ARTS 661: MUSIC AND CULTURE OF AFRICA AND ITS DIASPORA Wesleyan University GLS, Summer 2015 Syllabus (draft 6/1/2015)

Instructor: Eric Charry, MS201, 860-685-2579, [email protected] Room: MS301 Office hours: TBA and by appointment Course websites: http://musc265.blogs.wesleyan.edu/ http://musc266.blogs.wesleyan.edu/ https://moodle2.wesleyan.edu

Calendar June 27-28, Saturday-Sunday 9:00am-5:00pm July 11-12, Saturday-Sunday 9:00am-5:00pm July 25, Saturday 9:00am-5:00pm

Course Description: In this course we will immerse ourselves in the breadth and depth of musical expression in Africa and its diaspora, including the Caribbean and Latin America. We will pursue three interrelated paths: 1) students will become literate in some of the major world music cultures, including that of West African griots, mbira music from Zimbabwe, South African choral singing, Cuban drumming and son-based popular music, Jamaican reggae, Trinidadian steelband, and Brazilian samba; 2) we will use music as an entry point for investigating the history and culture of Africa and its diaspora; and 3) we will use the case studies throughout the semester as the basis for discussions of broader theoretical issues, such as music as a marker of identity (diasporic, national, racial, ethnic, class), modernization, globalization, and authenticity. Classes will consist of a combination of discussion of the assigned reading, directed listening and viewing of audio and video recordings, student presentations, and in-class demonstration performances. Students will gain limited hands-on experience with West African percussion and Trinidadian steelband. We will survey the African continent and the Americas as a whole, explore regional traits, national cultures, and discuss in depth specific genres and pieces.

Required books (available at Broad St. Books, 45 Broad Street—at corner of William St., 347-1194) Eric Charry, Mande Music. University of Chicago Press, 2000. ISBN: 9780226101620 Kevin O'Brien Chang and Wayne Chen, Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music. Temple University Press, 1998. ISBN: 1-56639-629-8 All other readings are available via Olin library electronic reserve (E-Res).

Course Requirements Reading: Reading the articles and chapters is required as indicated in the syllabus and announced each class.

Listening: Most of the listening is available via Spotify (see Announcements in Moodle for information on how to subscribe) or the course blog, which links to various websites. Some recordings will be made available (as streamed mp3s) through the Olin library E-Res page. Students should listen to and study the pieces discussed each class.

Writing: Short responses to the readings, midterm (5 pages) and final (10-12 pages) writing projects to be chosen in consultation with the instructor. Complete citations and/or footnotes should be given for all of the sources (including websites) used for the papers.

Oral Presentation: Students will give an oral presentation based on their final project.

Attendance Policy: Due to the intensity of the semester, consistent class attendance is required and students are expected to arrive on time. Any problems should be discussed with the instructor as unexcused absences may result in a lowered grade.

Grades: Your grade will be primarily determined by the midterm and final projects, short responses, class participation, and oral presentation. ARTS 661, 2

SCHEDULE OF CLASS WORK (Subject to change)

*****Weekend 1***** June 27, Saturday: 9:00am-5:00pm Mande Music I Charry (2000): “Introduction” (1-27), “The Mande” (chap. 1, 29—62), “Jeliya” (chap. 3, 90-152 only), “Modern” (chap. 5, 242-288 only)

June 28, Sunday: 9:00am-5:00pm Mande Music II Charry (2000): “Drumming” (chap. 4, 193-229 only) Ghana Chernoff: “Style in Africa” (chap. 3, 91-151) Nigeria Omojola (2012): “Introduction” (1-15), “Yoruba Drumming” (chap. 1 excerpt, 16-20) Rep. of South Africa Erlmann: “Zulu Migrant Workers” (chap. 6, 156-174) Zimbabwe, Central Africa Forest People No reading

*****Weekend 2*****

July 11, Saturday 9:00am-5:00pm Africa in the Americas Klein: “American Labor Demand” (chap. 2, 17-46) Walker: “Everyday Africa in New Jersey” (only pages 56-63, 70-73, skim the rest) Wilson: “It Don’t Mean a Thing” (153-168) Cuba: Drumming, Son, Mambo; Salsa Sublette: “Hiding in Plain Sight” (chap. 15, 206-232), “Rumba” (chap. 17, 257-272) Waxer: “Of Mambo Kings” (139-176) Washburne: “Salsa History” (chap. 1 excerpt, 12-31) (supplemental) Washburne: chap. 6 excerpt (168-197) Trinidad: Steelband No reading MIDTERM WRITING PROJECT DUE

July 12, Sunday 9:00am-5:00pm Brazil: Samba Raphael: “Brazilian Samba Schools” (73-83) Jamaica Chang and Chen: ix-x, 1-82, 84-219 (inset articles only), 242-244 Veal (2007): “Evolution of Dub Music” (chap. 2, 45-94), “Starship Africa” (chap. 8 excerpt, 208-219) Chude-Sokei: “Postnationalist Geographies” (80-84, 96) Diaspora Okpewho: “Introduction” (xi-xxviii) Edwards: “The Uses of Diaspora” (45-73)

*****Weekend 3*****

July 25, Saturday 9:00am-5:00pm Final Project Presentations

FINAL PAPER DUE: Friday July 31, 2015 ARTS 661, 3

References

Charry, Eric 2000 Mande Music: Traditional and Modern Music of the Maninka and Mandinka of Western Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chang, Kevin O'Brien and Wayne Chen 1998 Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music. Temple University Press, Chernoff, John Miller 1979 African Rhythm and African Sensibility: Aesthetics and Social Action in African Musical Idioms. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chude-Sokei, Louis 1994 "Postnationalist Geographies: Rasta, Ragga, and Reinventing Africa," African Arts 27(4): 80-84, 96. Reprinted 1997 in Chris Potash (ed.), Reggae, Rasta, Revolution: Jamaican Music from Ska to Dub. New York: Schirmer, 215-227. Edwards, Brent Hayes 2001 “The Uses of Diaspora,” Social Text 66 (v. 19, no. 1): 45-73. Erlmann, Veit 1991 African Stars: Studies in South African Performance. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Klein, Herbert S. 1999 The Atlantic Slave Trade. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Okpewho, Isidore 1999 "Introduction," in Isidore Okpewho, Carol Boyce Davies, and Ali Mazrui, eds., The African Diaspora: African Origins and New World Identities, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, xi-xxviii. Omojola, Bode 2012 Yorùbá Music in the Twentieth Century: Identity, Agency, and Performance Practice. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press. Raphael, Allison 1990 "From Popular Culture to Microenterprise: the History of Brazilian Samba Schools," Latin American Music Review 11(1): 73-83. Sublette, Ned 2004 Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. Veal, Michael E. 2007 Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Walker, Sheila 2001 “Everyday Africa in New Jersey: Wonderings and Wanderings in the African Diaspora,” in Sheila Walker, ed., African Roots/American Cultures: Africa in the Creation of the Americas, Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 45-80. Waxer, Lise 1994 "Of Mambo Kings and Songs of Love: Dance Music in Havana and New York from the 1930s to the 1950s," Latin American Music Review 15(2): 139-176. Wilson, Ollie 2001 "'It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing': The Relationship Between African and African American Music," in Sheila Walker, ed., African Roots/American Cultures: Africa in the Creation of the Americas, Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 153-168.