15-PROSEM201-3BA-11 (2023/SL) (SB)
Today, a number of scholars often ponder whether African American culture would have been more exuberant if a majority of Africans had journeyed to the New World on their own accord. Similarly, some postulate that were it not for the hideous conditions that Africans faced during their forced migration to the New World as slaves, themes of perseverance, persistence, resilience, and even salvation would not be ever-so-present in African American literary and artist works? Moreover, would America be the birthplace of such widely known music styles, classic and social dances, and dramatic stories of over-coming oppression were it not for slave-ocracy? Though these inquiries may never be fully verified, we can, however, investigate the development and plight of African American culture as a distinct culture within the greater context of American society. To achieve such understanding, this monographic course explores religious music among African Americans to contextualize the complexities of African American Identity, and to reveal important aspects of its significance to American Studies.
- Teacher: Stan Breckenridge