Expressive Culture: Sounds

Freedom Songs

CORE-UA 730-001

Spring 2020

Mondays and Wednesdays

11:00-12:15 p.m.

Prof. Maureen Mahon

Department of Music
24 Waverly Place, Room 268
mem7@nyu.edu
(212) 998-8300

Office Hours: Wednesdays, 12:30-1:30 and by appointment

Preceptors: David Catchpole, dac692@nyu.edu

Zeke Levine, ehl283@nyu.edu

Course description: Music is a significant expressive form precisely because it is a tangible

product of human activity through which individuals and groups tell themselves and others who
they are and what they value. This semester we will examine some of the ways African
American musicians and activists have used music to express their desire for freedom, to demand
rights, and to assert individual and group identity in the United States, a context where African
Americans have historically been denied full citizenship and personhood. We will learn about
key artists, songs, and musical styles and their connection to sociopolitical struggles and cultural
debates in the U.S. We will relate our discussion to issues of representation, authenticity,
appropriation, political economy, and aesthetics.

Course objectives: Through lectures, discussions in recitation sections, reading and listening
assignments, papers, and projects, students will
 Learn about 20th and 21st century African American culture and history through a focus
on music.
 Learn about different styles of African American music and their artistic and cultural
significance.
 Learn about some of the concepts and methods that scholars in the interdisciplinary field
of African American studies use to study African American music and music-making.
 Develop and improve critical writing skills.
 Learn about the importance of grounding interpretation and analysis of expressive
cultural forms such as music in historical and social context.

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Course requirements: Students are expected to complete the reading and listening assignments,
attend lecture and recitations regularly, and participate in class discussions. Over the course of
the semester, you will be required to submit five 350-500 word response papers to your
Preceptor as directed. You will receive prompts for these papers. These papers should be
uploaded to NYU Classes by the assignment deadline. You will submit a short essay (2-3 pp.) in
which you discuss assigned readings and music based on a prompt, an individual report (2-3
pp.) on your Break a Cultural Rule group project, and a final essay (no more than 6 pages) based
on a prompt. Your papers should reflect your familiarity with the assigned readings, material
discussed in lectures, and films and music presented in class and as listening assignments.

Timely submission of work is mandatory.

Your grade will be based on the following:

Lecture & Recitation Attendance and Recitation Participation 20%
Response papers (five papers) 20%
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” essay, due in class, March 4 20%
Break a Cultural Rule project report, due in class, April 8 20%
Final essay, due in class, May 11 20%

Required readings for the course and listening assignments will be available through NYU
Classes. You can access the class page via the Academics tab of NYUHome. Our course is
listed under the heading EXPRESSIVE CULTURES: SOUNDS. There, you can find articles
organized by unit title by clicking the Resources folder on the left side of the page. Musical
examples, also organized in folders labeled by unit title, are also in the Resources folder.

Integrity of Scholarship: When writing your papers, please take care to identify the sources of the
ideas you are using and the material you are quoting. We will discuss the proper ways to cite the
work of others in recitation. Each student should be familiar with the NYU Core Curriculum
Statement on Academic Integrity. A copy is attached to this syllabus for you to consult during
the semester. We will also distribute a copy to you on the first day of class; please read and sign
the statement and return it to your Preceptor by Friday, February 7. Representing the work of
others as your own can lead to an “F” in the course and severe disciplinary action by the
University.

Classroom Etiquette: Lecture is scheduled for one hour and fifteen minutes. Please come to
class prepared to stay in class for that length of time. Getting up and leaving the room (to get
water or use the restroom, for example) during class is disruptive to your colleagues, preceptors,
and professor. Please refrain from talking during lecture and when sound and video examples are
played. We encourage you to participate actively in discussion, both in lecture and recitation. If
you have questions or comments, please raise your hand and share your thoughts and queries.
Finally, please suspend all on-line activity while you are in class and be sure to silence your cell
phones.

