ENSn4665 The Ethics of Land-Based Song

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025

The course is not taught in Spring 2025

Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 2 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Julia Theresa Ulehla (lecturer), RNDr. Naděžda Vlašín Johanisová, Ph.D. (deputy)
RNDr. Naděžda Vlašín Johanisová, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Karel Stibral, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Kateřina Hendrychová
Supplier department: Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Prerequisites (in Czech)
TYP_STUDIA(N)
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 18 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/18, only registered: 0/18, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/18
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This module explores the notion of land-based song in various cultural contexts, including Moravian traditional culture. The students will learn to apply ecological and ecosystemic models to cultural forms such as song and collective musicking, as well as engage in the fundamentals of a praxis-based research inquiry (in other words, sing) to explore these themes.
Note: musical/vocal experience is not required, just a willingness to participate.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, the students will have explored and critically examined the following questions: What constitutes a land-based song? Are there ethical dimensions to land-based songs, and do they imply alternative hierarchies and relationships to those prescribed by anthropocentric, technology-driven Western culture? What perspectives can traditional songs offer that are relevant to modern life and the current environmental crisis?
Syllabus
  • 1) Exploring Human/Land Relationships: Cross-Cultural Case Studies 2) Exploring the Ethics of Human/Land Relationships in South Moravian Folk Songs and Folk Tales 3) Musical Ecosystems, Interrelationality, and the (Meta)Physical World 4) Song Workshop 5) Student Presentations, Alternative hypotheses
Literature
  • LEVIN, Theodore: Where rivers and mountains sing: Sound, Music and Nomadism in Tuva and Beyond. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005
  • ALLEN, Aaron, Kevin DAWE (eds.): Current directions in ecomusicology: Music, Culture, Nature. London: Routledge, 2016
  • ÚLEHLA, Vladimír: Živá píseň. Praha, Fr. Borový, 1949
  • Kimmerer, Robin Wall: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledege, and the Teachings of Plants. Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 2013
  • ABRAM, David. The spell of the sensuous : perception and language in a more-than-human world. New York: Pantheon Books, 1996, xii, 326. ISBN 067943819X. info
Teaching methods
Lectures,reading, group discussions and class discussions, praxis-based research inquiry, homework: personal journal and preparation of presentation
Assessment methods
-Attendance and Class Participation -Submission of a multi-sensory, auto-ethnographic diary in which students will be asked to record reflections about readings, reactions to simple embodied exercises around song, and responses to questions posed at the end of class based on the themes of the day. We will discuss this assignment on the first day. -A 7-10 minute presentation on the student’s experience throughout the module -Attendance at every session is mandatory
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Course is no more offered.
The course is taught in blocks.
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2025/ENSn4665