Music of the African Diaspora: From Jazz to Modern Black Music

3 Credits

The goal of this course is to explore a myriad of musical traditions created by Africans in the Diaspora, especially the music of African Americans. Explorations will notably encompass the infusion of Western/Classical Music and its mixing with "Black Music." The traditions and musical styles are related to experiences of culture, history, customs, legends, aesthetic musical forms, and the functional use of this music (e.g., Blues, Jazz, Gospel, Spirituals, Black Message Music, Neo Soul, RAP, and Hip-Hop) as a cultural repository. This cultural repository has subsequently impacted American history, the arts, literature, global values, and Diaspora Studies.