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January 27—Overview of Course

January 29—Minstrelsy

*“Theme One: Listening” from American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3,
Larry Starr and Christopher Waterman (2010), pp. 2-4

*”The Minstrel Show” from American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3, Larry
Starr and Christopher Waterman (2018), pp. 46-52

February 3--African American Culture, Identity, and Music

W.E.B. Du Bois, “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” and “The Sorrow Songs” in The Souls of Black
Folk (1903), pp. 37-44, 185-194

Listen to “Nobody Knows the Trouble I See” and at least two other spirituals available in the
“Musical Examples—Spirituals” folder.

***Response Paper #1 due***

February 5—African American Culture, Identity, and Music

W.E.B. Du Bois, “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” and “The Sorrow Songs” in The Souls of Black
Folk (1903), pp. 37-44, 185-194

Listen to “Nobody Knows the Trouble I See” and at least two other spirituals available in the
“Musical Examples—Spirituals” folder.

February 10—African American Culture, Identity, and Music

Portia Maultsby, “Africanisms in African-American Music” In Africanisms in American Culture,

ed. Joseph E. Holloway (1991), pp. 185-210

Selections from Wilson, Sondra K. and Julian Bond, Lift Every Voice and Sing: A Celebration of
the Negro National Anthem: 100 Years, 100 Voices (New York: Random House, 2000)

Johnson, James Weldon, and Rosamond Johnson, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” sheet music

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February 12—African American Culture, Identity, and Music

Portia Maultsby, “Africanisms in African-American Music” In Africanisms in American Culture,

ed. Joseph E. Holloway (1991), pp. 185-210

Selections from Wilson, Sondra K. and Julian Bond, Lift Every Voice and Sing: A Celebration of
the Negro National Anthem: 100 Years, 100 Voices (New York: Random House, 2000)

Johnson, James Weldon, and Rosamond Johnson, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” sheet music

February 17—President’s Day Holiday, no class meeting

February 19—Anthems

Shana L. Redmond, “Indivisible: The Nation and Its Anthem in Black Musical Performance,
Black Music Research Journal (35)1: 97-118 (Spring 2015)

February 24—Early Musical Protests

Janell Hobson, “Everybody’s Protest Song: Music as Social Protest in the Performances of
Marian Anderson and Billie Holiday,” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Vol. 33,
Issue 2 (Winter 2008), 443-448

Alisha Lola Jones, “Lift Every Voice: Marian Anderson, Florence B. Price And The Sound Of
Black Sisterhood,” Turning the Tables: Eight Women Who Invented American Popular Music,
NPR.org (August 30, 2019)

Angela Y. Davis, “‘Strange Fruit’: Music and Social Consciousness” in Blues Legacies and
Black Feminism, (1998), pp. 181-198

***Response Paper #2 due***

February 26--Early Musical Protests

Janell Hobson, “Everybody’s Protest Song: Music as Social Protest in the Performances of
Marian Anderson and Billie Holiday,” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Vol. 33,
Issue 2 (Winter 2008), 443-448

Alisha Lola Jones, “Lift Every Voice: Marian Anderson, Florence B. Price And The Sound Of
Black Sisterhood,” Turning the Tables: Eight Women Who Invented American Popular Music,
NPR.org (August 30, 2019)

Angela Y. Davis, “‘Strange Fruit’: Music and Social Consciousness” in Blues Legacies and
Black Feminism, (1998), pp. 181-198

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March 2—Freedom Songs and the Civil Rights Movement

Bernice Johnson Reagon, The Civil Rights Movement” in African American Music: An
Introduction, eds. Mellonee Burnim and Portia K. Maultsby, (2006), pp. 598-623

Matthew Frye Jacobson, “Introduction,” Odetta’s One Grain of Sand (Bloomsbury Academic,
2019), pp. 1-12

Martin Luther King, Jr., “The Power of Nonviolence” (1958), I Have a Dream: Writings and
Speeches That Changed the World,” (HarperSanFrancisco, 1992), pp. 29-33

