Course Document Syllabus

Units

3

Breadth Area

GE-UD-3 (Upper Division Arts or Humanities)

Overlay

Diversity

Modality

Online, asynchronous

Grading

A–F or CR/NC (student choice)

Term

Summer 2026, May 26 to July 31

Instructor Information

Inés Thiebaut. Email ines.thiebaut@csueastbay.edu. Office hours Mondays and Thursdays 10 am to noon, by Zoom at https://csueb.zoom.us/j/5108853126. If you cannot make those times, email me and we will coordinate another. I would rather hear from you early than late.

Email is the best way to reach me. I check it regularly and will respond as promptly as I can. Canvas Inbox also works but I check it less often, so for time-sensitive things, email is faster.

I encourage you to communicate with me regularly and early. Office hours are drop-in: come with questions, concerns, or to talk through ideas.

Course Description

This course surveys American popular music from the 1940s forward, with attention to the cultural roots and traditions that shape it. We listen across genres including blues, gospel, R&B, soul, jazz crossovers, country, folk, rock, funk, disco, hip hop, Latin popular musics, Asian American popular musics, Indigenous popular musics, punk, electronic dance traditions, and contemporary streaming-era pop. We examine how musicians and audiences participate in social and political life, and how music acts as advocacy for awareness and progress.

The course is organized around four cultural traditions (African American foundational traditions, Latin diasporic traditions, Asian American traditions, and European American immigrant and working-class traditions) and the dialogues between them. We pay attention to migration and displacement, including the Great Migration of African Americans within the United States, and to how identity, community, and historical context shape musical expression.

You do not need a musical background to succeed in this course. We will build a shared listening vocabulary together, starting in plain language and adding technical terms gradually. The work emphasizes informed opinion, critical thinking, and connections between music and the world it lives in, rather than memorization for its own sake.

A Note on Course Content

This course engages with American popular music as it actually exists, which means we will encounter material that includes explicit lyrics, depictions and discussions of racism and racial violence, sexual content, drug references, references to violence including police violence, language that has historically been used as slurs, and material that engages with traumatic historical events including slavery, forced displacement, the AIDS crisis, and other forms of harm.

We do not censor around this content, because the explicit dimensions of this music are often where its cultural work is happening. Hip hop's language, the sexual frankness of certain R&B and Latin traditions, punk's confrontational stance, the rage and grief in protest music, these are part of what the music is and part of why it matters. Engaging with this material critically and thoughtfully is part of the work of the course.

Each module's landing page includes a brief note about the specific content you can expect in that module, so you are not caught off guard. If you anticipate needing accommodations to engage with course material, please reach out to me early and consult Accessibility Services. I will work with you to find a path forward that meets the learning outcomes of the course.

Course Purpose and Structure

This course is organized into five Canvas modules and a parallel research project. The structure is designed to give you flexibility while keeping us moving through the term together.

How modules work

Module 1 (Orientation and Methodology) must be completed first. It introduces how to listen, what counts as evidence in writing about music, and the cultural roots framing that holds the course together.

Modules 2 through 5 cover the four cultural traditions. They run in sequence after Module 1, one module per week, in this order: Module 2 (African American foundational traditions), Module 3 (Latin diasporic traditions), Module 4 (Asian American traditions), Module 5 (European American immigrant and working-class traditions). Each module has its own deadline; the schedule below lists each module's window.

How the research project works

The research project runs in parallel with the modules across the whole term. You will research a genre and a single artist or group of personal significance to you, and present your work as a PowerPoint deck with recorded video commentary (a screen recording of you presenting your slides). The project is scaffolded across the term so you build it in stages, with my feedback at each stage. Specific deadlines for the project are listed in the schedule below and explained in the assignments section.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Express informed opinions and judgments about a variety of styles of popular music.
• Communicate critical thoughts, opinions, and judgments about the creative work of different artists and bands from the 1950s forward.
• Make connections between cultural influences, social and political movements, relevant events, and popular music of the same period.
• Quickly recall factual knowledge about artists, bands, and the contributing factors to their artistry from the 1940s forward.
• Identify and discuss forms and influences of diverse cultures in American popular music.
• Research and present a genre and a single artist or group of personal significance.

