Music, Politics, and Protest in the United States
HIST-LIT 93AH
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
In this course, we’ll explore the intersection of music and social movements in the United States in the 20th and 21st centuries. How have musicians, critics, and audiences positioned music as “political” (and what does that mean)? What does a protest sound like, and what can that tell us about particular modes of resistance tied to race, class, gender, and sexuality? Can music be an effective agent of change? Drawing on a wide variety of sources–texts, archives, recordings, performances, experiential knowledge–we’ll ask how music and sound have worked in history to document, dissent, and/or protest; how music functions in our own sociopolitical context; and how music imagines utopian and dystopian futures. The seminar will delve into methods of researching and writing about sound, and students will have the opportunity to conduct original research towards a substantial academic paper and to develop written and creative materials for public audiences. This course is affiliated with the Mindich Program in Engaged Scholarship and counts towards the course requirement for the Certificate in Civic Engagement.
Class Notes
Interested students should petition to enroll on my.harvard. In your petition, say a few words about your interest in the course (including concentrations you are considering if you are undeclared), any requirement the course may satisfy, and whether you have taken any other History & Literature seminars. Please contact the instructor if you have any questions.
Available for Harvard Cross Registration
