Music 238 - The Power of Black Music

The course focuses on the musics of Africa and the African diaspora through the lens of ethnomusicology. Concentrating on countries like Brazil, Cuba, Nigeria, South Africa, and the United States, it examines the musical performance of gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality and the role of music in social and political movements. The course explores the global dimensions and resonances of Africanist musical cosmopolitanism as enabled historically and sustained through ongoing transatlantic exchanges between Africa and the African diasporas. Other topics covered include the global rise of Afrobeats, and the issues of representation in iconic works like Black Is King and Lemonade by Beyoncé.