music was a powerful language

The articles I've been reading from the Music & Politics Journal have all had different styles. Their structure and language has varied, but all of the articles have similar purposes: to educate the audience on music's presence in politics. The use of reference is the same as well with them all supporting each quotation made and noting other author's discoveries at the very end of the paper. Direct quotes from musical artist and other researchers are exhibited and the creator of each is immediately mentioned.


The convention of structure is present in the journal articles. Each article has an introduction that explicitly tells the reader the purpose of the essay and what will be discussed. They are more concentrated on thesis ideas rather than hypotheses. For example in the article on music as an agent of learning, the thesis is that music has taught the masses about politics and it's effect on the ordinary citizen.


Language use in all of the articles initiates an audience's convictions about politics. With the article on Crass, there was a definite push for the reader to understand how angry the anarcho-punk musicians were about government regulation and control. And then the music in the concentration camps brought about a new realization of humanity. The usage of language with respect to convictions is a little bit more strongly applied to my articles. Because they are all calling for a strong opinion on musical influence throughout historical politics. 


The Swales's Model applies to each article individually. For the Crass article there is topic generalization in the first few paragraphs with general view of musical influence in the 20th century. Then there are questions raised about punk rock artist and their political aspirations. The rest of the essay goes on discussing the proof of anarchy in punk rock circles and the inequality of current government rule. There is a lot of research done on which artist said what and especially on the song Yes Sir, I will. Swales's Genre Model can apply easily to all of the journal articles in Music & Politics much the same way. 

The Music & Politics journal articles are of a more humanities epistemology. With its discussion of music as a way to rebel against the government, there is a world view position taken. The audience is supposed to be informed about the true usage of music in the concentration camps, in punk rock, and in political stands. We, as the readers or audience, simply look at the language and information itself to discern our opinion and our position. I would apply humanities because "the truth isn't necessarily out there" instead the author speaks of what he has discovered and presents it to the audience to analyze. It is a way to warrant an opinion on music in politics. 


I very much enjoyed reading Music & Politics, because understanding music is something I believe we all can accomplish on some level. Applying politics makes for a very interesting argument and new discoveries on historical precedence.