Old School

Elektronisches Lernen Muzik is a project which explores how music accompanies and inspires scholarly work. It emerged from conversations between Michael Sean Gallagher, Jeremy Knox and myself whilst taking a course in E-Learning and Digital Cultures, part of the MSc in Digital Education at the University of Edinburgh. We were struck by how important the conscious use of music was in supporting our engagement with the E-Learning and Digital Cultures course as we reflected on ideas in the literature, constructed knowledge and explored ways of representing our ideas. Going further, at different times we found ourselves drawing on the same musical genres and artists - in particular Brian Eno and Kraftwerk - as we thought about issues surrounding posthumanism, digital authorship and other course themes.

For the most part Elektronisches Lernen Muzik has focused on inviting students, tutors and others with an involvement in educational activity to compile and then share the playlists that accompany and inspire their scholarly work. In each case, the creator is required to prepare 'liner notes' explaining how the tracks support his or her academic activity, alongside an original image or photograph to represent the 'cover artwork'. The playlist is then made openly available via our project site in order that any interested parties can draw on it to support their own work.

Through the project we've now shared 16 playlists, the most recent of which gathers together Old Skool hip hop that I listened to as a high school student and then continuing into my time as an undergraduate. You can listen to the playlist below or see the full details (including liner notes and cover artwork) on this blog entry from the Elektronisches Lernen Muzik website. 

Old School Originals by Elektronicheslernenmuzik on Mixcloud

If you'd like to contribute a study playlist I'd love to hear from you. E-mail me at [email protected] and we can talk about what's involved (although alas, this doesn't include royalties or an advance).