This is all of my notes and work for music cultures, as you can see it wasn’t followed 100 percent.
ESSAY STRUCTURE:
INTRODUCTION – 250 Words
Talk about my argument, why I chose this argument, give context for the argument, my 3 main points
SECTION 1: Irish Music as a Reflection of National Identity and Culture – 600-700 words,
Traditional Irish music’s role in preserving culture under colonial rule. irish musical instrument the “harp” is a symbol of Irish identity.
Bands such as fontaines dc and wolf tones bridge traditional and modern sounds/genres taking pride in Irish roots and complexities of modern Irish identity. singing in their natural accents (the shattered glass bryan ferry)
SECTION 2: Irish Music and Political Protest – 600-700 words,
HIstorical roots of Irish protest music, Irish independence ballads
Punk rock and its connection to anti-establishment sentiment in Ireland, reference Martinez’s argument about punk rock giving voices to marginalised groups eg stiff little fingers tackling themes of political turmoil’
Analyse more modern examples like “Zombie” by The Cranberries, written in response to a paramilitary bombing, became a global song for anti violence, critiquing political violence
SECTION 3: Irish Language Revival through Music – 600-700 words
Talk about historical context of language suppression, decline of the Irish language during British rule, how music played a key role in preserving linguistic heritage (Sean-nós singing)
Kneecap blending hip hop with gaeilge, analysis of their lyrics, cultural references, commitment to promoting an ghaeilge, cultural significance of their film, emphasising relevance of the Irish language in contemporary Irish life, impact on their young audience and their role within the revival of Irish as a spoken language. not just a typical form of revivalism but also a political statement/protest. Irish language act protests, recently suing the english government for wrongfully denied funds, giving funds to youth groups of both Catholics and prods
Comparison with similar efforts globally, eg Maori artists in New Zealand or Welsh language musicians in Wales (gruff rhys).
CONCLUSION – 250 words
Summary of key points, reiterate my 3 main points in a final argument, reflect on Irish music’s important significance, add personal insight to my findings and experience
SLIDE 1 – INTRO
Hi, My name is Matt and this is my presentation for the music cultures class. I am going to provide a brief 5-6 minute explanation of sorts on how I am undertaking the essay for the end of the year. I will give you an insight into how I plan to navigate my chosen research topic and write about it. This will be a great opportunity for me to receive critical feedback from my tutor and create an outline that will be an instructional guide and a catalyst for completing the summative assessment due to be submitted at the end of January.
My argument is that Irish Music is an essential subject when it comes to Irish national identity, heritage and a revival in the Irish language. I will explain how the use of the Irish language and culture in the music has become a stance of political activism and protest in Ireland, particularly in the north of Ireland.
SLIDE 2 – WHY DID I CHOOSE THIS ARGUMENT?
In particular, I want to promote the importance of the Irish language and Irish music as a tool for political change within the broader conversation around the revival of the Irish language and its relevance with present-day Irish culture and identity.
SLIDE 3 – OBJECTIVES OF MY ARGUMENT
Well I believe music has played a significant role in communicating Irish identity, especially during the periods of cultural suppression and political strife.
In my essay I am going to talk about 3 specific points to uphold my argument that will make up the structure of my written work. My assignment requires a word count of 2500 words so my plan is to create an introduction and conclusion that will take up around 250 words each and then dedicate roughly between 600-700 words to each objective in my essay to guarantee each topic is detailed in the final submission.
Here are my main talking points that I will be researching to provide evidence for –
Irish music is a strong reflection of national identity and culture
Irish music and the Irish language is very important to political protest and activism in the country
The use of the Irish language by Irish artists in their music is promoting a resurgence in Irish language speakers
SLIDE 4 – HOW AM I GOING TO CARRY OUT MY RESEARCH?
I will use jstor to find some interviews, journals or academic texts that can give context and support my arguments.
A piece of text I have been looking at is titled “Punk Rock, Thatcher, and the Elsewhere of The North Of Ireland: Rethinking the Politics of Popular Music”. Written by author Robert Martínez this journal highlights the punk scene in the North of Ireland during the troubles and the political aspects associated with the music at the time.
“Punk rock re-articulates the problem of Northern Ireland by enabling previously suppressed voices to express alternative modes of thinking that defy the dominant political narratives of The Troubles. By creating a form of expression of and for this elsewhere, punk rock in turn galvanizes the space of Northern Ireland”
With the quote on the left the authors statement suggests that punk rock served as a medium for expressing dissent or voicing alternative perspectives on the political and social issues surrounding The Troubles. So punk rock was voicing political protest and anti establishment views.
It is important to find quotes like these because they are extremely useful in backing up statements in your arguments. You can’t make any claims without evidence to prove what you’re saying is factual.
I will be making a list of important research questions to help shape my essay and guide my research to relevant sources that will provide the appropriate intel to support the claims I am making in my argument
SLIDE 5 – RESEARCH QUESTIONS
To help guide me I will be using some more specific research questions to look deeper in depth into certain areas of my argument to provide more topics of discussion. These questions could also guide me to find the academic texts that I need to use to support my claims.
Here are some I will likely look up to fuel my research efforts –
How has traditional Irish music been used historically to resist cultural erasure and maintain Irish identity?
How does Irish music contribute to the global perception of Irish identity and culture?
How does the Irish experience of music as a tool for cultural preservation compare with similar movements globally?
How has Irish music historically responded to colonialism, rebellion, and the Troubles in Ireland?
SLIDE 6 – CASE STUDIES
These are some of the case studies I will take a look at. I may not write about all of them in my final essay but it is important for me at this stage to have a good amount of options and paths to take to provide context from multiple angles.
The first case study I will look into is the relatively new Hip Hop trio in the Irish scene, Kneecap. Their music is often deeply rooted in Irish culture, incorporating local slang and phrases, cultural references and themes tied to Irish history and political ideologies. They even created and starred in a whole movie about their bands music with the script being almost exclusively spoken in Irish.
In a review of the film this critic was quoted saying – “It raises questions as to how serious the trio are about the fate of the language they are insistent on speaking. Take this as a possible marketing slogan to encourage wider support for An Ghaeilge: ‘Every word of Irish spoken is a bullet for Irish freedom.’ ” Referencing the fact that the group is entirely dedicated to upholding their Irish identity and their plan to bring the Irish language to a larger audience.
I would also like to delve into the history of Irish political music ranging from traditional music from the 1800s up to the present day with bands such as Fontaines D.C. and The Cranberries to affirm the patriotic stance Irish people have when it comes to representing themselves in their music. The song “Zombie” by The Cranberries was written in protest to the ongoing violence in during the troubles in Ireland
SLIDE 7 – CLOSING STATEMENT
Since I was born in Ireland and I have lived there for almost my whole life I feel a deep-rooted connection to the history and culture. Because of my lived experience, I hope to be able to bring a certain authenticity and depth to my analysis that would make the essay not just an academic exercise but an exploration into how these themes could resonate within my personal life.
SLIDE 8 – BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kennedy, Liam. “Kneecap: Céad Míle Focáil.” Fortnight, no. 495, 2024, pp. 21–23. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27335222. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
Martínez, Robert. “Punk Rock, Thatcher, and the Elsewhere of Northern Ireland: Rethinking the Politics of Popular Music.” The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association 48, no. 1 (2015): 193–219. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43549877.
music culture notes
presentation
its about how i am undertaking the essay, this what i have been researching, this is my plan for my research, this is my plan for my essay (opportunity for feedback)
why is kneecap responsible for bringing back the irish language?
this is what i am interested in
this is why i am interested in it
this is how i think i am gonna be researching it
this is an example of one of the case studies i will be looking at
discussing and taking a position
why do i like kneecap? they rap in my native language, they’re helping to bring back the language from the dead
my topic is thinking about – irish language revivalism in music
specifically the work and music of kneecap and how their use of the language is not just a typical form of revivalism but also a very important political statement or protest / both
to explore this further im gonna look a bit more broadly around the subject of irish language music and revivalism whether its related to kneecap or not
by exploring this topic
talk about how there was a loss of irish language at a particular period in mainstream irish music where a lot of groups where singing in english – this allows me to really make it clear that it can be understood as important work / practice
compare this to welsh singer gruff rhys and other welsh musicians who have created movements around the use of the welsh language as a revivalist practice for musicians. “im not talking about welsh music but thats useful for me to explore and research because it helps me better understand the practice and the importantance around language, heritage and identity etc”
how might we understand the use of irish language as a political protest / activism – needs to be put into context
“some of the things ive read they talk about the use of the irish language as a kind of form of revivalism yet they don’t really talk about it in the context or in relation to a political protest, they talk about it endearing to ideas in particular of eg nationals identity and heritage which is useful to me but also that allows me to insert how what i think kneecap ae doing is a little bit more than that, its not simply about heritage, its about protest as well. if you don’t know the irish language you won’t necessarily be able to access their lyrics so easily and thats important in encouraging others to maybe try and learn
look at some relevant academic writing around this relationship between music and politics as it relates specifically to ireland
maybe around the use of irish language in popular music? certain groups? and how that helps me put kneecap in a bigger context
use the book rachel sent to discuss the relationship between politics and popular music in ireland
the initial argument may be something like “the stance that im taking at the moment and this is something im looking to test through the research is that we could potentially understand their use of the irish language as a form of political protest or activism, its not just about identity, its also about these other things – “
at the moment this is my argument and the stance i am taking and this is how im gonna test it
having an argument or stance will help me research. if we don’t what often happens is that everything can become potentially useful and then research can quickly become difficult to navigate. “everything and nothing becomes useful”
powerpoint structure – 5-6 minutes (max)
intro / explanation for your power point research questions / objectives 3-4
how will i research or study this?
how will i structure my essay?
case studies and sources – elaborate on a few of them, why are they relevant? how do they link or relate to the arguement i am trying to make? not all of them will be mentioned in the essay
why are you interested in this topic?
what do you expect to come out of your research (what have i found in my research so far and how is it useful? how will it affect me or others in the future?)
bibliography (at least 4 references)
insert a relevant quote somewhere to do with a case study or piece of an interview
don’t have more than 1 paragraph on each slide, mainly one line bullet points, no more than 4on each slide, the less writing the better, keep all the text for the script
have 5-7 slides total plus one for the title and one for the bibliography
elaborate on your opinion of the stance of other people (in particular people who i have referenced)
“i will be using mostly interviews, journals and academic texts to give context to my research” – elaborate on what texts you have used, why you have used them and how they relate to the topic at hand
discuss why i think these points i am making are relevant in todays world more than ever
maybe interview one of my irish friends to hear their opinion on my topic (can be briefly talked about in my presentation but more in depth in the essay
lightly brush over the england ireland conflict and the troubles to give context to the history and culture of the irish language
obtain academic texts like journals or interviews etc using jstor
use lots of pictures in be powerpoint (at least one in each slide)
if there is time, play a song in relation to the subject (likely a kneecap song i reference)
can mention how hip hop is a common genre of music associated with political activism and how its on par with kneecaps style, eg remixing the bbc theme to create a rap song called get your brits out. they also actively protested and pushed for the irish language to recognised in the north of ireland, succeeding with the identity and language act in 2022. they use their voice and stage to protest the current ongoing israel-palestine conflict, Repeatedly chanting the irish phrase “Saoirse Don Phalaistín” (which translates to “Freedom For Palestine” in english) in a number of their interviews and at every concert. (use video links to these for evidence)
kneecap have used the irish language not just to push for a revival in ireland but also to promote awareness of political issues outside of their own field such as the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine
another irish artist with deep roots in activism and protest is the wolf tones. being a big influence on kneecaps music, the wolf tones offen wrote songs that strived to protect the identity of the irish people and protest against the british invasion of ireland during the first world war and later during the troubles. Their song “Come Out, Ye Black and Tans” is a direct reference to the rogue british soldiers (called the black and tans because of the uniforms they wore) who invaded and terrorised ireland during the irish civil war a century ago
i recently saw the irish band fontaines d.c. in london surrounded by a majority of english people, with most of them knowing the words to their songs, including the song “In ár gCroíthe go deo” which has a mixture of English and irish lyrics. Showing that not just irish nationals are employing the language but also English and other foreigners
mention how kneecap and the fontaines singer grian chatten have collaborated together on a song
these artists have helped bring the importance of their culture and revival of the language to the worldwide stage. people from other cultures can look at it and relate, maybe potentially promoting them to take an approach with their own identity
try to find articles with differing opinions to the argument i am trying to support and make a comment about what they have said
essay
intro and conclusion should be around 250 words each
2-3 main chapters with around 600 words make around 15 points total in the essay
focus on two case studies in particular and elaborate on them more than i did in the presentation