Module manager: Dr Dhanveer Singh Brar
Email: d.s.brar@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module addresses the topic of Bass Culture in Modern Britain in three complementary ways. Firstly, it will act as a survey introduction to the making of black music in Britain stretching from the Windrush period to the early 2000s. It will chart the musical inventions generated by Black British artists through an examination of various types of musical labourers: vocalists, bands, MCs and producers (such as Dandy Livingstone, Janet Kay, Steel Pulse, Matumbi, Smiley Culture, D Double E, Jah Shaka, A Guy Called Gerald). It will also look at different labels such as Fashion Records and On-U Sound, and styles (Jungle, Garage, Grime). Secondly, it will explore the idea of Bass Culture as a material outcome of the sound system as a black working class technological and institutional form, and as a diasporic aesthetic principle of black music in Britain. Thirdly the module will focus on the politics and philosophy of Bass Culture. Politically it will examine the ways in which Bass Culture functioned as a means for black working class socialising and organisation. Philosophically, Bass Culture will be discussed as means for building a common memory and a collective pedagogy concerning class consciousness. Bringing all three of these strands together, you will be able to develop a knowledge of the making of modern black working- class consciousness in Britain by studying its construction through the medium of sound (understood in this module as ‘phonic materiality’). Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
This module aims to explore the making of Bass Culture in Britain, to examine and discuss the works of selected Black British musicians and producers, to understand and engage with the ideas formulated around the idea of Bass Culture, and to develop a knowledge of the ways in which Bass Culture was central to the formation of black working-class consciousness in modern Britain.
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Critically analyse and contextualise a range of audio materials.
2. Locate and evaluate key developments in music culture.
3. Discuss in written or oral form the ways in which sound operates as a medium for aesthetic, social, political and philosophical production.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Apply fundamental standards and practices of historical study for research and written work.
5. Evaluate the importance of thinking about history through sound archives.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 2 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Lecture | 11 | 1 | 11 |
| Seminar | 9 | 1 | 9 |
| Private study hours | 179.6 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20.4 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Group Presentations – review of presentation plans.
Coursework – review of essay plans.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Group Presentation | 40 |
| Coursework | Essay | 60 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
The resit for the group presentation will be an individual essay.
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 29/04/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team