March 4—Freedom Songs and the Civil Rights Movement

Bernice Johnson Reagon, The Civil Rights Movement” in African American Music: An
Introduction, Mellonee Burnim and Portia K. Maultsby, eds. (2006), pp. 598-623

Matthew Frye Jacobson, “Introduction,” Odetta’s One Grain of Sand (Bloomsbury Academic,
2019), pp. 1-12

Martin Luther King, Jr., “The Power of Nonviolence” (1958), I Have a Dream: Writings and
Speeches That Changed the World,” (HarperSanFrancisco, 1992), pp. 29-33

****“Lift Every Voice and Sing” Essay due ****

March 9—The Culture Concept

Luke Eric Lassiter, “Anthropology and Culture” in Invitation to Anthropology (third edition),
(2009), pp. 35-68, Altamira Press.

March 11--The Culture Concept

In class Break a Cultural Rule group project work

March 16 & 18—Spring Break. Enjoy!!

March 23— Sounds of Freedom in the 1960s

Ingrid Monson, “Activism and Fund-Raising from Freedom Now to the Freedom Rides,”
Freedom Sounds: Civil Rights Call Out to Jazz and Africa (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2007), pp. 152-198

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Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (1963), I Have a Dream: Writings and
Speeches That Changed the World,” (Harper San Francisco, 1992), pp. 83-100

***Response Paper #3 due***

March 25—Sounds of Freedom in the 1960s

Ingrid Monson, “Activism and Fund-Raising from Freedom Now to the Freedom Rides,”
Freedom Sounds: Civil Rights Call Out to Jazz and Africa (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2007), pp. 152-198

Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (1963), I Have a Dream: Writings and
Speeches That Changed the World,” (Harper San Francisco, 1992), pp. 83-100

March 30-- Sounds of Freedom in the 1960s

Ruth Feldstein, “‘I Don't Trust You Anymore’: Nina Simone, Culture, and Black Activism in the
1960s.” The Journal of American History Vol. 91, Issue 4 (March 2005), 1349-1379

Martin Luther King, Jr., “I Have a Dream” (August 28, 1963), I Have a Dream: Writings and
Speeches That Changed the World,” (Harper San Francisco, 1992), pp. 101-106

Watch Dr. King deliver the “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington. Link is
available on NYU Classes (approx. 18 minutes)

April 1— Sounds of Freedom in the 1960s

Ruth Feldstein, “‘I Don't Trust You Anymore’: Nina Simone, Culture, and Black Activism in the
1960s.” The Journal of American History Vol. 91, Issue 4 (March 2005), 1349-1379

Martin Luther King, Jr., “I Have a Dream” (August 28, 1963), I Have a Dream: Writings and
Speeches That Changed the World,” (HarperSanFrancisco, 1992), pp. 101-106

Watch Dr. King deliver the “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington. Link is
available on NYU Classes (approx. 18 minutes)

****Break a Cultural Rule Project Report due in class****

April 6—Freedom Songs in the 1960s

Selections from Craig Werner, A Change Is Gonna Come: Music Race and the Soul of America
(1998):
“The Gospel Impulse,” pp. 28-31
“Sam Cooke and the Voice of Change,” pp. 31-37
“SAR and the Ambiguity of Integration,” pp. 40-44

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 “’Retha, Rap, and Revolt,” pp. 116-120
“‘Spirit in the Dark’: Aretha’s Gospel Politics,” pp. 121-125
“Curtis Mayfield’s Gospel Soul,” pp. 144-151

April 8-- Freedom Songs in the 1960s

Selections from Craig Werner, A Change Is Gonna Come: Music Race and the Soul of America
(1998):
“The Gospel Impulse,” pp. 28-31
“Sam Cooke and the Voice of Change, pp. 31-37
“SAR and the Ambiguity of Integration,” pp. 40-44
“’Retha, Rap, and Revolt,” pp. 116-120
“‘Spirit in the Dark’: Aretha’s Gospel Politics,” pp. 121-125
“Curtis Mayfield’s Gospel Soul,” pp. 144-151

April 13 & 15—Individual Final Essay Meetings

No lecture or recitation sections will meet this week. Instead, each student will schedule a ten-
minute meeting with their preceptor to discuss their plans for their final project during lecture
and recitation hours.

