Black popular music today sits at the center of the American mainstream, but it was not always so. In this course, we will chart the emergence and development of Black popular music over the 20th and into the 21st century and examine the contexts that place it ever closer to the heart of American music. While black people have remained peripheral to the nation’s power, black music, once peripheral itself as well has moved little by little over the last 75 years into the center of mainstream of American music. Hip hop itself only 30 years ago was reviled as dangerous, empty music (charges levied toward all black musics at one point or another) is now at the top of the mainstream music charts. Together, we will learn about the contexts in which this music was made, moving more or less historically through the main genres that mark the development of black pop. Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Kendrick Lamar, and Childish Gambino will all play a role as we listen to America through this soundscape. No musical training is required for the course and there are no prerequisites for enrollment.
- Teacher: Krystal Klingenberg