MUSI 003C. Sound Proof: Black Music’s American Journey from the Civil War to Civil Rights

This course explores aspects of the origins, style development, aesthetic philosophies, historiography, and contemporary conventions of African-American musical traditions. Topics covered include: the music of West and Central Africa, the music of colonial America, 19^th-century church and dance music, minstrelsy, Black musical theater, music of the Harlem Renaissance, jazz, blues, gospel, hip-hop, and film music. Special attention is given to the ways that Black music produces “meaning” and to how the social energy circulating within it articulates myriad issues about American identity at specific historical moments. The course will also engage other expressive art forms from visual and literary sources in order to better position music making into the larger framework of African American aesthetics.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Fall 2026. Ramsey.
Catalog chapter: Music
Department website: http://swarthmore.edu/music

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