Afro-American Studies 156 - Rev Concepts in Afr.Am.Music

This course will examine the development of Afro-American music during the twentieth century with an especial focus on links to the Harlem Renaissance and Black Arts Movement. In particular, the class will survey the variegated styles and productions of artists, including Bessie Smith, Eubie Blake, James P. Johnson, Ma Rainey, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Memphis Minnie, Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, Lightnin' Hopkins, T-Bone Walker, Mary Lou Williams, Charlie "Bird" Parker, Max Roach, Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Jimmy Smith, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders, Randy Weston, Nina Simone, Charles Mingus, Archie Shepp, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, Booker T. & the MGs, Nikki Giovanni, Sun Ra, the Chicago Art Ensemble, Sonia Sanchez, Albert Ayler, Leon Thomas, Jayne Cortez, The Watts Prophets, The Last Poets, and Gil Scott-Heron. (Gen. Ed. AT, DU)

This course is open to first-year students in the Cultural Explorations RAP in Thoreau. Students in Cultural Explorations RAP in Thoreau Hall will enroll together in "Revolutionary Concepts in African-American Music" (Afro Am 156). 'Everyone's a critic' especially when it comes to music, but how does one critically engage music? In this course, we will approach Black genres of music from historical, cultural and literary perspectives. Further, we will discuss the ways in which Black music permeates other forms of culture such as literature and media (film, fashion, dancing, etc.).

https://www.umass.edu/rap/cultural-explorations-rap