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MUS31530

Academic Year 2026/2027

Musical Ephemera (MUS31530)

Subject:
Music
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
Music
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Dr Abigail Lindo
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 is focused on generative exchanges, critical engagement, and developing thoughtful understandings of musical objects and material culture explored curatorially and in the everyday. Ephemera is the stuff shaping everyday life: objects often enjoyed or used for a short time. This stuff includes event programs, ticket (stubs), vinyl records, notes and diaries, and a wealth of often mundane objects that tell stories and shape our remembrance of history. Musical artifacts are ephemeral, communicating histories across stylistic, geospatial, and cultural boundaries. This module acknowledges the complex relationships between objects, sound, the individuals who use and discover them, and the subsequent histories the objects are used to shape. While music and sound are central aspects of discussions and scholarly labour in this course, students interested in museum studies, art and art history, and other creative enterprises would greatly benefit from participating. While all students at the correct level are welcomed, those who have already identified a relevant, related topic of focus will benefit most from module participation. As the module aims to develop students’ independent critical thinking and analysis abilities, use of (generative) AI will not be encouraged or permitted.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

• Productively utilize archival research methods
• Critically engage with musical artifacts and explain their importance
• Explore historical trajectories about music and music making across material, bodily, cartographic, and digital mediums and settings
• Appreciate and question material culture in institutional and non-institutional settings to situate its functions within relevant contexts
• Apply curatorial knowledge in physical and digital settings
• Develop curatorial ability and awareness
• Understand developments in digital media and musical technologies

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. Proficient

Critical Thinking

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

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. Competent

Strategic

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

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. Competent

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. Competent

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. Advanced Beginner

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. Competent

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.


Goal Name Description Coverage

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 3

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 3

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 3
 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

69
Autonomous Student Learning

70
Lectures

5
Tutorial

15
Seminar (or Webinar)

16
Field Trip/External Visits

25
Total

200

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
• Lectures
• Seminars
• Group discussions
• Field trips (museums and archives)
• Presentations
• Collaborative projects
• Peer review
• Active learning
• Flipped classroom
• Inquiry-based explorations/projects
• Demonstrations

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 Component repeat (in-module) Offered
Portfolio: Generative exploration, both independently and collaboratively, will produce a collection of works that support the development of a summative assessment. Week 1, Week 3, Week 5, Week 7, Week 9, Week 11 Graded Yes
40
 Yes
Reflective Assignment: Journals and creative progress reports support the understanding of concepts and development of creative work. Week 2, Week 4, Week 6, Week 10 Graded Yes
20
 Yes
Individual Project: Culminating archival and curatorial activity that demonstrates the application of concepts introduced and practiced throughout the course. Week 8, Week 12 Graded Yes
40
 Yes

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Remediation Type Remediation Timing
In-Module Resit Prior to relevant Programme Exam Board
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
• Peer review activities
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Baker, Sarah, and Jez Collins. “Sustaining Popular Music’s Material Culture in Community Archives and Museums.” International Journal of Heritage Studies 21, no. 10 (2015): 983-996.
Biedermann, Bernadette. “Collecting and Exhibiting Traditional and Popular Alpine Folk Music in Austria—A Case Study.” The Museum Journal 65, no. 2 (2022): 379-398.
Featherstone, Mike. Archiving Cultures. British Journal of Sociology 51, no. 1 (2000): 161-184.
Edwards, Elizabeth, Chris Gosden, Ruth Phillips, eds. Sensible Objects: Colonialism, Museums, and Material Culture. Routledge, 2020.
Holmes, Helen. The Materiality of Nothing: Exploring Our Everyday Relationships with Objects Absent and Present. Routledge, 2024.
Istvandity, Lauren. “How Does Music Heritage Get Lost? Examining Cultural Heritage Loss in Community and Authorised Music Archives.” International Journal of Heritage Studies 27, no. 4 (2021): 331-343.
Kibby, Marjorie. “Collect Yourself: Negotiating Personal Music Archives.” Information, Communication, & Society 12, no. 3 (2009): 428-443.
Leonard, Marion. “Constructing Histories Through Material Culture: Popular Music, Museums, and Collecting. Popular Music History 2, no. 2 (2007): 147-167.
Long, Paul, Sarah Baker, Lauren Istvandity, and Jez Collins. “A Labor of Love: The Affective Archives of Popular Music Culture.” Archives and Records 38, no. 1 (2017): 61-79.
Maalsen, Sophia, and Jessica McLean. “Record Collections as Musical Archives: Gender, Record Collecting, and Whose Music is Heard.” Journal of Material Culture 23, no. 1 (2018): 39-57.
Matiure, Perminus. “Preserving the Tangible Material Culture of the Shona Traditional Music Legacy: An Applied Ethnomusicological Report.” Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals 19, no. 4 (2023): 553-570.
Newell, Jenny. “Old Objects, New Media: Historical Collections, Digitization and Affect.” Journal of Material Culture 17, no. 3 (Sept. 2012): 287-306.
Ramsey, Guthrie P. Who Hears Here? On Black Music, Pasts and Present. University of California Press, 2022.
Roy, Elodie A. “All the Memory in the World, All the Music in the World: Mediating Musical Patrimony in the Digital Age.” Networking Knowledge: Journal of the MeCCSA Postgraduate Network 7, no. 2 (2014).
Roy, Elodie A. Media, Materiality and Memory: Grounding the Groove. Routledge, 2015.
Straw, Will. “Exhausted Commodities: The Material Culture of Music.” Canadian Journal of Communication 25, no. 1 (2000).

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, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Mon 12:00 - 12:50
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Tues 14:00 - 15:50
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