave a half hour or so for discussion. Sample recordings must be a part of your presentation. Be sure to give the class a copy of the lyrics in the music. The 10-page paper must have at least 10 bibliographic citations from scholarly books and/or journals. Individual grades will be assigned.

TOPICS FOR THE PRESENTATIONS AND PAPER

BluesGospelMovie soundtracks (e.g., Westside

Classical (e.g., orchestra, opera).Pop Rock Story, Purple Rain)

Easy ListeningAlternative/PunkCountry/Western

JazzHeavy MetalDance/Disco

New AgeRap (only 2 groups)Reggae

Folk/BluegrassRhythm and Blues

Suggested crime (or deviance) themes: drugs, gangs, white collar crime, attitudes towards the police and or any criminal justice system role player i.e., prosecutors, judges, wardens, domestic violence, rape, racism, poverty, sexism, organized crime, prohibition, assassinations, prisons/jails, homelessness, gambling, McCarthyism, adultery.

TIME FRAME FOR CLASS MEETINGS AND GROUP PRESENTATIONS

DAYACTIVITY

1OVERVIEW, SELECTION OF TOPICS, INDIVIDUAL GROUPS MEETINGS

2PREPARATION AND INDIVIDUAL GROUP MEETINGS

3PREPARATION AND INDIVIDUAL GROUP MEETINGS (meeting with each group leader)

GROUP PRESENTATIONS BEGIN (September 14, 2017)

4GROUP 1 and 29/14

5GROUP 3 and 49/21

6GROUP 5 and 69/28

7GROUP 7 and 810/5

8GROUP 9 and 1010/12

9GROUP 11 `10/19

10GROUP12 10/26

11GROUP12 11/2

12GROUP 13 11/9

13GROUP1411/22

14GROUP15 11/30

FINAL GROUP PAPERS DUE: November 30, 2017

Portrayal of Crime in Music

Criteria for the Gradingof the Presentation*

I give a lot more leeway in presentations than in the paper

You need at least four songs

Familiarity with the subject matter

(i.e., the quality and depth of the subject material)

20 points

Organization

8 points

Ability to maintain audience interest

(i.e., flow and pace)

2 points

Use of Notes/ Outline

(i.e., following an outline rather than reading

your own notes or direct passages from a book or journal is plagiarism)

10 points

Additional Comments:

Total

______

40 points

Guidelines for Paper

(20 pages excluding cover page, table of contents, bibliography and Appendix A).

FORMAT FOR TITLE PAGE

The Influence of Domestic Violence in Country Music

This paper submitted to

Dr. Charisse T.M. Coston

in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the course

The Portrayal of Crime in Music

CJUS 4000

by

Jeremy Shoemaker

Bonnie Berry

Cherie Serene

Samuel Franklin

University of North Carolina

Department of Criminal Justice

Charlotte, North Carolina 28223

Fall 2018

Format for the Table of Contents and Outline for the Paper

Page

Origin of the Style of Music:Name of Contributor1

Socio-Political Context of the Music:Name of Contributor5

Theoretical and Empirical Evidence:Name of Contributor10

Implications/Conclusions: Name of Contributor15

Bibliography (need at least 12)

Appendix A:lyrics (at least four songs; also list authors and titles here)

Signed Plagiarism Document

Do not leave blank spaces when transitioning from one author to the next.

Do use subheadings.

Do NOT use contractions (2 points off for each contraction used in the paper)

Do include 3 to 4 citations for each section.

Incorporate all suggestions from the presentation into the paper.

No pages numbers on thetitle page, table of contents or appendices

Each part of the paper should be 5 pages in length and have 4-5 citations interwoven in to it (remember: these citations can be ideas in addition to exact quotes, but both must be cited).

For each group I should have only one paper. Each sub-part should be combined to form one paper.

Be sure your paper has subheadings so I know where one sub-paper begins and the other ends. The paper should be continuous. List who did each sub-paper when you add the table of contents.

Be sure to add page numbers 1- 20.

Each song should be listed in the order of its appearance in the paper. Include the lyrics

Ex:

Appendix A and table of contents: Lyrics

Bad Days John Coltrane

Good DaysHolden Davis

All references should be in alphabetical order and each paper should have one bibliography using APA format.

PAPERS ARE DUE ON November 30, 2017 NO LATER THAN 2PM. PLEASE BRING THEM TO MY OFFICE 5081 COLVARD BUILDING.

