Explore UCD

UCD Home >

MUS10270

Academic Year 2026/2027

Music in Human Life (MUS10270)

Subject:
Music
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
Music
Level:
1 (Introductory)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Assoc Professor Jaime Jones
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

In his book Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, renowned neurologist Oliver Sacks recognised the centrality of music to human experience. “Music can lift us out of depression or move us to tears - it is a remedy, a tonic, orange juice for the ear… it can provide access to movement, to speech, to life. Music is not a luxury, but a necessity. [It] is part of being human.” In this module, we start from this premise, and investigate the place of music in human life, asking how and why music emerges across cultures, how it shapes experience, and what it reveals about being human. Drawing on insights from ethnomusicology and related disciplines, we explore music as a social and sensory force: something people do, feel, think with, and live through. Using a broad range of examples from diverse times and places, we will engage with musical practices ranging from ancient traditions to digital sound cultures, from ritual performance to everyday playlists. Through case studies, listening, and discussion, we’ll examine how music interacts with the body, memory, emotion, technology, time, and the environment.

This module invites students to think critically and curiously about music, not only as an art form, but also as a fundamental aspect of human life. No prior musical training is required (but be prepared to listen and to think!).

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

Students completing this module will be able to:
- Describe and discuss the role of music in human life across a range of cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts.
- Apply key concepts from ethnomusicology to interpret musical practices and experiences.
- Develop attentive and reflective listening skills, considering how music is shaped by and shapes human experience.
- Communicate ideas about music clearly and thoughtfully, in different formats (written and oral).
- Respond constructively to feedback and revise their work in light of deeper understanding.

Indicative Module Content:

Week 1: The Idea of Music
Week 2: Music and the Body
Week 3: Music and Emotion
Week 4: Music and Healing
Week 5: Music, Time, and Memory
Week 6: Feedback & Assessment Workshop
Week 7: Music, Place, and Environment
Week 9: Music and Technology
Week 10: Music and Work
Week 11: Music, Identity, and Power
Week 12: Final Project Meetings/Workshop

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Advanced Beginner

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Advanced Beginner

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Advanced Beginner

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Novice

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Not addressed

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Advanced Beginner

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Novice

Anticipatory

 The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes. Novice

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Advanced Beginner

AI Literacy & Agency

 The ability to understand, critically evaluate and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence; to recognise how AI systems are shaped by human values; to assess their ethical, social and environmental implications; and to exercise human judgement, agency and accountability in AI-related contexts. Not addressed

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Advanced Beginner

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Specified Learning Activities

46
Autonomous Student Learning

30
Total

100

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Our classes will be focused on some big concepts that will help inform our listening, which we will do together in class. There will be readings posted every week that you should complete beforehand. During class, we will also work through the critical listening examples that form the basis of all of your assessment. The weekly journal helps to consolidate the ideas discussed in class, and will be due on the Monday of the next week. It should not take you long to fill out these journals, particularly if you have engaged in the class discussion. There will be additional resources posted each week.

The assessments for this module are designed to help you build skills and respond to feedback throughout the term. The weekly listening journals both keep you up to date with the materials and foster critical comparative and listening skills. These build into the two other assessment elements. The curated journal extract allows you to revise work based on peer and general feedback and gain some more formal feedback from the module coordinator. This will then inform your decisions about the audio essay, and help you build familiarity with the concepts and analytical tools I’ll expect you to use.

Please do not use AI to prepare your weekly critical listening responses. The purpose is to respond based on your own experience and your own sense of how the listening relates to the ideas presented in class. For the midterm and the final assessments, there should not be any need to use AI. If you do, any AI use should be noted and described in full at the end of your work.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Participation in Learning Activities: Critical Listening Journal Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 7, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11 Graded No
10
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Students will develop one of their listening journal entries from weeks 1-6 into a more structured piece of writing (ca. 500-700 words). Week 8 Graded No
30
 No
Individual Project: Students will produce a podcast based on one of their listening journal entries from weeks 7-12. Week 14 Graded No
60
 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Students will receive weekly feedback on their listening journals. Students will then have the option to workshop the midterm assessment and get peer feedback on it in week 6 before submission in week 8. The midterm assessment will serve as a model for the final assessment.

1. Audio and Video Sources

Aishwariya Rai Bacchan, 2005) ‘Kajra Re’, from Bunty Aur Babli [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dsFQFCvVGU (Accessed: 19 November 2025).

Amaliya Group (2022) 'ABotha' [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM4vdCwujbo (Accessed: 8 October 2025).

Laurie Anderson. (1981) O Superman (for Massenet). [Music video] directed and performed by Laurie Anderson. Warner Bros. Records. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VIqA3i2zQw (Accessed: 5 November 2025).

Bjork (1997) 'Unravel', on Homogenic [Audio recording]. London: One Little Indian Records.

Black Men of Labor (2019) ‘New Orleans Jazz Funeral’ (2018) [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VjRnO-p7lQ (Accessed: 8 October 2025).

John Cage. (1952) 4′33″: For Any Instrument or Combination of Instruments [Score]. New York: Henmar Press.

J Dilla (2006) Workinonit, on Donuts [Audio recording]. Los Angeles: Stones Throw Records.

Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble (2015) ‘Taiko Drumming – Rites of Thunder’ [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chGH2EqhESA (Accessed: 8 October 2025).

Fontaines D.C. (2019) Big [video]. Directed by Hugh Mulhern. London: Partisan Records. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLNt8aMNbvY [Accessed 22 Oct. 2025].

Fugazi (1988) Waiting Room (Live at Wilson Center, Washington D.C.) [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGJFWirQ3ks (Accessed: 8 October 2025).

Georgia Sea Island Singers (1960) ‘Raggy Levy’ [Field recording]. Recorded by Alan Lomax.

Holly Herndon. (2019) Frontier. [Music video] directed by Mat Dryhurst. 4AD.
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ygGo5ZwGqU (Accessed: 5 November 2025).

Kathy Keknek and Janet Aglukkaq (2008) 'Kattajait' [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnGM0BlA95I (Accessed: 8 October 2025).

Ali Akbar Khan (1959) 'Raga Bhairavi' on Traditional Music of India [Audio recording]. New York: Angel Records.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1998) Man Kunto Maula (Live in Seattle) [Audio recording]. Lahore: EMI Pakistan.

Yodo Kurahashi (2011) ‘Futaiken Shakuhachi’ [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grf-MHu1gfQ (Accessed: 8 October 2025).

Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus (2019) 'Old Town Road' Official Music Video. Columbia Records [music video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7qovpFAGrQ (Accessed: 8 October 2025).

Liłtsoiitah (2014) ‘01 Night Ye'ii Bi Cheii Song #1 by Ye'ii Bi Cheii’ [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDSLvinPUs (Accessed: 8 October 2025).

Manganiyar Ensemble (2019) ‘Kesariyo Tilakno – Vogue Fem Category, Unification Ball, La Villette, Paris’ [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYwhTKvi3z8 (Accessed: 19 November 2025).

‘Nhemamusasa’ (traditional Shona) (c. 1972) in Berliner, P. The Soul of Mbira: Music and Traditions of the Shona People [Audio examples on accompanying recording]. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Omah Gamelan (2015) Ladrang Ayun Ayun [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4ekNkOevQo (Accessed: 8 October 2025).

Postal Workers at the University of Ghana (1975) ‘Postal Workers Cancelling Stamps’ [Audio recording]. Smithsonian Folkways.

Matana Roberts (2011) 'Kersaia,' on Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de Couleur Libres [Audio recording]. Montreal: Constellation Records.

Paul Simon with Ladysmith Black Mambazo (1987) ‘Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (Live in Harare)’ [YouTube video]. Available at: insert link here (Accessed: 19 November 2025).

Tinariwen. (2015) Sastanàqqàm. [Music video] directed by Abdellaif Kedider. Wedge. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vACZA9dGvV4 (Accessed: 5 November 2025).

Traditional (2006) 'Abhanga sung during pilgrimage' [Field recording]. Field Recording by Jaime Jones, recorded during the Vārkari pilgrimage on the road to Pandharpur, Maharashtra.

Ulahi (1991) 'Making Sago,' on Voices of the Rainforest [Audio recording]. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

Unification Ball (2019) ‘Vogue Fem – Unification Ball, La Villette, Paris’ [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYwhTKvi3z8 (Accessed: 19 November 2025).


2. Written Texts

Becker, J. (2004) Deep Listeners: Music, Emotion, and Trancing. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Blacking, J. (1973) How Musical is Man? Seattle: University of Washington Press.

Bohlman, P.V. (1999) ‘Ontologies of Music’, in Cook, N. and Everist, M. (eds.) Rethinking Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 17–34.

Butler, J. (1990) Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.

Cohen, S. (1995) 'Sounding out the City: Music and the Sensuous Production of Place', Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 20(4), pp. 434-446.

DeNora, T. (2000) Music in Everyday Life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Feld, S. (1996) 'Waterfalls of Song: An Acoustemology of Place Resounding in Bosavi, Papua New Guinea', in Feld, S. and Basso, K.H. (eds.) Senses of Place. Santa Fe: School of American Research Press, pp. 91-135.

Friedson, S.M. (1996) Dancing Prophets: Musical Experience in Tumbuka Healing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Hall, S. (1989) ‘Cultural Identity and Diaspora’, Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media, 36, pp. 222–237.

Juslin, P.N. and Sloboda, J.A. (2013) ‘Music and Emotion’, in The Psychology of Music. 3rd edn. Oxford: Academic Press.

Korczynski, M. (2003) ‘Music as Work: Towards a Cultural Economy of Musical Labour’, Theory, Culture & Society, 20(3), pp. 41–57.

Kozak, M. (2019) ‘Varieties of Musical Time’, Music Theory Online, 25(1).Rodgers, T. (2010) Pink Noises: Women on Electronic Music and Sound. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Introduction, pp. 1–14.

Théberge, P. (2015) ‘Digitalization’, in Shepherd, J. and Devine, K. (eds.) The Routledge Reader on the Sociology of Music. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 362–369.

Turino, T. (2008) Music as Social Life: The Politics of Participation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.








Print this page
Fill in the following details:
Enter the body of your query here.

From time to time UCD would like to send you further information that we feel, based on your enquiry, would be of interest to you.