The Beatles are significant in many ways: they were an unprecedented show business phenomenon; they were leaders of sixties cultural rebellion; and they stand, for many, as a signal instance of popular entertainment attaining the status of high art. This course will examine the musical craftsmanship of the Beatles, focusing on their work as songwriters and record makers. Recent audio and print releases documenting the group’s performing and recording history provide a unique and detailed glimpse of the Beatles’ creative process. We will utilize these materials to closely trace the development of the group’s work while using other resources to place it in a larger historical and cultural context. The goal is to shed critical light on this recent chapter in cultural history. That discussion will, in turn, highlight questions about creativity in a modern context where commerce vies with art, technology redefines performance, and an emerging global village culture transforms concepts of originality and tradition.
Note: This course is offered by DePaul University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SPS). It can be taken by SCPS students for as many as two SNL competencies. It can also be taken by non–SCPS students for Liberal Studies credit in the Arts & Literature Domain.
SCPS students may take this course for 4 credit hours (i.e., two SCPS competencies) or 2 credit hours (i.e., one SCPS competence). For SCPS students, the course offers the following set of competencies (each of which is worth 2 credit hours):
Competence |
Competence Statement |
A1X |
Can view works of popular music through an interpretive ‘lens’ and can discuss strengths and weaknesses of the lens in question. |
A3X |
Can describe and analyze the interaction between a popular music phenomenon and at least one philosophical/spiritual problem or perspective. |
A5 |
Can define and analyze a creative process. |
S3F |
Can analyze the integration of new technology into a specific field of human endeavor from at least two perspectives. |
For details on these SCPS competencies and course assignments, click here.
Students from DePaul colleges other than SCPS may take this course to meet the Arts & Literature requirement of the Liberal Studies Program. Non–SNL students who wish to take the course for Liberal Studies credit should register on the SNC–185 roster (a 4–credit hour roster specially created for Liberal Studies students). DePaul’s Liberal Studies Program aims to foster among students reflectiveness; value consciousness; multicultural perspectives; and critical as well as creative thinking.
The learning outcomes for Liberal Studies Program’s Arts & Literature domain are as follows:
For a description of the Liberal Studies Program’s Arts & Literature domain and details on Arts & Literature Learning Outcomes and course assignments, click here.
If you are a non–SCPS student and you are registered on a roster other than SNC–185, then you are taking the course for 2 credit hours (rather than 4 credit hours). You should follow the directions below for students taking the course for 2 credit hours.
There are numerous required readings for this course and they are all available in PDF form at the DePaul University Library website, under Ares Course Reserves. All required readings are listed in each course module; clicking a reading's link will open Ares Course Reserves in a new browser window.
Note: In addition to our required readings, the E-Reserves page includes several optional, supplementary readings.
As there is no single textbook currently in print that is adequate to the purposes of this course, the course author has used the Electronic Reserve system to assemble a custom anthology, composed of articles and chapters by a range of authors on a variety of topics. These E-Reserve materials will in effect serve as our print text.
During the period they were together as a band, The Beatles released 12 albums on (or through) their UK label, EMI / Parlophone and these are listed below. Having access to all 12 is ideal. For this course, you are required to purchase the titles that appear in bold.
Please Please Me (1963)
With the Beatles (1963)
A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
Beatles for Sale (1964)
Help! (1965)
Rubber Soul (1965)
Revolver (1966)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
The Beatles (aka the White Album) (1968)
Abbey Road (1969)
Let It Be (1970)
Past Masters, volumes 1 & 2
[A note about Past Masters: This collection contains the numerous Beatles single releases that were never included on albums. These single releases represent some of the Beatles’ finest work, so it’s essential to have them. The Past Masters collection is available in two formats – as two albums labeled, respectively, volume 1 and volume 2; or as one double album entitled Past Masters (Remastered). Also—and this is something of a fine point, so no need to worry about it—but if you have a choice of getting Past Masters in mono or stereo, your instructor recommends that you get the mono version.]
