ENG 101-008: The Protest Song

Instructor: Lisa Chinn

Fall 2012
Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30am- 9:45am
Email: lchinn@emory.edu
Office Hours: Thursdays, 10:00-12:30 and by appointment, in Jazzmans coffee shop
Class website: English 101: The Protest Song can be found here
http://protestsongfall2012.wordpress.com/
Texts:
Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing. Claire Kehrwald Cook. Modern Language
Association of America, 1985.
They Say/ I Say: Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. Gerald Graff and Cathy
Birkenstein. W.W. Norton & Co., 2006.
All other materials will be in pdf form on the class website or emailed to you a week in
advance.
Course Objectives:
What is a text? What does it mean to read? How do we read texts that are not in the
traditional form of a book, newspaper article, or even the newer tradition of online
publication? This writing intensive course will examine protest music from the 1960s to
the present as a way to read the musical form as a form of resistance to a certain
historical-cultural tradition. We will treat songs as text by close examination of lyrics, by
developing an ear for musical tempo, and by comprehending music within the context
of cultural resistance. My goal for you is to come away from this class knowing how to
critically think, how to translate critical thinking into critical writing, and how to write
persuasive sentences, paragraphs, and essays.
I focus English 101 on developing reading, writing, and critical thinking skills to prepare
you for future academic writing. We will listen to songs written for political purposes and
read essays about singers, songwriters, and the political change that they wanted to
effect in the hopes that you will develop critical listening and writing skills along the
way. These skills are invaluable for you future academic endeavors, thus attendance
and participation are two key components to your success in class. And developing solid
research skills will keep you from any problems with plagiarism.
Class Format:
Participation and discussion are two major components of this course. Thus, if you have
more than three absences, your grade will automatically fall one letter grade. If you
have more than six absences, you will automatically get an F for the course. If you
cannot meet these requirements, I encourage you to drop the course before the end of

the Add/ Drop period. If you arrive fifteen minutes late, youll automatically be counted
absent.
Academic Honesty Policy:
Emory University is committed to academic integrity in all its practices. The faculty
value intellectual integrity and a high standard of academic conduct. Activities that
violate academic integrity undermine the quality and diminish the value of educational
achievement. Cheating on papers, tests, or other academic works is a violation of Emory
rules. No student shall engage in behavior that, in the judgment of the instructor of the
class, may be construed as cheating. This may include, but is not limited to, plagiarism
or other forms of academic dishonesty such as the acquisition without permission of
tests or other academic materials and/or distribution of these materials and other
academic work. This includes students who aid and abet as well as those who attempt
such behavior. The instructor reserves the right to use the resources of the College to
check student work for plagiarism.
Assignments:
It is your responsibility to keep up with the readings and songs for each week. You will
find the blog on the class website http://protestsongfall2012.wordpress.com/ I expect
you to write a 150-word maximum response to the reading/ song(s) for the next day on
our blog, to be posted by midnight before each class session.
You will also write four essays. The essays are broadly categorized as 1) textual analysis
essay, in which you will examine closely the text of a song or group of songs for critical
evaluation, 2) text-in-context essay, in which you will examine a song or group of songs
in historical context, 3) cultural analysis essay, in which you will evaluate and analyze
broader cultural claims for a song or group of songs, and 4) a final research essay.
Further information on essay assignments is posted on our course website, and you will
learn in class how to formulate topics and write essays for each of the outlined essay
types. Rough drafts are counted in the final grade listed below, so it is in your best
interest to come prepared with a full working draft on workshop days. I will collect
rough drafts at the end of class and give you feedback for your final essays two classes
before the final is due. If you fail to turn in any of the above, you will automatically
receive a failing grade for the course. Half of your grade for each of these assignments
will be based on preparation of drafts leading to the final draft. Extensions for papers
are not allowed. If you know that you will be out of town the day a paper is due, turn it
in via email before 10am on the Tuesday or Thursday that it is due.
Evaluation:
Paper 1: Textual analysis essay
Paper 2: Text-in-context literature review

15% final grade

5% final grade

Paper 2: Text-in-context abstract

Paper 2: Text-in-context essay

5% final grade
15% final grade

Paper 3: Final research paper literature review

5% final grade

Paper 3: Final research paper abstract

5% final grade

Paper 3: Final research paper

25% final grade

Blog posts (15 blogs total):

