“Born in U.S.A.”: socio-political issues in American popular music 3106-AmPop-OG

The goal of this course is to survey how music relates to social and political
issues in American culture. The geographical and temporal scope of our study
will contain popular music created in the United States of American from the 19 th
century, when on the American ground the earliest music sheets occurred, to the
last decade of 21 st century.
Different genres of popular music are crucial elements of constructing the identity
in political and social life. I.e. punk, rap, and historically folk and blues were a
part of indirect and direct way of expressing private views on society, domestic
and international policies, as well as a platform for different communities,
minorities, and political groups of interest.
Thus, during this course we will focus on the socio-political issues in popular
music from the 19 th to 21 st century – we will analyze the verbal and literary
elements of songs (i.e. double meanings in spirituals, language of protest songs,
genres idiosyncrasies), but also we will concentrate on the musical features of
individual genres (i.e. melody, timbre, rhythm). It will be framed in the history of
social and political changes of the United States of American in the last 200
years.
Topics:
1. Popular music in the 19 th century: early song forms in the United States of
America.
2. Spirituals and blues: deep rooted revolution.
3. Folk (I): socialism, anarchism and the protest song at the turn of the 19 th
and 20 th centuries.
4. Tin Pan Alley: musical industry at the beginning of the 20 th century.
5. Rock & roll: youth culture from McCarthy to McCartney.
6. Folk (II): protest song versus war in Vietnam.
7. Rock (I): psychedelic culture of 1960’s.
8. Funk: Black Power and the political emancipation of African Americans.
9. Pop: from authenticity to commercialism.
10. Country: towards the conservative values.
11. Rock (II): punk and post-punk against neoconservative America.
12. Disco: liberation on the dancefloor.
13. Rap: politics in hip-hop culture.
14. Rock (III): sensitive 1990’s – grunge, alternative rock, and indie.
15. 21 st century: music after 9/11.

Type of course

general courses

Mode

Classroom

Course coordinators

Wojciech Bernatowicz

Bibliography

Articles and book chapters:

1. Birnbaum, Larry, Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock’n’roll, Scarecrow Press,
Lanham, 2012 (chapter).
2. Bonette, Lakeyta M., Pulse of the People: Political Rap Music and Black
Politics, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2015 (chapter).
3. Denning, Michael, The Cultural Front: The Laboring of American Culture in the
Twentieth Century, Verso, London & New York, 1997 (chapter I).
4. Fabbri, Franco, A Theory of Musical Genres: A Two Applications, [w:] Popular
Music Perspectives, red. David Horn, Philip Tagg, International Association for
the Study of Popular Music, Goeteborg and Exeter, 1981, pp. 52–81.
5. McClary, Susan, Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality, With a New
Introduction, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, London, 2002
(chapter).
6. Moore, Allan, Authenticity as Authentication, „Popular Music”, 2002, no. 21(2),
pp. 209–223.
7. Lott, Eric, Love and Theft: The Racial Unconcious of Blackface Minstrelsy,
„Representations”, 1992, no. 39(2), pp. 23–39.
8. Spener, David, We Shall Not Be Moved/No nos nos moverán: Biography of a
Song of Struggle, Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 2016 (chapter).
9. Spitzer, Michael, ’Moving Past the Feeling’: Emotion in Arcade’s Fire Funeral,
„Popular Music”, nr 36(2), s. 252–282.
10. Wright, Amy N., A Philosophy of Funk: The Politics and Pleasure of
Parliafunkadelicment Thang!, [w:] (red.) Tony Bolden, The Funk Era and
Beyond: New Perspectives on Black Popular Culture, Palgrave MacMillan, New
York, 2008, s. 33-50 (chapter).
Audio/video:
Songs:
1. The Hutchinson’s Family Singers – Get off the Track! (1844)
2. Anonymous – John Brown’s Body (1861)
3. Anonymous – Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child (ca. 1870)
4. Anonymous – The Suffrage Flag (1884)
5. Joe Hill – The Preacher and the Slave (1911)
6. Jerome Kern – Ol’ Man River (1927)
7. Harold Rome – Sing Me a Song of Social Significance (1937)
8. Woodie Guthrie – The Land is Your Land (1944)
9. Jimmie Osborne – God Please Protect America (1950)
10. Johny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
11. Pete Seeger – Where Have all the Flowers Gone (1961)
12. Barry Sadler – Ballad of the Green Berets (1966)
13. Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit (1967)
14. Aretha Franklin – Respect (1967)
15. Parliament – Come In Out of the Rain (1970)
16. Harlan Howard – Mr. Professor (1971)
17. Billy Paul – People Power (1975)
18. Talking Heads – Life During Wartime (1979)
19. Bruce Springsteen – Born in the U.S.A. (1984)
20. N.W.A. – Fuck the Police (1988)
21. Pixies – Monkey Gone to Heaven (1989)
22. Sonic Youth – Youth Against Fascism (1992)
23. Bad Religion – American Jesus (1993)
24. Bikini Kill – Rebel Girl (1993)
25. Rage Against the Machine – Killing in the Name (1994)
26. Ani DiFranco – Evolve (2003)
27. Gossip – Standing in the Way of Control (2006)
28. Lady Gaga – Born this Way (2011)
29. Against Me! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues (2012)
30. The Killers – Land of the Free (2017)
Videos:
1. (dir.) Rupert Wainwright: N.W.A – Straight Outta Compton (1988)
2. Saturday Night Live: Bob Marley’s ‘War’ Performed by Sinead O’Connor (1992)
3. (dir.) Kevin Altieri, Todd MacFalrlane: Pearl Jam – Do the Evolution (1998)
4. (dir.) Green Day – American Idiot (2004)
5. (dir.) David Wilson: Arcade Fire – We Exist (2014)
6. Grandpa Elliot – Down By the Riverside | Playing for Change (2015)
7. (dir.) Nova Rockefeller: Tom MacDonald – Whiteboy (2018)
8. (dir.) Hiro Murai: Childish Gambino – This is America (2019)
9. (dir.) Colton Tran: Todrick Hall – I Like Boys (2020)

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

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