GE-UD-3 Learning Outcomes

This course fulfills GE-UD-3 by supporting your ability to:

• Apply principles, methodologies, and thought processes of the arts and humanities.
• Analyze cultural production as expression of, or reflection upon, what it means to be human.
• Demonstrate how arts and humanities perspectives are used by informed, engaged, and reflective citizens to benefit local and global communities.

Diversity Overlay Learning Outcomes

This course fulfills the Diversity overlay by supporting your ability to:

• Describe the histories, experiences, or views of one or more cultural groups.
• Analyze the overlap or intersection of social identities (culture, gender, class, sexuality, religion, disability, immigration status, age).
• Examine the impact of your own identity on experiences with or views of other cultural groups.

Required Course Materials

There is no required textbook for this course. Readings, listening guides, and other course materials live on Canvas and on the public course website. You will need:

• Reliable internet access for streaming audio and video.
• A streaming service that lets you access full recordings (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, or similar). Free tiers will work for most listening but may include ads. The library also offers free access to several streaming services for students.
• Slide deck software for the final project (PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote, or similar). PowerPoint is available free through CSU East Bay's Microsoft 365 license.
• A way to record your screen with audio for the final project. Free options include Zoom (record a meeting with yourself), Loom, or the built-in screen recorder on Mac and Windows. Detailed instructions will be provided in the project module.

Course Requirements and Assignments

Module work

Each of the five modules includes assigned listening, a framing reading, five listening guides (four for Module 1), a discussion contribution, and a low-stakes checkpoint quiz that focuses on factual recall. Modules run in sequence: Module 1 first, then Modules 2 through 5 one per week. Within each module's window, you set your own pace. The discussion contribution for each module has two parts: an initial post by the module deadline responding to the module's discussion prompt, and two peer responses one week later on classmates' posts that Canvas assigns automatically. Discussion is where we hear each other think about this music.

Final project: genre and artist research presentation

You will research a genre and a single artist or group of personal significance to you, and present your work as a PowerPoint deck with recorded video commentary. You will submit two files: the standalone deck (PowerPoint, Google Slides exported to .pptx, or Keynote exported to .pptx), and a screen recording in which you walk through your slides and present your argument in your own voice.

The project is scaffolded across the term so you receive feedback at each stage:

• Proposal and preliminary bibliography (Sunday, July 5): a short proposal naming the genre, artist, and reasons for personal significance, with a paragraph framing your argument, plus a preliminary bibliography of three to four sources.
• Full draft (Sunday, July 19): a complete draft of the deck and a rough video commentary.
• Peer review (Sunday, July 26): structured feedback on two classmates' drafts.
• Final submission (Friday, July 31): revised deck and final video commentary.

Detailed instructions, format guidelines, and the rubric are provided in the project module on Canvas.

Grading Breakdown

• Checkpoint quizzes: 25%
• Discussion: 25%
• Final project (scaffolded across the term): 50%

The final project's 50% breaks down across the four checkpoints. Percentages derive from a 205-point raw scale (35 + 50 + 20 + 100) and total 50% of the course grade.

• Proposal and preliminary bibliography (Sun, July 5, 35 pts): 8.5%
• Full draft (Sun, July 19, 50 pts): 12.2%
• Peer review (Sun, July 26, 20 pts): 4.9%
• Final submission (Fri, July 31, 100 pts): 24.4%

Generative AI Policy

Generative AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, and others) are allowed in this course with disclosure. I want to be honest about why: AI tools are now part of how a lot of writing and research gets done, and pretending they do not exist would not serve you. At the same time, this course is teaching you to listen carefully, form your own opinions, and defend them with evidence. AI cannot do that work for you. The policy below is designed to let you use AI as a tool while keeping the actual learning yours.

What AI use is allowed

You may use AI tools for brainstorming topics, getting unstuck when you cannot figure out how to start, editing or revising language you have already drafted, helping you understand a concept by asking the tool to explain it different ways, or suggesting sources to investigate (which you must then verify independently). The ideas, analysis, judgments, and conclusions in your work must be your own.