All of these albums have recently been re-mastered. The CDs are widely available from retail outlets, both brick-and-mortar and online. In addition, all the albums are available for digital download from iTunes. Of course, if you have the vinyl, rock on!
This course is organized into 10 modules, each of which lasts a week:
Week / Module |
Read (Please note all readings are posted on Electronic Reserve) |
Listen to |
Screen (Please note all video clips and films are embedded in course) |
Turn in |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 Come Together: Why the Beatles Are A Big Deal |
Module 1 Introduction & Overview Frith, "Popular Music 1950-1980" Martin, "All You Need is Ears" Dormen & Eddidin, "Original Spin" |
"A Day in the Life" from Sgt.Pepper |
Short video clips |
Discussion posts Journal entry |
2 The Fifties, Race & Rock |
Module 2 Introduction & Overview Miles, "Being Born in Liverpool Carries with it Certain Responsibilities" Martin, "There, beneath the blue suburban skies. . ." Hertsgaard, '"Mach Schau!": The Hamburg – Liverpool Apprenticeship" |
"Love Me Do" & "P.S. I Love You" from the Please Please Me album; "Long Tall Sally" from Past Masters Disc 1 |
Short video clips |
Discussion posts Journal entry |
3 Songcraft, Convention & Technology |
Module 3 Introduction & Overview
Hertsgaard, "Starting A Reputation (Please Please Me)" MacDonald, "John and Paul: the Start of a Partnership" MacDonald , "The People's Music" Eisenberg, Excerpts from "Phonography", pp. 109-129; 155-159 |
Please Please Me album; "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "Slow Down" & "Matchbox" from Past Masters Disc 1
|
Course Author video clips |
Discussion posts Journal entry |
4 Mania, Spectacle, Sociology |
Module 4 Introduction & Overview Sloan, "You Say You Want A Revolution" Ehrenreich et al, "Beatlemania: A sexually defiant consumer subculture?" Tompkins, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" Ebert, "A Hard Day's Night" |
A Hard Day's Night (album) "I Feel Fine" & She's A Woman" from Past Masters Disc 1
|
A Hard Day's Night Ed Sullivan Show (two songs)
|
Discussion posts Journal entry |
5 From Pop To Art |
Module 5 Introduction & Boden, "Creativity in a Nutshell" (pp. 1-5) Campbell, “From Romance to Romanticism: the Beatles 1964-1970 Whiteley, “Love, love, love: Representations of Gender and Sexuality in Selected Songs by the Beatles” |
Rubber Soul album; also, "Day Tripper" & "We Can Work It Out" from Past Masters Disc 2 |
Shakespeares in the Alley Course Author Video Clips
|
Discussion posts Journal entry Midterm Quiz (for students taking the course for 4 credit hours) |
6 Psychedelia, Spirituality & the Global Village |
Module 6 Introduction and Overview Newman, "Hunting Tigahs Out in Indiah" MacDonald, Excerpts (on "Tomorrow Never Knows" & "Eleanor Rigby") from Revolution in the Head, pp. 164-170; 180-181 Emerick, "Innovation and Invention: the Making of Revolver"
|
Revolver album; also, "Paperback Writer" & "Rain" from Past Masters Disc 2 Sound files embedded in Module 6 Introduction & Overview
|
Short video clips |
Discussion posts Midterm paper |
7 Sgt Pepper as (Counter) Cultural Moment |
Module 7 Introduction & Overview MacDonald, Excerpts from Revolution in the Head (on Sgt. Pepper), pp. 188-220 Stevens, Jay, Excerpts from Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream, pp. 31-43; 44-46; 47-57 MacIntyre, "The Gospel of Lovely Rita" Kocot, “The Indian Beatle(s): From ‘Norwegian Wood’ to ‘The Hare Krishna Mantra’” |
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album; also, "Penny Lane", "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "All You Need Is Love" from Magical Mystery Tour album |
It Was Twenty Years Ago Today |
Discussion posts Journal entry |
8 The Sgt Pepper Debate: Transcendent Masterpiece or Toy Balloon? |
Module 8 Introduction & Overview Shoales, "Rock Music Today" Goldstein, "We Still Need the Beatles, but. . ." Martin, "Record Production" Keightley, "Reconsidering rock", pp.131-142
