Music 517: African American Musical Traditions
A survey of styles arising from Black American culture: the African
background, spirituals, blues, gospel music, and their influence on U.S. and
world music. (3 credits)
The origin and development of African American music will be examined
from its roots in African societies to the present. Live performances,
films and recorded music will be studied as well as written sources. African
American music is part of an oral culture and an understanding of folk
traditions is essential to its study. Emphasis will be placed upon the
structure and function of musical forms as they exist in the black
community. We will explore how these forms have been shaped by the
experiences of slavery and of rural and urban life. The course will
emphasize the black traditional performer as a community leader who creates
and manipulates musical forms that function in society. Blues and gospel
artists will be invited to perform in class and discuss their
music.
On Thursday, April 5, we will visit the Blues
Archive, where archivist Greg Johnson will give us an introduction to
the collection and finding aids. We will meet in the special collections
reception area in the John Williams Library, room 318 at 1:00 sharp.
Items currently on reserve at the library:
- ML350.N595 M9 1974 Nketia: Music of Africa
- ML3521 .E9 1982 Evans: Big Road Blues
- E29.N3 T48 1983 Thompson: Flash of the Spirit
- GR103.L48 Levine: Black Culture and Black Consciousness
Requirements
- Attendance and participation in class discussion.
- Reading assignments, from required books and from reserve.
- Listening assignments from tapes on reserve.
- Short project (book review), due Feb. 27
- Term paper, due Apr. 29
- Midterm exam, Mar. 6
- Final exam, May 8.
Required texts
- Samuel A. Floyd, Jr., The Power of Black Music
- Dena J. Epstein, Sinful Tunes and Spirituals
- Jeff Todd Titon, Early Downhome Blues
Reference works
- Hart, Eagles & Howorth, The Blues: A Bibliographic Guide
- Samuel A. Floyd, Black Music in the U.S.: An Annotated
Bibliography
- Irene V. Jackson, Afro-American Religious Music
- D.-R. De Lerma, Bibliography of Black Music
- Eileen Southern, Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and
African Musicians
- Sheldon Harris, Blues Who's Who
- J. Godrich and R. M. W. Dixon, Blues and Gospel Records
1902-1942
- M. Leadbetter and N. Slaven, Blues Records 1943-1966
Study and listening guides
A few basic starting points
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