Music, Race, and Place

In this seminar we will consider how the rise of urban African America shaped and was shaped by the evolution of contemporary black music. We will examine blues, soul, and early hip hop music in their historical and spatial contexts, beginning with the Great Migration, progressing through the heyday of centers of black life like New York’s Harlem and Chicago’s Bronzeville, and ending with the development and decline of high-rise housing projects. Driven by the recurrent questions of “why here?” and “why now?” we will work to understand what the growth of these various musical forms meant to urban African America. 3 hrs. sem.