15% final grade

Attendance:

10% final grade

Class Schedule:
Date:

Reading and Listening Assignments:

8/30

Introduction to the course; course expectations

9/4

NO CLASS
Listen:
-Nina Simone Mississippi Goddam
-Berenice Johnson Reagon Will the Circle be Unbroken
-Phil Ochs Going Down to Mississippi
Read:
-President Kennedys Civil Rights Address:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkcivilrights.ht
m
-They Say/ I Say, Preface and Introduction
Listen:
- Joan Baez Oh Freedom
-Pete Seeger We Shall Overcome
-Bob Dylan Only a Pawn in Their Game
Read:
-The Sixties Between the Microgrooves: Using Folk and
Protest Music to Understand American History (pdf)
-They Say Part One, Chapter One
Listen:
- traditional If you Miss Me at the Back of the Bus

9/6

9/ 11

Due Dates and InClass Activities:

Lecture: History of
protest music.
How to think
critically
Discussion/ writing:
Critical thinking
exercises
NO CLASS

Lecture: Close
reading of texts;
contexts of protest
music

Lecture: Arguing
effectively and using

9/ 13

9/ 18

9/20

9/25

9/27

10/2

-Folktune We Shall Not be Moved

-Bob Dylan/ Joan Baez Blowin in the Wind
Read:
-Through the Eyes of Tom Joad: Patterns of American
Idealism, Bob Dylan, and the Folk Protest Movement (pdf)
-They Say Part One, Chapter Two
Listen:
-Woody Guthrie 1913 Massacre
-Florence Reece/ James Farmer Which Side Are you On?
-Bobby McGee Bread and Roses
Read:
-They Say Part One, Chapter 3
Listen:
-Buffy Sainte-Marie Universal Soldier
-Bob Dylan/ Jimmy Hendrix All Along the Watchtower
-Buffalo Springfield For What Its Worth
Read:
-Line By Line Introduction
Listen:
-Jefferson Airplane Volunteers
-Creedence Clearwater Revival Fortunate Sun
-The Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter
Read:
-They Say Part 2, Chapter Four
-Line By Line Chapter 1
Listen:
-Bob Dylan Only a Pawn in their Game
-The Doors The End
-CCR Bad Moon Rising
Listen:
-The Rolling Stones Paint it Black
-Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Ohio
-Edwin Starr War
Read:
-Sound as Form (sent out by email)
-They Say Part 2, Chapter 5
Listen:
-Country Joe McDonald I Feel Like Im Fixing to Die
-Malvina Reynolds What Have they Done to the Rain?
Read:
-All We Are Saying: The History of Protest in American
Folk Song (pdf)
-They Say Part 2, Chapter 6

critical thinking
resources

Lecture: Situating an
argument

First draft of
textual analysis
DUE
In-class workshop

Textual Analysis
Final Paper DUE
Lecture: Musical text
in historical context

Lecture: Continue
with musical texts in
context
Discussion:
Argumentation
within a context

10/4

Listen:
-Dead Kennedys Holiday in Cambodia
-The Clash Spanish Bombs
-Ramones The KKK Took my Baby Away
Read:
-The Englishness of Punk: Sex Pistols, Subcultures, and
Nostalgia (pdf)
-Line by Line Chapter 2

Lecture: Arguing
with clarity
Discussion: Punk and
understanding
misunderstandings
in culture

10/9

Listen:
-U2 Sunday Bloody Sunday
-The Clash White Riot
Read:
-Behind the Songs: Sunday Bloody Sunday (pdf)
-They Say Part 2, Chapter 7
Listen:
-Public Enemy Fight the Power
-Grandmaster Flash The Message
Read:
-Pimpology 101 (pdf)
-Line By Line Chapter 3
FALL BREAK- No Class

Lecture: Bono and

effective
argumentation

10/18

Listen:
-Dead Kennedys Stars and Stripes of Corruption
-Frankie Goes to Hollywood Two Tribes
-U2 Pride (In the Name of Love)