Disclosure requirements

Any time you use AI for an assignment, you need to disclose it. The level of formality depends on the assignment.

For shorter work (discussion posts, the proposal, the bibliography), include a brief acknowledgment at the end of the post or document: "I used [tool name] to [purpose]." For example: "I used Claude to help refine the wording of my second paragraph." Or: "I used ChatGPT to brainstorm initial topic ideas before settling on this one." One sentence is enough.

For the final project, include an "AI use" slide as the last slide of your deck (after your bibliography). The slide should list each AI tool you used, summarize the prompts you gave it (you do not need to paste prompts verbatim, but a short summary of what you asked for), and describe what role its responses played in your work. If you did not use AI at all, the slide should say so. The point is a complete, honest record of how the project was built.

Three uses that are off-limits

First, fabricated citations. AI tools will sometimes generate citations to sources that do not actually exist, or that have wrong page numbers, wrong years, or wrong authors. If you use AI to suggest sources, you are responsible for verifying that each source is real and that the citation information is accurate before including it in your work. Submitting fake citations is academic dishonesty regardless of how they got there.

Second, AI-generated voiceover for the project. The video commentary on your final project must be your own voice, recorded by you. This is not because AI voice tools are bad, but because the assignment is about you speaking your thinking out loud. The voiceover is part of what is being assessed: how you frame an argument when you have to say it, what you emphasize, what you choose to dwell on. An AI reading a script you generated is not the same thing.

Third, undisclosed AI use. Using AI without acknowledging it violates this policy and will be treated as an academic integrity issue. I would much rather you disclose freely than try to hide AI use. Disclosure is not a penalty; it is just how the policy works.

Citing AI in academic style

If you reference AI output as a source within the body of your work (rather than just acknowledging it as a tool you used), cite it like you would any other source. A typical citation includes the tool name, the company, the version if known, the date you accessed it, and a brief description of the prompt. For example: "Claude (Anthropic, accessed June 5, 2026), in response to a prompt asking it to summarize critical reception of To Pimp a Butterfly." If you are using a specific citation style for your bibliography (MLA, Chicago, APA), each style now has guidance for citing AI; check the style's official documentation for specifics.

Participation and Time Commitment

This is a 3-unit course taught in a condensed nine-week summer term. Plan to spend roughly 12 to 15 hours per week on listening, reading, module work, discussion, and project development. Summer courses move quickly. Building a regular weekly rhythm from the start will serve you better than trying to catch up later.

Late Work and Module Sequencing

I accept late work. Assignments submitted after the deadline are assessed a 2% deduction per day late, up to a maximum deduction of 50%. This means submitting late is always better than not submitting; work will never receive less than 50% credit solely due to lateness; and the quality of the work is still evaluated normally.

This policy is designed to balance accountability with flexibility, recognizing that unexpected circumstances can arise, especially in an asynchronous course. If you anticipate significant delays or challenges, please communicate early.

Module 1 must be completed first because it introduces the listening vocabulary and methodology used throughout. Modules 2 through 5 are designed to be completed in order, week by week, and each module's framing reading assumes the previous one. Canvas does not gate the modules, so you can technically access a later module before finishing an earlier one. Working ahead by a few days is fine; jumping ahead by weeks usually means doing more work, not less.

Accessibility and Student Support

If you require accommodations, please contact Accessibility Services as early as possible. Additional student resources are available through MyCompass, including tutoring, advising, library services, and technical support.

Because this course relies heavily on listening and on video presentations, please reach out early if you anticipate needing captioning, transcripts, or other audio or visual accommodations. We can plan ahead together.

University Policies

University policies regarding academic integrity, grade appeals, accessibility services, and student conduct are available on the University Policies (Common Syllabus Elements) page linked in Canvas.

Course Schedule (Hard Dates)

This course uses module windows rather than weekly deadlines. The dates below are the hard deadlines. Within each window, you set your own pace.

Peer reviews and discussion peer responses are assigned automatically by Canvas the day after the corresponding assignment is due, to allow a 24-hour window for late submissions before assignment fires. This covers both the project peer review (two drafts assigned on Mon, July 20) and the module discussion peer responses (assigned the day after each module's initial-post deadline).