April 20—Cultural Politics: Rap

Tricia Rose, “Prophets of Rage: Rap Music and the Politics of Black Cultural Expression,” Black
Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America (1994), pp. 99-145

***Response Paper #4 due***

April 22—Cultural Politics: Rap

Tricia Rose, “Prophets of Rage: Rap Music and the Politics of Black Cultural Expression,” Black
Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America (1994), pp. 99-145

Desire Thompson, “How Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Alright’ Became the Anthem to Civil Unrest in
2015,” Vibe, December 11, 2015

April 27—Cultural Politics: Rock

Maureen Mahon, “African Americans and Rock ‘n’ Roll,” African Americans and Popular
Culture, Vol. III: Music and Popular Art, Todd Boyd, ed. (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2008), pp. 31-
60.

Greg Tate, “Of Afropunks and Other Anarchic Signifiers of Contrary Negritude,” From
Bourgeois to Boojie Black Middle-Class Performances, Bridget Harris Tsemo and Vershawn

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Ashanti Young, eds. (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2011), pp. 155-158.

Hanif Abdurraqib, “I Wasn’t Brought Here, I Was Born: Surviving Punk Rock Long Enough to
Find Afropunk,” Pitchfork, August 10, 2015

April 29—Cultural Politics: Rock

Maureen Mahon, “African Americans and Rock ‘n’ Roll,” African Americans and Popular
Culture, Vol. III: Music and Popular Art, Todd Boyd, ed. (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2008), pp. 31-
60.

Greg Tate, “Of Afropunks and Other Anarchic Signifiers of Contrary Negritude,” From
Bourgeois to Boojie Black Middle-Class Performances, Bridget Harris Tsemo and Vershawn
Ashanti Young, eds. (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2011), pp. 155-158.

Hanif Abdurraqib, “I Wasn’t Brought Here, I Was Born: Surviving Punk Rock Long Enough to
Find Afropunk,” Pitchfork, August 10, 2015

May 4—Contemporary Freedom Songs

Daphne A. Brooks, “How #BlackLivesMatter Started a Musical Revolution,” The Guardian,

March 13, 2016

Brittany Spanos and Sarah Grant, “Songs of Black Lives Matter: 22 New Protest Anthems,”
Rolling Stone, July 13, 2016

Greg Tate, “#6: Who Makes The Protest Music” [On “We The People” by Tribe Called Quest”]
New York Times Magazine special issue on ”25 Songs that Tell Us Where Music is Going,”
March 9, 2017

Angela Flournoy, “#16: How a Song Can Make Its Audience Feel Seen” [On “F.U.B.U” by
Solange], New York Times Magazine special issue on ”25 Songs that Tell Us Where Music is
Going,” March 9, 2017

Greg Tate, “The Politicization of Jay-Z,” Village Voice, July 11, 2017

***Response Paper #5 due***

May 6—Contemporary Freedom Songs

Daphne A. Brooks, “How #BlackLivesMatter Started a Musical Revolution,” The Guardian,

March 13, 2016

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Brittany Spanos and Sarah Grant, “Songs of Black Lives Matter: 22 New Protest Anthems,”
Rolling Stone, July 13, 2016

Greg Tate, “#6: Who Makes The Protest Music” [On “We The People” by Tribe Called Quest”]
New York Times Magazine special issue on ”25 Songs that Tell Us Where Music is Going,”
March 9, 2017

Angela Flournoy, “#16: How a Song Can Make Its Audience Feel Seen” [On “F.U.B.U” by
Solange], New York Times Magazine special issue on ”25 Songs that Tell Us Where Music is
Going,” March 9, 2017

Greg Tate, “The Politicization of Jay-Z,” Village Voice, July 11, 2017

December 13--Conclusions

****Final Essay due in class****