Course Schedule and Catalog

Long Title: SOUNDING BLACKNESS: BLACK IDENTITY AND MUSIC (SID RICH)

Department: College Courses

Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 1

Description: What does Blackness sound like? From rural Southern blues to the sensational beats of hip-hop, music is a powerful medium for expressing the diverse identities, struggles, and experiences of Black communities in the United States. Through active listening of different musical genres and case studies of artists such as Nina Simone, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, and Beyoncé, this course explores how Blackness has been made audible and experienced through sound and music. Students will examine the social, political, and artistic roles of Black music across the twentieth-century, focusing on its evolution as a tool of resistance, self-expression, and liberation. Alongside engaging with literature from fields like Black music studies, anthropology, and cultural studies, students will analyze key theories in Black studies and explore their relationship to the sonic worlds of Black musicians. By the end of this course, students will gain new tools to think critically about how music not only mirrors the world around us but also opens up ways to understand one another and express our shared human experiences.