BLST 008J. Intro to Jazz: Music, Race, Politics

Cross-listed as MUSI 003.
This course employs the methodologies of historical-ethnomusicological, a sub-genre of ethnomusicology, to examine the role of race and politics in shaping the multifaceted genre known broadly as ‘jazz’ between the late 19^th and 20^th centuries. Students will use oral histories, biographies, sound and video recordings, original interviews (if possible), and other archival data to consider music and music-making during that time. These resources will enable students to think critically about the factors that contributed to the evolution of jazz over more than 100 years. They will consider the musicians, their music, and the public’s reception of both, in relation to the themes of respectability, gender, race, physical and non-physical forms of racial violence, nationalism, and citizenship. Students will complete short assignments designed to familiarize them with research ethics, archival research, close listening, data collection and analysis, and ethnography. Each of these assignments will contribute to the final project: an original ethnography based on course-specific music and musicians.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2027. Stewart.
Catalog chapter: Black Studies
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/black-studies

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