1. Home
  2. NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities
  3. Master in Musical Arts
  4. Music and Thought

Music and Thought

Objectives

a) To provide conceptual and methodological tools and to develop critical and self-critical skills in the fields of Aesthetics, History ofIdeas and the Philosophy of Music;
b) To promote bibliographical/documentary guidelines and to develop skills for obtaining and using up-to-date and scientifically relevantinformation in the field;
c) To develop conceptualization, questioning and problematization skills in any field of musicological research, from an interdisciplinaryperspective, whenever possible taking into account the specific themes of the students' Master's dissertations;
d) To develop oral and written expression skills oriented towards the standards of clarity and rigour of international academiccommunication;
e) To cultivate the taste and the aptitude for philosophical reflection in general, to stimulate the production of original research in this area, and to encourage critical analysis of musicological discourse.

General characterization

Code

722021021

Credits

10.0

Responsible teacher

Paulo Manuel Rêgo Ferreira de Castro

Hours

Weekly - 3

Total - 280

Teaching language

Portuguese

Prerequisites

N/A

Bibliography

  • Bowie, A. (2007). Music, Philosophy and modernity. Cambridge UP.
  • Bowman, W. D. (1998). Philosophical perspectives on music. Oxford UP.
  • Dahlhaus, C. (1982). Esthetics of music. Cambridge UP.
  • Downes, S. (Ed.) (2016). Aesthetics of music: Musicological perspectives. Routledge.
  • Kramer, L. (2002). Musical meaning: Toward a critical history. U. California P.
  • Lippman, E. (1992). A History of Western musical aesthetics. U. Nebraska P.
  • McAuley, T., Nielsen, N., & Levinson, J. (Eds.) (2021). The Oxford handbook of Western music and philosophy. Oxford UP.
  • Sheinberg, E., & Dougherty, W. P. (Eds.) (2020). The Routledge handbook of music signification. Routledge.
  • Zbikowski, L. M. (2002). Conceptualizing music. Oxford UP.

Teaching method

The seminar is essentially theoretical-practical in nature, providing a balanced mix of exposition, critical reading and discussion of relevant materials (including online resources), made available to students regularly throughout the semester. Students are encouraged to participate actively in the work of the seminar, through informal discussion, but also through individual or group preparation of presentations and the writing of texts.

Evaluation method

Continuous assessment - Attendance and Participation(25%), Written assignment to be handed in at the end of the semester(75%)

Subject matter

1. Problematics of the concept; the role of concepts in the definition, description and understanding of objects of scientific knowledge,and in particular of the objects of musicological knowledge.
2. The relationship between the notions of concept and meaning; a survey of the main theories of meaning and representation, taking intoaccount their relevance in the field of musicology.
3. Questions of hermeneutics and critical theory in their application to musical themes.
4. Ways of thinking and discursive practices in musicology; the place of musicology within the social sciences and humanities.
Note: The treatment of the topics indicated in the section “Syllabus” will be adapted according to the themes to be addressed by the students in their individual research work around specific concepts, relevant to musicological practice.