Grading really works best of eggs and cuts of meat. Trying to compress a student's achievements into a letter plus and plus or minus is a daunting task. I don't know a single faculty member who goes home at the end of the day thinking "Whee--tonight I get to grade papers." It isn't the reading, it isn't the markup, it's the final judgment compressing everything down to a dinky little letter. There was a time here when we could offer courses pass/fail, but we're not that experimental any more. So here's how I see it this time. These are approximate. If you have a proposal to make, drop by the office and make it.
Rubric I Based upon three of the four books for the course.
Randall, Linda K.
Finding Grace in the Concert Hall: Community and Meaning among Springsteen Fans.
Heilbut, Tony
The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times
Dunaway, David King, and Beer, Molly
Singing Out: An Oral History of Folk Music Revivals
Write an analytical review of one of these books., remembering the things that we discussed: the author's intent, what the audience was supposed to take home, and what the author's point of view was. What was the most memorable thing you learned from the book? What were some of the artists/musicians/performers were introducted to you by it, and how did the book stimilate you to become more familiar with the work(s) created by them.
This rubric must be followed at least once and can be followed up to three times. Each one will count 20% of your final grade.
Rubric II Based upon Analysis of lyrics and performances of Five songs of Protest or Praise.
You may choose:
Five songs of a particular Artist or group.
Five songs of a particular genre, i.e. labor songs, slave songs, civil rights songs, anti-war songs, etc.
Five versions of a particular song, analysing the difference in effect and intent of the artist across time. If you chose this, try to get renditions expressive of different eras.
Your analysis should include such things as the song's function (is it to build morale? Is it to recruit? Is it to combat ideas of "the other side"?., What was the most memorable thing you learned from each song? Are you stimulated to learn more about the artists' work or the cause to which the work was devoted? Did you have a favorite? Why
This rubric must be followed at least once and can be followed up to four times. Each one will count 15% of your final grade.
Rubric III A creative act of your own
You might, for example
Create a video or videos of your own, choosing a song which you like (borrowing cds from me if you wish) and illustrating it with pictures from the web. Windows Media Center is a usable tool. There are others as well, for free.
Write your own Protest Song--create the words, and either set them to an existing song, or use a traditional song which espresses the sentiment which you are trying to express.
This rubric is optional but can be followed up to two times. Each will count 25% of your grade.
Rubric IV Contribution to class resources:
I will evaluate what contributions you've made in the form of illustrations or videos or links in your resource folder, and will use that in borderline cases to decide which side of the border your grade will rest upon.