|
Magical Mystery Tour album |
Short video clips |
Discussion posts |
9 "Random," Rishikesh, Revolution |
Module 9 Introduction & Overview Miles, "Avant-Garde London" Everett, Excerpt on Yoko Ono MacDonald, Excerpts from Revolution in the Head, pp. 232-236 (on "I Am the Walrus")
|
The Beatles (aka the White Album); also, "Hey Jude", "Revolution", "Lady Madonna", "The Inner Light" and "Across the Universe" from Past Masters Disc 2
|
Short video clips |
Discussion posts Journal entry |
10 And in the End: making & Taking |
Module 10 Introduction & Overview
Smith, "Following the Genius with Four Heads: Why I Became A Composer" Frontani, "The Beatles' Idealized Past," pp. 224-236 |
Abbey Road album; also, "Get Back", "Don't Let Me Down", "Let It Be" & "You Know My Name, Look Up the Number" from Past Masters Disc 1
|
Short video clips |
Discussion posts Final Quiz |
First Day of Week 11 |
Final Paper due |
Discussions
Students are expected to contribute in a substantive, timely and interactive fashion to the Discussion posted for each module/week of the course.
To view the assessment rubric for Discussion participation, click here.
Journal entries
By the end of every module/week except Module/Week 6, Module/Week 8 and Module/Week 10, students will submit a journal entry (around a typed page in length) on a reading chosen from the list of readings scheduled for that module/week. This will make for a total of 7 journal entries by course's end. The format for journal entries appears in each module.
To view the assessment criteria for journal entries, click here.
Quizzes
The course contains two open–book Quizzes, one due at Midterm time (the end of Week 5) addressing material covered in Modules 1–5 and another at Finals time (the end of Week 10) addressing material covered in Modules 6–10. Students taking the course for 4 credit hours will submit the Midterm Quiz at the end of Week 5 and the Final Quiz at the end of Week 10. Students taking the course for 2 credit hours will submit one quiz – either the Midterm or the Final – by the end of Week 10.
Short Papers:
Re topics for short papers: Students will choose topics from an array of essay questions prepared by the instructor. The instructor will see to it that the essay questions are attuned to specific learning outcomes. As an alternative, you may write on an essay question of your own invention, provided it fits outcome criteria and the instructor approves it.
To view the assessment rubric for short papers, click here.
In sum, the evidence requirements for the course are:
Note: students registered for just one SCPS competence (i.e., 2 credit hours) are only required to submit one Quiz and one Short paper by the end of the course.
Point-wise, the breakdown is as follows:
For Students Taking 4 Credit Hours:
Discussions (10 x 3 pts) | 30 Points |
Journal Entries (7 x 3 pts) | 21 Points |
Quizzes (2 x 9 pts) | 18 Points |
Short Paper (Midterm) | 30 Points |
Short paper (Final) | 30 Points |
Total: | 129 Points |
For Students Taking 2 Credit Hours:
Discussions (10 x 3 pts) | 30 Points |
Journal Entries (7 x 3 pts) | 21 Points |
Quiz (at either Midterm or Finals time) | 9 Points |
Short Paper (at either Midterm or Finals time) | 30 Points |
Total: | 90 Points |
The grading scale is based on 100 percent of the required assignments. Thus:
A = 95 to 100 | A- = 91 to 94 | B+ = 88 to 90 |
B = 85 to 87 | B- = 81 to 84 | C+ = 77 to 80 |
C = 73 to 76 | C- = 69 to 72 | D+ = 65 to 68 |
D = 61 to 64 | F = 60 or below |
Please note: Grades lower than a C- do not earn credit or competence in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
To receive full credit (3 points) for a given module’s Discussion, you must make a contribution that is
In addition, you can receive an extra credit point for a contribution that your instructor judges to be of exceptional quality.