Group Approval Sheet

I need one of these for each group

GROUP NUMBER______

GROUP LEADER______

GROUP MEMBERS NAMES AND PHONE NUMBERS

TYPE OF MUSIC:

CRIME/DEVIANCE THEME:

OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION (Who is doing what?):

SIGN THIS DOCUMENT BELOW BEFORE I SIGN OFF ON YOUR PROJECT

Course Contract

Assumptions and Commitments

In this class, students will be referred to and expected to comport themselves as professionals. The context for this course is the Portrayal of Crime in Music

ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING THE COURSE

All students are asked to believethat with hard work on their part and with my support as the professor, they will meet all of the course goals and objectives. In addition, all students are asked to assume and commit to the following:

• learning is a process requiring active participation;
• as the instructor, I am responsible for assistingstudents to learn;
• my responsibilities include:
• articulating clear goals and expectations,
• collecting and applying learning process data,
• collecting and applying outcome data,
• providing timely and helpful feedback.

• students have the primary responsibility for their own learning;
• processing,
• taking notes,
• respectfully commenting and questioning,
• discussing,
• proposing,
• thoughtfully completing assigned work in a timely manner,
• documenting evidence of their learning,
• using assistance and support from classmates, the instructor, and materials at the University library, on the internet, and in the community;

• students have a secondary but important responsibility to enhance the learning of their classmates by interacting with them and with me.

COURSE PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS

Course credit is recorded when student work is evaluated and documented. As the instructor, I will:

• record earned points when the students have completed their work products.

Class Attendance and Participation

I recognize that is my responsibility as a student to actively participate in all aspects of planning, implementing, and evaluating class activities. Participation requires much more than my presence in class, although my attendance is essential. As a student, I am expected to work hard to meet course goals and to contribute to my classmates’ success.

I will demonstrate my professionalism through:

a) my physical appearance (e.g., appropriate dress for class, cleanliness, neatness);

b) my patterns of speech (e.g., interactions with others, body language and other mannerisms);

c) my dispositions toward colleagues and the professor (e.g., respect, attention to others’ ideas and concerns, work ethic, punctuality);

d)my dispositions toward standards of quality in work products, attention to details, continuous improvement).

Cell Phones, Pagers, and other forms of classroom disruption

It is important that the flow and rhythm of classroom interactions are not interrupted. I will shut off my cell phones, pagers, and any other noise making electronic equipment should be prior to entering class. If I anticipate the need for emergency communication, I will consult with the instructor before class.

OUR COMMITMENTS IN THIS COURSE

Instructor Commitments:

As the instructor, my first responsibility is to assure that every student has a clear understanding of what must be learned about classroom assessment. My second responsibility is to assure that every student understands what they must demonstrate and document regarding classroom assessment and evaluation to earn a satisfactory grade in this course. Finally, I am responsible for helping all students learn, demonstrate, and document that they have met all course goals and requirements.

Student’s Commitments

As a student, I am responsible for my own learning and for completing course goals in a manner that provides compelling evidence of my achievement.

Aa a student, I am responsible for supporting the development of ideas, knowledge, skills, and dispositions by my classmates. Therefore, I commit to:

1) Attending all scheduled class sessions.*

This includes:

- Arriving at all class sessions on time;

- Being prepared to begin work on time;

- Completing assignments on time.**

2) Participating in class discussions.

This includes:

- attending well to the instructor, students, and other speakers;

- supporting or questioning the ideas of others;

- proposing alternative ideas for others to consider.

3) Interacting with others in a respectful and professional manner.

Thisincludes:

- helping class members by giving useful evaluative feedback;

- being specific with concrete suggestions for improvement;

- being constructive and helpful.

4) Producing written work that reflects my respect for the teaching profession.

This includes:

- documents that are mechanically correct (e.g., grammar, spelling, punctuation, page breaks)

- a tone that is professional, inviting, encouraging, and supportive.- pride in the quality of my work and competence in my written communication.

* I know that any excused absence from class requires prior instructor approval and the satisfactory make-up of all the work that is missed.

** I know that late or incomplete submissions of work requires prior instructor approval and the satisfactory completion of work within a time period specified by the instructor.

Signatures:

Dr. Charisse T.M. Coston ______Date:______

Student______Date:______

Course:

Semester: