Twangers [MUS305A]
2011 Fall Semester
Course Embedded Assessment Question(s)

Dear Twangers: Starting during the Fall of 2010, I added the CEAQ [Course Embedded Assessment Question] as part of the overall Twanger experience. The CEAQ represents a formative evaluation of our time together. So here we go …

Please carefully read and heed that which follows. If you have any questions – give me a shout.

Assignment Overview
CEAQ [Course Embedded Assessment Question(s)]
MUS305A – Tunes for Twangers
Fall 2011
Point Value: 50
Due Date: Sunday, December 11 [midnight]
Format: Electronic Submission via Assignment Submission Form on the Twanger Web
Submission Form Title: Twanger Other [from the drop-down menu]

Assignment Submission Form

Requirements
Answer completely and thoroughly the following questions using a minimum of 250 words. A “professional” [for lack of better word] writing style will be necessary [i.e. complete sentences, appropriate punctuation, et al]. Although this is a “virtual” assignment, please understand it is not a “group” project. Please work on your own [note the Virtual Honor Code at the end of this document].

Acknowledgements
MUS305A [Tunes for Twangers] leads to partial fulfillment of the Area of Inquiry Requirement [Fine Arts] and the Cultural Awareness at Home Flag [significant minority perspective]. In the course, students will cultivate skills in critical and creative thinking and develop a knowledge base that leads to understanding diverse cultures and varying points of view.

The Project
Step One: from the body of work from the Original Carter Family, please select either Keep on the Sunny Side or Can the Circle Be Unbroken or Wildwood Flower

Step Two: for the song you selected please answer the following questions …

01. Is the work of the Carters most-representative of the Anglo-Celtic, Religious or Delta traditions of which the fabric of country music is comprised? Please fully justify your answer.

02. Each of these three tunes represents the “ballad-style” of singing which hearkens back to the tradition of Shakespeare and before. Please give a synopsis of the song you selected. Please share the emotions which this song summons in you and why. Please conjecture why a tune of this nature was popular in the late 1920’s and still retains extraordinary popularity today.

03. Sara Carter was considered a “liberated woman” decades before the women’s movement swept the country. Please give specific examples of why this is the case.

04. Mother Maybelle was widely respected in her day as an extraordinary guitar artist [on the famous Gibson L-5], today she is accorded truly iconic status in the world … of not just country music, but American music. Why is this the case? What did she do on the guitar, could she do – that few others could, can or probably will ever be able to do? From what itinerant, African-American musician did she probably learn this skill? How is this incredible gent, representing the delta musical traditions, forever interwoven with the Carter Family?

Evaluation
The following rubric will be used to evaluate your responses to the Course Embedded Assessment Questions

Course Embedded Assessment Question Evaluation Rubric

50 Points Possible
	0-10 Does Not Meet Expectations	11-20 Marginal	21-30 Meets Expectations	31-40 Good	41-50 Exceeds Expectations
shows a high degree of reflective thinking and addresses the topic fully

Virtual Honor Code
By submitting this virtual Course Embedded Assessment Question(s) for Twanger Time, I am acknowledging that I have acted in an honorable and forthright manner in completing this assignment … in all manners and respect consistent with the Honor Code of Georgetown College and being an ethical Twanger.

Thank-You
Pete LaRue
Elder Twanger