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MUS20410

Academic Year 2026/2027

Western Art Music History Since 1750 (MUS20410)

Subject:
Music
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
Music
Level:
2 (Intermediate)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Emma Kavanagh
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module surveys the history of Western Art Music from around 1750 until the present day. It aims not only to introduce students to the repertoire of this period, but also to introduce key critical issues and debates.

The module is divided into three major units, which each encompass three weeks of the course:

UNIT ONE: Rethinking Music History
UNIT TWO: Opera and Drama
UNIT THREE: Music, Innovation, Technology

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the vocation of studying music history, and a familiarity with major trends in the field;
2. Describe and analyse a number of major musical works, including understanding key stylistic markers;
3. Situate musical works in their historical, social, and cultural context;
4. Apply the key themes of the lectures to a piece of independent research, to be submitted at the end of the course.

Indicative Module Content:

Week 1: Course Introduction: Studying the History of Western Art Music

UNIT ONE: RETHINKING MUSIC HISTORY
Week 2: The Year 1750: The End of the Baroque?
Week 3: Defining Musical Romanticism
Week 4: Rethinking the Musical Canon

UNIT TWO: OPERA AND DRAMA
Week 5: Wagner and his Shadow
Week 6: Opera and Politics: Colonialism, Orientalism, and the Performance of Power
Week 7: Italian Verismo: In Search of Realism

[Weeks 8 and 9: No Class]

UNIT THREE: MUSIC, INNOVATION, TECHNOLOGY
Week 10: Sounds of the Future: Music and Modernism in the Early Twentieth Century
Week 11: Music and Technology in the Mid-Twentieth Century
Week 12: Western Art Music in the Internet Age

Weeks 13 and 14: Essay Workshops

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. Novice

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. Advanced Beginner

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. Advanced Beginner

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
Specified Learning Activities

4
Autonomous Student Learning

101
Lectures

20
Total

125

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures (with discussions)
Primary source work
Critical listening
Reading and reflective learning
Peer feedback
Self-directed research and writing

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Incompatibles:
MUS10040 - Introduction to Musicology I


 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Participation in Learning Activities: Assessed via Brightspace discussions of key questions from each lecture Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Graded No
20
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Research essay of between 2,000 and 2,500 words, based on a topic arising from the course Week 15 Graded No
65
 No
Quizzes/Short Exercises: Multiple Choice Questionnaire for Unit One: Focusing on the lectures of weeks 2-4 Week 4 Graded No
5
 No
Quizzes/Short Exercises: Multiple Choice Questionnaire For Unit Two: Focusing on the lectures of weeks 5-7 Week 7 Graded No
5
 No
Quizzes/Short Exercises: Multiple Choice Questionnaire For Unit Three: Focusing on the lectures of weeks 10-12 Week 12 Graded No
5
 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

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

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Online automated feedback
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Thurs 09:00 - 10:50
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