World renowned Nigerian Afrobeat exponent Fela Anikulapo-Kuti once exclaimed, "music is the weapon." This newly devised course teases out and plunges into the meaning behind Kuti's statement. It uses a comparative approach to treat different historical eras (slavery, colonial, authoritarianism, nationalism, the Cold War, apartheid/post-liberation, and the global Black Lives Matter Movement among other themes. An array of musical genres like Kwaito, Hip Hop, Rap, Rai, Afrobeat, love, commemoration and other examples will feature in the course. Like actors throughout the world, Africans overtly employed symbolism and historical allusions in their songs. Tunes channeled the mood of definitive, historical moments.
Course objectives include:
Learn what constitutes protest music.
Explore different types of protest music.
Describe and identify the musical characteristics that differentiate protest music around the world.
Analyze lyrics using arguments, research, and discussion and place them within the historical, socio-cultural, political, and economic performances for consumption and production in global societies.
Utilize library, inter-library and online resources and research tools to attain primary and secondary sources to present an individual perspective on the role of music in contemporary society.
Discuss the ethnic implications of race, ethnicity, gender and class on the production and consumption of music throughout the world
Create a database to map out different protests in Africa and throughout the world in the last five years.