Political Expression in Music

This course aims to engage and involve learners in the big events of the decades (a short introduction of history and political expression in music and then we will begin in the 60's and move forward) through an exploration of the music of the time period, pulling out particular genres, artists and albums of political expression.  

The relationship between music and politics has existed for centuries.  From protest songs to voter campaigns to expressions of anger and fear, artists throughout the ages have expressed their opinions and emotions concerning the big issues of their time through their music.  As a form of communication, music has always been used to express opinions about matters of the day.  This class aims to expose learners to this type of expression, while helping them to understand the historical political climate as well as provide potential for learners own self expression through music.  

This is an ongoing class, and students are welcome to join the course at any point. Each class will be independent of itself meaning students will not require any prior knowledge to attend. Each week will focus on a decade or era in American history and at the end of the eight week cycle, we will begin again.  

We start with a quick overview of music as a form of political expression, the American Revolution and events such as the civil war.  Very quickly though, we will move into the more modern decades of expression beginning with an introduction to Woody Guthrie, a pioneer of the American musical protest movement.  

The next week will turn to the decades of the 1960s and 70s - the era of civil rights, environmental rights, war and peace.  Musicians such as the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and John Lennon  will be analyzed.  An understanding of the lyrics in the context of the historical events will be studied by the class.  Further, learners will engage in analytical thinking concerning how the music evolved and its influence on its listeners and the greater world events. 

The importance of music of political expression in the context of the Civil Rights era will be explored this week, focusing on singers such as Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Sam Cooke will be studied as well as the music of the Freedom Riders.

Turning to the 1980s - the Cold War, the AIDS epidemic, the 'War on Drugs to name a few events.  From Rock the Vote and MTVs involvement in organizing young people around causes  to bands such as the Police who explored the fears of a generation dealing with the silent threat of the Cold War, learners will seek to understand how artists were able to express their fears as well as the fears of a generation through music.  

This week explores the emergence of rap and hip hop to express the challenges and frustrations of racism in America.  

This week explores the music of the early part of this century.  With the cold war behind us it may have seemed that the era of protest music was forgotten. However, bands such as Rage Against the Machine and grunge bands such as Nirvana expressed the political and protest views of generation X. 

The Iraq war of the early 2000's re-sparked musical artists to consider the role of music to express frustration in war time.  From the Black Eyed Peas's 'Where is the Love' to Green Day's 'American Idiot' - from the Dixie Chicks to Pink, we will explore not only the particular music and the events which preceded the artistic expression, but the cross genre experience and how the various artist's followers influenced their musical expression.  

This week considers current day events and how artists have found a voice in the complex politcal era in which we are living.  Exploring various genres from country to pop to international voices, learners will listen critically to todays musical voices to determine how music and politics are influencing each other and how learners are influenced by both.