Assessment:

Class Participation and: 20%

Entries and Engagement in Online Discussion Platforms: 30%

Midterm Analysis Paper and Presentation: 25%

Final Project and Presentation: 25%

1. Class participation: As discussion and communal examination of this material is essential to the course, students are expected to attend and engage the material with the class/cohort. Inconsistent or insufficient attendance will result in an incomplete—at best.

2. Discussion Board Posts:  Each week students will listen to themed music selections for that week, and engage the related written text (lyrical or commentary).  After listening to the assigned audio clips, each student will make an initial post reacting to the pieces they listened to.  This initial post is due at least 3 days before the next class meeting.  By class time, students should respond to someone else’s discussion post.  The initial post should be 2-3 paragraphs in length, and the reply post should be 1-2 paragraphs in length.

3. Midterm:  Students identify a topic explored in the Black in America playlist. Student presents to the class 2 songs relevant to the selection—either from the Black in America playlist of the student’s choice. Presentation should show an understanding of the song or artist’s social or political engagement, and of the historical context in which the songs were offered or written. 
4. Final: Students curate and present to the class playlists constructed by student teams, using the segment themes offered in the original playlist or new themes submitted and approved by the instructor. Each team chooses one themed section of their playlist and presents the spoken intro and one selection from that section, explaining the relevance of the selections. After class listens to the selection, the student team leads discussion of the offering.