A single journal entry is worth a maximum of 3 points. To receive full credit, a journal entry must:
Assessment Rubric for Short Papers:
'A' designates work of high quality. An A paper (28-30 pts)
'B' designates work of good quality. A B paper (25-27 pts)
'C' designates work which minimally meets requirements set forward in assignment. A C paper (22-24 pts)
'D' designates work of poor quality which does not meet minimum requirements set forth in the assignment. A D paper (19-21 pts)
Such work is expected to conform to college–level standards of mechanics and presentation.
In assessing such work, your instructor strives to be clear, flexible, forthright and empathetic.
Due dates in the course are firm and must be adhered to if you expect to succeed. If you have a problem meeting a due date, you should contact your instructor. Assignments that are late will receive reduced points. Assignments which are more than one week late will receive zero points.
For details on SCPS competencies and course assignments, see below:
The A5 competence is addressed by the course focus on analyzing the Beatles' multifaceted creative process:
Competence Statement | Facets of the Competence | Learning Outcome | Assignments/Deliverables demonstrating this competence |
Can Define and Analyze a Creative Process | Can define the concept of creativity. | Students will: develop an understanding of a modern creative process | Prime deliverable: Midterm or final paper targeting this competence |
Can identify, analyze, and describe the components of a creative process in one or more fields of human endeavor. | Develop an understanding of differing perspectives on what counts as creativity | Journal entries and Quiz assignments will also speak to the competence. | |
Can explain how engaging in a creative process affects one' s perception of the world. | be able to discuss ways in which this modern creative process is bound up with sociocultural factors such as class, literacy, and vernacular culture | Discussions will speak to the competence. |
The A1X competence is addressed by the course focus on songcraft and record making as art forms as well as various approaches to interpreting these forms:
Competence Statement | Facets of the Competence | Learning Outcome | Assignments/Deliverables demonstrating this competence |
Can view works of popular music through an interpretive ‘lens’ and can discuss strengths and weaknesses of the lens in question. | Specifies a work or works and engages an interpretive lens (e.g., sociocultural context; structure/genre; the artist’s biography; the rhetoric of fans, critics or scholars) | Students will: have practice with close reading techniques as applied to print and/or audio texts | Prime deliverable: Midterm or final paper targeting this competence |
Thoroughly and thoughtfully analyzes the work in terms of the interpretive lens. | be familiar with some basic concepts of popular songcraft and sound recording | Journal entries and Quiz assignments will also speak to the competence. | |
Briefly discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the interpretive ‘lens’ byconsidering what aspects of the work it allows us to see well and what aspects it blinds us to. | Have experience using and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of at least one interpretive lens | Discussions will speak to the competence |
The A3X competence is addressed by the course focus on such artworks in relation to 60s-era trends in spirituality and philosophy:
Competence Statement | Facets of the Competence | Learning Outcome | Assignments/Deliverables demonstrating this competence |
Can describe and analyze the interaction between a popular music phenomenon and at least one philosophical/spiritual problem or perspective. | Identifies a popular music phenomenon. (E.g., the Beatlemania fan craze; the Orientalism of middle period Beatles culture; the development of the ‘psychedelic sound’.) | Students will: become familiar with some 60s-era trends in spirituality and/or philosophy | Prime deliverable: Midterm or final paper targeting this competence |
Identifies at least one philosophical/spiritual problem or perspective. (E.g., the problem of women’s oppression; the perspective of Indian mysticism; the challenge of modern alienation.) | be able to place such phenomena in a historical and/or social context | Journal entries and Quiz assignments will also speak to the competence. | |
Describes how 1 & 2 above interact with reference to pertinent histories, practices and texts and goes on to analyze the significance of the interaction in relation to popular music practice or spiritual/philosophical inquiry. | have practice with close reading techniques as applied to print and/or audio texts | Discussions will speak to the competence |
Competence Statement | Facets of the Competence | Learning Outcome | Assignments/Deliverables demonstrating this competence |
