MODULE DEVELOPMENT

Module Development

Module Development

Introduction

This paper will detail the proposed design of a new module “Sound Production and Theory” with reference to its aims and learning outcomes. It will examine the context of, and justification for, the developed module; provide a reflective commentary on the aims and learning outcomes; and detail teaching towards these outcomes. It will explain how the outcomes relate to assessment criteria. It will refer to relevant literature on curriculum design, the UWS Strategy for the Enhancement of the Quality of Teaching, learning and Assessment. (SEQLTA, 2007), UWS Assessment Policy (UWS 2008), appropriate subject benchmark statements (QAA, 2007) and relevant Scottish Credit Qualification Framework (SCQF, 2007).

Background

This degree programme offers an exciting combination of subjects including practical audio production, sound theory and contextual studies. It will help you to develop the intellectual and craft skills required to produce sound design and audio content for a broad spectrum of creative industries.

The unique blend of subjects offers a broad range of studies including the use of audio in film, radio, television, video games, sound design and art or exhibition installation. It also provides you with opportunities to develop an in-depth understanding of computer-based applications including synthesis and digital signal processing.

The degree is based in our Sound Technology and Audio Department that is fully equipped with purpose-built studios and computer facilities. Visiting tutors contribute to module programmes providing valuable professional insights and perspectives. Option modules on this course benefit from a broad range of subjects from both Audio Design and Sound Technology areas.

Theory and Production is a dual programme that encourages students to develop their musicianship while developing a critical understanding of the place of sound in the world. The two halves of the degree are not intended to be separate but instead to inform and interact with one another, so that the production informs theory and theory informs production. The degree is far-ranging and challenging in both its production and theoretical parameters.

Theory and Production is an innovative degree that encourages students to develop skills in sound playing, production and performance while reflecting on the place of sound in contemporary culture. Spanning jazz to rock to dub step, the programme explores a broad range of popular genres from the dual perspective of the musician and the cultural critic. Delivered at UWS's Campus, the degree has acquired a cutting-edge reputation since its inception in 2010.

The theory component of Sound Culture makes up approximately fifty percent of the programme and encourages students to analyse the relationship between sound and society. Deploying a range of historical and theoretical frameworks from the field of Cultural Studies, the degree analyses the way in which race, gender, sexuality, technology, economics and geography have intersected with sound and sound since the rise of jazz in the early twentieth century. The degree's theory modules explore the way sound generates its meaning and affects, the relationship between technology and creativity, the history of genre across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and the relationship between sound and the ...