The Empire Sings Back: Popular Music and Cultural Resistance in Africa and Portugal

Undergraduate

In this course students learn about the vibrant musical scene that has emerged in Lisbon, Portugal, as a result of a longstanding colonial and imperial history connecting Portugal and several countries in the African continent (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, São Tomé e Príncipe and Mozambique). We look closely at some of the main musical genres that originated in Africa during the colonial period, as well as those that have emerged in Portugal in recent times within African and Afro-Portuguese communities, such as Kuduro Progressivo , Kizomba , and Rap Kriolu, drawing comparisons with African American and other diasporic African popular music. We compare the social and political realities informing the respective colonial and postcolonial historical contexts, with particular attention to how race and ethnicity interact with the production, distribution, reception, and enjoyment of music, and how public perceptions of the worth of these cultural productions are shaped. Finally, we dedicate some attention to the use of a traditional genre such as Fado in LGBTQ political and social activism through the Fado Bicha project. Taught in English. HU MW 1:05pm-2:20pm