DELTA BLUES
Traces the history of the blues in America's racial history. Begins by examining the living conditions that produced the blues in rural Mississippi (sharecropping, the cotton industry, the Great Flood of 1927). Continues by detailing the emergence of blues in the early recording industry (Paramount, OKeh), including the earliest examples (W.C. Handy, Mamie Smith), as well as the singers emerging in the 1920s (Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, Robert Johnson). Follows migrations northward to Memphis (jug bands) and Chicago (electric blues), tracing the emerging importance of radio and live performance (King Biscuit Time, WDIA, the Chittlin' Circuit), living conditions in Chicago (Maxwell Street). Tracks early marketing of blues to white audiences (Josh White, Lead Belly). Ends with the reemergence of the blues as '60s folk music (Son House, Sonny Boy Williamson II) and British Invasion (Yardbirds). Supplemented with extensive musical selections, documentary footage of interviews.
Prerequisites & course information
Requisites: None Course Designation: Core GenEd - Civics & Perspectives Ethnic St - Ethnic Studies Breadth - Humanities Level - Elementary L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Summer 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Identify representative styles, performers, and formal patterns relating to Delta blues. Audience: Undergraduate 2. Identify major historical developments in the evolution of Delta blues. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Understand blues performers in terms of their personal and social lives, and distinguish between these individual lives and the mythologizing narratives offered in their place. Audience: Undergraduate 4. Describe and explain elements of blues and blues history verbally. Audience: Undergraduate 5. Construct knowledge about musical repertories by researching them online and directly listening to them. Audience: Undergraduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Identify representative styles, performers, and formal patterns relating to Delta blues. Audience: Undergraduate 2. Identify major historical developments in the evolution of Delta blues. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Understand blues performers in terms of their personal and social lives, and distinguish between these individual lives and the mythologizing narratives offered in their place. Audience: Undergraduate 4. Describe and explain elements of blues and blues history verbally. Audience: Undergraduate 5. Construct knowledge about musical repertories by researching them online and directly listening to them. Audience: Undergraduate
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027