Learning Objective
Students will explore Amsterdam’s thriving nightlife culture and its value on multiple levels: musical, cultural, social, economic, political, etc. The general goal of this course is to broaden and deepen students’ knowledge about club cultures, venues and breeding grounds, and to position themselves as (performing) artists within the field. Students are encouraged to select relevant clubs and night initiatives, which might range from underground to mainstream.

Subgoals

• Understanding the Interplay Between Night and Music: Students will delve into different aspects of night life, as it is related to music and club culture and explore the deep connection between night and music.
• Examining Nightlife as a Learning Culture: Students will analyze the concept of nightlife and club culture as a form of experiential learning, discussing how immersion in these environments fosters personal growth and fluidity of identity.
• Experiencing and Integrating Multiple Disciplines in Nightlife: Students will examine and participate in various music genres and club cultures, integrating insights from disciplines such as fashion, graphic design, and spoken word to gain a comprehensive understanding of the nightlife experience.
• Evaluating the Social, Economic, and Cultural Value of Clubs: Students will assess the significance of clubs in Amsterdam, recognizing their role as breeding grounds for new talent, platforms for alternative narratives, and crucial contributors to the cultural sector.
• Experiencing and Integrating Multiple Disciplines in Nightlife: Students will participate in and examine various music genres and club cultures, integrating insights from disciplines such as fashion, graphic design, and spoken word to gain a comprehensive understanding of the nightlife experience.

Course Content
At night, while most of us sleep, there are those who remain awake, embracing the darkness. They come together and surrender to the beats of the music, often in complete darkness or in spaces where bright strobe lights slice through the shadows. But what do the night and music truly mean, and why are they so deeply intertwined? In the absence of light, our other senses are heightened, working harder to compensate for the dimmed visual input. Throbbing basses and hypnotic sounds fill the air, as bodies move wildly to the beats. It's in these moments that people lose themselves, only to find themselves anew. At night, control and discipline are abandoned, the mundane dissolves, and time thickens into a continuous, trance-like repetition. Here, in the embrace of darkness and music, life is celebrated (Boer & Dekkers, 2022).

The night has so much to offer, and there is much we can learn from it. It raises the question of why our schools are solely oriented around the day, excluding the night from learning, knowledge transfer, and experience. Why have we structured our day and night rhythms to confine learning and teaching to daylight hours? Why not embrace the ambiguity of the night? Through rhythm and beats (as well as alcohol and other intoxicants), we are drawn out of ourselves, making our identities more fluid and ambiguous. Isn't this where learning, living, and experiencing truly intersect? During this master's elective, we will therefore explore how we can view the night and club culture as a learning culture—without tests or assessments, but through immersion in the lived experience itself.

In sum, the night is crucial for the day, which makes it all the more alarming that nightlife has suffered a significant decline. More and more clubs, including iconic venues like De School and Marktkantine, are being forced to close their doors (van der Ven, 2022). They face competition from a growing number of large and expensive festivals. Shockingly, the number of clubs in the Netherlands halved between 2018 and 2017 (Boer & Dekkers, 2022). Given this situation, it is crucial to underscore the value that clubs in Amsterdam bring—socially, economically, and culturally. These clubs act as 1) breeding grounds for new talent, 2) platforms for counter-narratives that don't flourish in daylight, and 3) key contributors to the cultural sector. In this master's elective, we will explore these three aspects in depth. We will examine and participate in various music genres and club cultures, from EDM to jazz, and incorporate different disciplines, including fashion, graphic design, and spoken word artists.

Literature

Boer, T., & Dekkers, J., Geen dag zonder nacht: verhalen vanaf de dansvloer. Zutphen: Mazirel Press, 2022.
McLeod, K. Genres, Subgenres, Sub-Subgenres and More: Musical and Social Differentiation within Electronic/Dance Music Communities. Journal of Popular Music Studies 13/1 (2001), 59-75
McRae, R., ‘Notions of “Us and Them”: Markers of Stratification in Clubbing Lifestyles’. Journal of Youth Studies, 7/1 (2004), 55-71
Nabben, T., High Amsterdam. Ritme, roes en regelmaat in het uitgaansleven. Dissertatie. Amsterdam: Rozenberg Publishers, 2010.
Peters, D., Eckel, G., & Dorschel, A. Bodily Expression in Electronic Music. Perspectives on Reclaiming Performativity. Farham: Routledge, 2012.
Rief, S. Club Cultures: Boundaries, Identities and Otherness. Farham: Routledge, 2011.
Thomas, H., ‘Dancing the Night Away: Rave/Club Culture’. In: The Body, Dance and Cultural Theory, 177-211. London: Palgrave, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-48777-3_8
Thornton, S., Club Cultures: Music, Media and Subcultural Capital. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1995.
Van der Ven, V., ‘Nederland danceland: het succesverhaal van pragmatisch idealisme en zelfredzame netwerken’. Boekman 26/100 (2014), 120-122.
Van der Ven, V., 25 jaar Loveland: Fight for Your Right to Party. Amsterdam: Loveland, 2022.