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The Beatles in Liverpool (IEEL040)

This module will introduce The Beatles as a key part of Liverpool’s musical heritage, cultural history, and place in the modern city. In addition to the classroom sessions, there will be one field trip, involving a walk to places relevant to Beatles tourism. Students will learn about key songs, events, and venues, from Strawberry Fields to the Cavern Club, and will find out more about the ways that The Beatles affected the music of Liverpool, the United Kingdom, and the wider world over the past sixty years.

Module leader: Taran Harris

Taran is studying his PhD in Music at Liverpool, studying the effects of vocal manipulation on singing tuition. His work involves interviews and practical research, and he was published in the first issue of the Journal of Beatles Studies in 2022. He is a tenor at the famous Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and a pop vocalist.

Aims

  • To develop confidence in understanding and communicating complex ideas in written and/or spoken language
  • To develop skills in research and collaborative learning
  • To develop knowledge and understanding of The Beatles, and how their music reflects and influences the city of Liverpool and the wider world.

Content

The module syllabus will cover The Beatles’ representation of and impact on Liverpool in the ‘60s and up to present day, whilst exploring how they were presented to the world when they ‘broke into America’. Through looking at the history, stories and music of the Beatles, we will discover what makes Liverpool special to The Beatles and The Beatles special to Liverpool.

Structure

The module will be delivered over a three-week period in six two-hour sessions (four hours per week, total of 12 hours of teaching time).

Four sessions will consist of lecture-style sessions interspersed with case study material to enable group discussions. The Module Leader will introduce and teach the core ideas and concepts for the session before engaging the students in collaborative learning time as smaller groups.

In addition, we will arrange one session as a site visit to Strawberry Fields, where we will look around the exhibition and learn about John Lennon’s memories of the place as a boy. It is expected that students will spend 38 study hours outside of the classroom contact hours on activities, including assigned reading, an optional reading of areas of personal interest, homework tasks, online research and preparation for assessment. Students should be aware that to benefit from the face-to-face classroom sessions fully, the preparation work assigned should have been done prior to the lecture.

The indicative schedule is as follows:

Session one: The Beatles and the city of Liverpool: An introduction

The first session will Introduce students to the Liverpool that the Beatles grew up in and how the city shaped them, and then how they shaped the modern form of the Liverpool we know and love today.

Session two: Singing about Liverpool: Strawberry Fields, and preparation for the field trip

Through song lyrics and historical narratives, we will learn about how The Beatles portrayed specific Liverpool settings such as Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane to their audience, as well as learning the stories behind why these places were special to the individual Beatles.

Session three: Trip to Strawberry Field

This is an external site visit to the Salvation Army’s Strawberry Fields exhibition. Students will look around the gardens, see the gates and enjoy the exhibition.

Session four: How did the music of the Beatles reflect the culture of the 1960s?

The Beatles were revolutionary in their songwriting, but also a core part of the UK music scene at the time. We will explore the impact they had on other bands’ music, but also how they reflected what other people were doing at the time. We will also look at how the happenings of the decade impacted their music.

Session five: The influence of The Beatles on the city, United Kingdom, and wider musical world

This session will look at the Beatles’ impact 60 years on to analyse their phenomenon longevity, and impact.

Session six: Assessment and reflection session: What do we know about The Beatles in Liverpool?

This session will include the student presentations and a general reflection and discussion on the course contents.

Teaching methods

The teaching approach will include the following:

  • Taught sessions
  • Small group work
  • Group discussions
  • Presentations
  • Workshops
  • Site visit.

Assessment

Assessment will be by:

  • Group presentation (worth 50% of the overall mark)
  • Multiple choice/short answer paper (20 questions) (worth 50% of the overall mark).

Standard University policies apply with regard to late submission of assessments

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students will be able to:

  • Understand and communicate complex ideas in written and spoken language
  • Research a topic and work to present ideas in academic suitable style, including the appropriate use of reference and source material
  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of The Beatles as a band, and how their career is linked to the city of Liverpool.

Skills

Key skills that will be developed:

  • Collaboration and teamwork, through participation in informal group activities as part of the field trip, and in groups for the final presentation assessment
  • Communication skills, developed orally in the field trip, and through the group/individual presentation task
  • Time management - students will be set short preparatory or follow-up tasks relevant to the seminar classes and the walking tour, including reading, listening, and the preparation of assessments.

Books, ebooks and websites

The University Library website provides access to many relevant books and electronic books, as well as academic journals and databases.

  • Jenkins, H. and Jenkins, P.O. (2018) Teaching the Beatles / edited by Paul O Jenkins and Hugh Jenkins. Boca Raton, FL: Routledge, an imprint of Taylor and Francis
  • Brocken, M. (2016) The twenty-first century legacy of the Beatles : Liverpool and popular music heritage tourism. London : Routledge
  • Womack, K. ed. (2020) The Beatles in context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.