230624 Practices of Resistance through Music: Voicing the African-American Struggle (StGr) (SoSe 2018)

African American history is dynamic and is marked by major social movements. Whether we
talk about the lynchings during the Jim Crow Laws, the Civil Rights Movement or today’s
Black Lives Matter Movement, African Americans tried to voice racial injustice. Throughout
different periods of time, African Americans used music as a tool of resistance in which they
aimed to overcome these injustices. ‘Black music’ didn't start with Beyoncé and Kendrick
Lamar who try to address the political issue of African American shootings but goes way
back to Jazz (during the Harlem Renaissance) when Billie Holiday addressed the issue of
lynchings in her song “A Strange Fruit”.
And today, Hip-Hop culture is influential around the globe with rappers like Nas, Tupac, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, who used their power as ‘music moguls’ to incite a change.

We will work on a theoretical basis by defining protests songs and social movements,
provide a historical overview and have a look at the impact the African American community
has (had) on society. We will deal with music as spoken literature, which is why we will be
analyzing and discussing lyrics and have a look at stage performances.

In this course we will look at Black music as protest songs at different periods of time when African Americans wanted their voices to be heard. Whenever we talk about an artist
we will need to contextualize his/her songs and deal with different questions:
- Which events influenced the artist’s songs?
- What is the artist’s political message?
- How does the artist’s song foster a certain social movement (e.g. Black Lives Matter
Movement)?

Requirements for participation, required level

Students doing Internationalisation at Home can earn three credit points for participating actively in the Study Group. Naturally, students who do not need credit for Int@Home can also attend simply from personal interest.
Please note that Study Groups are organised entirely by students with students for students, and live from the active input of all participants.

Bibliography

Literature:
➢ Bonette, Lakeyta M. Pulse of the People: Political Rap Music and Black Politics .
(2015).
➢ Byrne, Paul. “Defining Social Movements.” In: Social Movements in Britain. (1997).
➢ Gilliam, Tanji . “Hip-Hop and Representin’: Power, Voice, and Identity.’’ Homer
Simpson Marches on Washington: Dissent through American Popular Culture , edited
by Dale, Timothy M & Foy, Joseph J, (2010), pp. 219-239.
➢ Hodgman, Matthew R.“Class, Race, Credibility, and Authenticity within the Hip-Hop
Music Genre.” Journal of Sociological Research , Vol. 4, No. 2, 2013, pp. 402-413.
➢ Bonette, Lakeyta M. Pulse of the People: Political Rap Music and Black Politics .
(2015).