This syllabus originally appeared in the ASA Newsletter, September 1994, as part of Professor Czitrom's essay,"Any Old Way You Choose It": Popular Music as an Introduction to American Studies.

American Culture Through Music

Professor Daniel Czitrom
Mount Holyoke College

For any musical innovation is full of danger to the whole State,
and ought to be prohibited. So Damon tells me, and I can quite
believe him; he says that when modes of music change, the
fundamental laws of the State always change with them.
--Plato, The Republic, Book IV

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.
--Duke Ellington

Roll over Beethoven/And tell Tchaikovsky the news.
--Chuck Berry

This class offers an introduction to American Studies through popular music. Our course is based on the assumption that a close examination of musical practices over time and space can illuminate some of the fundamental issues in American culture and society. Among these are the formation of communities, courtship rituals, urbanization and immigration, race relations, social protest, generational conflict, the commercialization of leisure, and the growth of the mass media. By "musical practices," I mean the complex relationships that exist at any given moment between musical performers, audiences, the music itself, the music business, and the technologies that influence the production, distribution, and consumption of music. Above all, you will be asked to listen to, read about, and respond to many different types of American popular music. In addition, several visiting lecturers will join us during the semester, giving you some sense of the rich variety of approaches represented on the American Studies Committee.

Course Requirements

Each student will take a Midterm (March 27) and Final (to be scheduled). These exams will test material covered in class sessions, films, and reading. A portion of the exams will consist of musical identifications. In addition, you have the option of writing a short, 5-7 page paper on a topic that you want to explore more fully. Paper possibilities include (but are not limited to): a brief research paper on a particular musical figure, trend, or historical event; an analysis of songs or performances; a review of a musician's autobiography; the treatment of music in film or fiction. A paper is NOT required for achieving the highest grade in the course; it offers an opportunity for you to get deeper into a subject of special interest.

Required Texts (Odyssey):

  1. Daniel Kingman, American Music, 2nd ed.
  2. Robert Palmer, Deep Blues
  3. Loretta Lynn, Coal Miner's Daughter
  4. Greil Marcus, Mystery Train
  5. Nelson George, Where Did Our Love Go?

Film Series:

Class Schedule

January 28-30:

  1. Introduction to Course
  2. Listening to Learn, Learning to Listen

February 4-6:

  1. Anglo-European Folksong Traditions
  2. African Transformations
  3. In-Class Screening: African Art in Motion

February 11-13:

  1. "Highway to Heaven": Sacred Song
  2. The Gospel Sound
  3. Guest Lecturer: John Grayson, Religion

February 18-20:

  1. The Music Business: Sheet Music to Records
  2. Minstrelsy, Ragtime, Tin Pan Alley

February 25-27:

  1. "Blues Fallin' Down Like Rain"
  2. From Country to City: Blues Traditions
  3. In-Class Screening: St. Louis Blues (1929), featuring Bessie Smith

March 4-6:

  1. "Struttin' With Some Barbecue":
  2. New Orleans Jazz
  3. From Swing to Bop: Jazz Traditions

March 11-13:

  1. "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive"
  2. Country and Western Music
  3. The Nashville Sound

March 25-27

April 1-3:

  1. Rock'n'Roll I: Origins and Early Years Marcus, Mystery Train,
  2. Rhythm and Blues, Rockabilly, Doo-Wop, ("Elvis")
  3. Teen Idols, British Invasion

April 8-10

  1. "Mundo Latino" The Latin Tinge
  2. In Class Screening: Machito (1989)
  3. Guest Lecturer: Roberto Marquez, Latin American Studies

April 15-1 7:

  1. Rock'n'Roll II: Scenes and Styles
  2. Motown Memphis Soul, Folk Rock,
  3. Tex-Mex, Psychedelia, Corporate Rock ("Sly Stone: The Myth of Staggerlee")

April 22-24:

  1. World Beat: Reggae, Disco, Afro-Pop
  2. New Technologies and the Rise of MTV
  3. Guest Lecturer: Susan Douglas, Hampshire College

April 29 - May 1:

  1. Wild Style: Hip Hop Culture
  2. Censorship and the Politics of Rap
  3. Guest Lecturer: Douglas Amy, Politics

Figure 1: Blues Recordings Syllabus.

February 25-27, 1991


American Studies 101
Blues Styles

  1. (1936) Robert Johnson, "Crossroad Blues"
  2. (1936) Robert Johnson, "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day"
  3. (1950) Muddy Waters, "Rollin' and Tumblin'"
  4. (1960) B.B. King, "You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now"
  5. (1927) Bessie Smith, "Empty Bed Blues"
  6. (1929) Bessie Smith, St. Louis Blues (Film)
  7. (1942) Memphis Minnie, "Me and My Chauffeur"
  8. (1954) Jimmy Rogers, "Chicago Bound"
  9. (1953) Ruth Brown, "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean"
  10. (1954) Joe Turner, "Shake, Rattle, and Roll"
  11. (1959) Ray Charles, "The Right Time"

Video

Figure 2. Jazz Recordings Syllabus.

March 4, 1991


American Studies 101
Jazz: New Orleans to Swing

  1. (rec. 1932)Sidney Bechet, "Maple Leaf Rag"
  2. (rec. 1938) Sidney Bechet, "Weary Blues"
  3. (1926) Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, "Muskrat Ramble"
  4. (1928) Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, "West End Blues" (with Earl Hines, piano)
  5. (1929) Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra, "(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue?" (written by Fats Waller/Andy Razaf)
  6. (1926) Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers, "Black Bottom Stomp"
  7. (1928) Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, "Dardanella"
  8. (1928) Duke Ellington, "Black and Tan Fantasy" (with Bubber Miley, trumpet)
  9. (1937)Coleman Hawkins and Benny Carter, "Honeysuckle Rose"
  10. (1935) Benny Goodman, "King Porter Stomp" (written by Jelly Roll Morton; arranged by Fletcher Henderson)

Figure 3. Latin Recordings Syllabus.

April 8 & 10, 1991


American Studies 101
The Latin Tinge Roberto Marquez, Guest Lecturer

I. Roots & Rhythm: The Island Backdrop l880-1920s

II. Transition: Son and The Cuban Connection: 1930-40

III. Fusion and Merger: Son, Swing, & Jazz: 1940-1950

IV. The Son & Plena Go Up-Tempo: Machito, Cortijo, & The Barrio Sound: 1950s

V. Salsa Comes Into Its Own: The 1960s and After

VI. Emerging Voices