DUE:
-Lit review
-One paragraph
abstract

10/23

Listen:
-The Special AKA Nelson Mandela
-Billie Bragg Between the Wars
-REM Exhuming McCarthy
Read:
-How Long to Sing this Song? The Rhetorical Vision of
U2s Holy Community (pdf) (ILL this)
-They Say Part 3, Chapter 8
Listen:
-The Prodigy Their Law
-Queen Latifah U.N.I.T.Y.
-Lauren Hill

First Draft of Textin-Context DUE

Workshop Draft in
Class

10/11

10/16

10/25

10/30

11/1

Listen:
-Mary J. Blige
-The Cranberries Zombie
-Pennywise Homeless
-Unladylike Divas: Language, Gender, and Female
Gangsta Rappers(pdf)
Listen:
-Fugazi KYEO
-Bad Religion Los Angeles is Burning
Read:

Lecture: Authenticity
in a culture of the
inauthentic

11/6

11/8

11/13

11/15

- Excerpt from Moodys On Celestial Music: The New York

Underground, 1965-1988
-Line By Line Chapter 3
Listen:
-The Mighty Mighty Bosstones Guns and the Young
Read:
-How Music Spins a Web of Meaning (pdf)
-They Say Part 3, Chapter 9
Read:
-Chapter from Prophets of the Hood: Politics and Poetics in
Hip Hop
-Line By Line Chapter 4

11/29
12/4

12/6

Lecture: Close
reading, contextual
and cultural analysis

Listen:
-Bikini Kill Rebel Girl
-The Raincoats No Ones Little Girl
Read:
-The Raincoats: Breaking Down Punk Rocks
Masculinities (pdf)
-They Say Part 3, Chapter 10
Listen:
-Bright Eyes When the President Talks to God
-Sleater-Kinney Modern Girl
Read:
-Sleater-Kinney: Where the Girls Get Of (pdf)
-Line By Line Chapter 5

11/20
11/22
11/27

Final Draft of Textin-Context Paper

DUE

Library Research
Day
NO CLASS- Thanksgiving Break
Listen:
-Green Day American Idiot
-Lucy Kaplansky Land of the Living
Read:
-Captain Ska (pdf)
Listen:
-M.I.A Bad Girl
-Arcade Fire Intervention
Listen:
-The Dixie Chicks Not Ready to make Nice
-Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band Roosevelt
Room
Read:
-Forgery and Imitation in the Creative Process (send out
by email)
Listen:
The Arab Spring:
-El Generale (Tunisia)
-DJ Outlaw (Bahrain)
-Ramy Donjewan (Egypt)

DUE Research
Paper Literature
Review
Due: Research
Proposal Abstract

12/11
12/17

-Arabian Knights (Egypt)

-Ibn Thabit (Libya)
-Bayan Rakam Wahad (Statement No. 1) by
Anonymous, Syria Read:
-At the Protests, The Message Lacks a Melody (send by
email)
Last Class- Research methods and strategies

Final Research
paper DUE:
Monday,
December 17, at
7:00pm

Resources
Course Accessibility Statement:
Emory University seeks to provide effective services and accommodations for
individuals with documented disabilities. If you need an accommodation because of a
documented disability, you are required to register with the Office of Disability Services
at the beginning of the semester. If you will require assistance during an emergency
evacuation, notify your instructor immediately. Look for evacuation procedures posted in
your classrooms. Please contact the Office of Disability Services by phone: 404-7279877 or by email: www.ods.emory.edu
Emory Writing Center:
The Emory Writing center offers tutoring and writing instruction as well as clarification
for assignments. You are highly encouraged to visit the writing center on a regular basis.
The writing center is located in N212 Callaway. You can also reach them by phone: 404727-6451. Their website is www.writingcenter.emory.edu. The center is open M-Th 10-8,
F 10-3, and Sun. 1-8.
International Student Academic Center:
If you are an international student working with English as a your second language, I
encourage you to take advantage of the International Student Academic Center, located
at SAAC 310 on the Clairmont Campus. Tutoring, workshops, and groups to practice
English conversation and other skills are available. Contact Jane OConnor
(jcoconn@emory.edu) or Denise Alvarez (denise.alvarez@emory.edu). Their website is:
http://www.epass.emory.edu and select ESL.