Can analyze the integration of new technology into a specific field of human endeavor from at least two perspectives. | Identifies a field of human endeavor (in this case, the arts) that has been reshaped by new technology (in this case, sound recording) | Students will: become familiar with some 60s-era trends in spirituality and/or philosophy | Prime deliverable: Midterm or final paper targeting this competence |
Analyzes the significance of the integration of new technology into that field from at least two different perspectives (for example, historical, ethical, sociological, economic, aesthetic, or scientific). | be able to place such phenomena in a historical and/or social context | Journal entries and Quiz assignments will also speak to the competence. | |
have practice with close reading techniques as applied to print and/or audio texts | Discussions will speak to the competence |
Courses in the Arts and Literature Domain ask students to extend their knowledge and experience of the arts by developing their critical and reflective abilities. In these courses, students interpret and analyze particular creative works, investigate the relations of form and meaning, and through critical and/or creative activity come to experience art with greater openness, insight, and enjoyment. These courses focus on works of literature, art, theatre, or music as such, though the process of analysis may also include social and cultural issues. Students who take courses in this domain choose three courses from such choices as literature, the visual arts, media arts, music, and theater. No more than two courses can be chosen from one department or program
For details on Liberal Studies Learning Outcomes and course assignments, see below:
Liberal Studies / Arts & Literature Domain Learning Outcomes (from the DePaul Liberal Studies Program website) | Assignments/Deliverables |
Students will be able to explain, in well-written prose, what a work of art is about and/or how it was produced (i.e., they should be able to explain the content of that work and/or its methodology of production). | Prime deliverables: - Midterm paper and final paper, both on an Arts& Literature topic - Journal entries - Discussion |
Students will be able to comment on the relationship between form and content in a work. | Prime deliverables: - Midterm paper and final paper, both on an Arts& Literature topic - Journal entries - Discussion |
Students will be able to assess the formal aspects of their subject and put those qualities into words using, when appropriate, specialized vocabulary employed in class and readings. | Prime deliverables: - Midterm paper and final paper, both on an Arts& Literature topic - Journal entries - Discussion - Quizzes |
Students will be able to contextualize a work of art. They will be able to do so with respect to other works of art in terms of defining its place within a broader style or genre. They will also be able to contextualize a work of art in terms of contemporaneous aesthetic, social or political concerns, discussing how these might shape the work’s reception and how that reception might differ amongst various people and historical periods | Prime deliverables: - Midterm paper and final paper, both on an Arts& Literature topic - Journal entries - Discussion |
The Liberal Studies Arts & Literature emphasis is addressed by the course focus on the Beatles as songwriters, record makers and cultural icons, as well as the course focus on popular music as a site of artistic endeavor and interpretation.
Discussion Forums are an important component of your online experience. This course contains discussion forums related to the topics you are studying each week. For requirements on your participation in the Discussion Forums, please see "Course Expectations" in the syllabus.
A Course Q & A discussion forum has also been established to manage necessary, ongoing social and administrative activities. This is where the management and administrative tasks of the course are conducted, and where you can ask 'process' questions and receive answers throughout the course. Please feel free to answer any question if you feel you know the answer; this sharing of information is valuable to other students.
This course includes and adheres to the college and university policies described in the links below:
Academic Integrity Policy (UGRAD)
Academic Integrity Policy (GRAD)
Course Withdrawal Timelines and Grade/Fee Consequences
Accommodations Based on the Impact of a Disability
Protection of Human Research Participants
APA citation format (GRAD)
University Center for Writing-based Learning
This syllabus is subject to change as necessary. If a change occurs, it will be clearly communicated to students.
This course was designed and produced by John Kimsey and staff at SCPS, School of Continuing and Professional Studies of DePaul University. Course Author video clips were directed and edited by Jim Kimsey.
© 2011 School of Continuing and Professional Studies, DePaul University. All Rights Reserved by SCPS during contractual interval with the Author.