RIGHTS CLAIMS THROUGH MUSIC a Study on Collective Identity and Social Movements
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RIGHTS CLAIMS THROUGH MUSIC A study on collective identity and social movements Dzeneta Sadikovic Department of Global and Political Studies Human Rights III (MR106S) Bachelor thesis, 15hp 15 ETC, Fall/2019 Supervisor: Dimosthenis Chatzoglakis Abstract This study is an analysis of musical lyrics which express oppression and discrimination of the African American community and encourage potential action for individuals to make a claim on their rights. This analysis will be done methodologically as a content analysis. Song texts are examined in the context of oppression and discrimination and how they relate to social movements. This study will examine different social movements occurring during a timeline stretching from the era of slavery to present day, and how music gives frame to collective identities as well as potential action. The material consisting of song lyrics will be theoretically approached from different sociological and musicological perspectives. This study aims to examine what interpretative frame for social change is offered by music. Conclusively, this study will show that music functions as an informative tool which can spread awareness and encourage people to pressure authorities and make a claim on their Human Rights. Keywords: music, politics, human rights, freedom of speech, oppression, discrimination, racism, culture, protest, social movements, sociology, musicology, slavery, civil rights, African Americans, collective identity List of Contents 1. Introduction p.2 1.1 Topic p.2 1.2 Aim & Purpose p.2 1.3 Human Rights & Music p.3 1.4 Research Question(s) p.3 1.5 Research Area & Delimitations p.3 1.6 Chapter Outline p.5 2. Theory & Previous Research p.6 2.1 Music As A Tool p.6 2.2 Social Movements & Collective Behavior p.8 2.2.1 Civil Rights Movement p.10 3. Method p.13 3.1 Content Analysis p.13 3.2 Selection of Material p.15 4. Material – Songs of The African American Identity p.18 4.1 Slavery p.18 4.2 Civil Rights Movement p.21 4.3 Contemporary p.24 5. Analysis p.34 6. Discussion & Conclusion p.42 7. List Of References p.44 7.1 Bibliography p.44 7.2 Webpages p.46 7.3 Music p.47 7.3.1 Musicians & Songs p.47 7.3.2 Spirituals p.48 1. Introduction 1.1 Topic The focus of this study will be on how claims on rights can be conveyed through the way music articulates oppression and discrimination and how that frames societal change. The example used will be the role of songs in the African American community, covering the time from slavery to today. In this study I will talk about oppression, discrimination and rights violations occurring in the United States because of racism and its history of racial segregation. In order to discuss this, I will discuss how songs which express oppression, discrimination, rights violations, lack of freedom and visions of a better world, include claims of justice and rights. We will have to look at the way artists, musicians, use their ability to reach a large audience to articulate collective memory of an oppressive and discriminating history. How this articulation of collective memory mobilizes a society by creating collective identities and through social movements encourages people making claims based on identity, to make a claim on and fight for their rights by being vocal, pressuring authorities to live up to the law and grant everyone their human rights. 1.2 Aim & Purpose The aim of this study is to examine how music frames social change and gives room for right claims. The purpose is to gain understanding and awareness of how music can channel and articulate a society’s history, emotions, knowledge, information, ideas and rights violations such as discrimination and oppression. We will see how music used in this context of social movements, can contribute to pressuring institutions to respect all people’s human rights. With this study, I hope to contribute to already existing research uniting the field of human rights with sociology and musicology, in order to create an understanding of how music can come to play an important role in the contemporary fight for human rights. There is a tendency of categorizing music as pleasure and politics as business, placing those two topics far from each other, when in fact they can be very closely related. I hope to bring attention to the fact that music depicts our society and can shape how it may come to be, as well as further bring attention to the songs included in this study for future research within the sociological and musicological field. 2 1.3 Human Rights & Music One of many roles which music can serve, is as a voice for the oppressed. Voicing experiences of racism, discrimination, lack of freedom and other rights violations, with an aim of raising awareness and achieving said rights, it gives relevance to bring music into a human rights discussion. As music voices violations of rights, we can identify the rights being violated. By identifying people’s dissatisfaction through music, we can locate certain issues or occasions when peoples human rights are violated, e.g. in this case it is oppression and discrimination of the African American community, Music can also suggest and encourage potential action to take in order to make a claim on one’s human rights that should be granted to everyone according to various conventions e.g. ICCPR or ICESCR but aren’t due to oppression and discrimination. Music can encourage people to act in order to better our society and its relation to human rights. 1.4 Research Question(s) This study will be framed by relevant material and theoretical approaches in order to answer the following main questions: What perceptions of oppression and discrimination of the African American identity are conveyed through the songs? What kind of claims are expressed in music? The discussion brought forward in order to answer these two main questions, will result in rise of follow-up questions such as: How is music encouraging people to make a claim on their human rights? How are collective identities and music connected to one another? In what way could the relation between collective identity and music affect a society? 1.5 Research Area & Delimitations This study will gather research from the fields of sociology, and fields of human rights. First and foremost, musicology and sociology. Within these fields, I will further limit this study to research regarding collective behavior and collective identities, and research that has been done on music in the context of social behavior, as well as oppression and discrimination. Cultural sociology will be an essential part of this study, in order to establish a discussion on identities, collectives, movements, and rights claims. 3 To narrow down the broad spectrum of societies, rights and music, this study will be limited to the African American identity, and this community’s claim on human rights through music, on a timeline starting from slavery in the United States and ending with the current day. I limited and divided the timeline in to three eras: slavery, Civil Rights Movement, and contemporary, in order to chronologically and periodically discuss the song texts relevant to that specific time. These specific three periods are of relevance because they have characterized the African American collective’s fight for human rights, and there is already a vast field of research concerning the African American identity and discrimination. The material, song texts, will be limited to genres that are relevant for the timeline covering eras from slavery to current day. Most relevant for the timeline will be, starting from the era of slavery; spirituals, moving on to the era of Civil Rights Movement; jazz, funk, and ending with the contemporary era; hip-hop and rap. Music from these specific genres are included because these genres have been characterized by or are characterizing the era the music was produced during. The genres evolve into and/or give rise to one another over time, hence the relevance of following a timeline throughout this study. Genres such as metal will also be included, for a nuanced analysis and to show that these types of songs aren’t only occurring within the genres of hip-hop and rap. The music of the first two eras that will be discussed, is limited to the popularity of them within these fields and the occurrence of them in previous research, which is where they are selected from. However, I haven’t yet come across previous research on music of the third era (with the exception of Kendrick Lamar’s music), which I will discuss in this study. That music will be limited to songs that convey racism, and oppression and discrimination of the African American identity, and articulate a collective memory and/or identity. The selection of the contemporary music conveying discrimination has been chosen from artists whose music I am already familiar with. Most of the artist included in this study are a part of the African American community and have legitimacy when speaking of oppression and discrimination of the African American community since they are a not only part of it but recognized by it as members. Here lies the reason for the selection of the musicians Joey Badass, Body Count, J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar. These artists regularly hold big concerts where hundreds, if not thousands, of listeners attend, and they reach an even bigger audience worldwide through online streaming of their songs. One common criterion for selection song texts is whether there is a manifestation of collective identity or collective memory in the music. 4 1.6 Chapter Outline This study will contain brief research on the role of music during American slavery and the Civil Rights Movements that followed, in order to discuss the contemporary situation of collective movements and protests such as the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and where music places in these social and resistance movements.