Black Country Music

Instructor: Fiona Boyd

This seminar examines the foundational role of Black sound and artistry in country music, from the genre’s pre-histories in West Africa and the Caribbean, to its multiracial and multicultural present across the United States and the world. With a particular focus on Black American country musicians and their experiences of place, belonging, and Americanness, we will think and listen alongside scholars and artists who examine intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and class in their work, who employ a diversity of methodological approaches across music studies, and who ask questions about genre, industry, collectivity, nationalism, fandom, place, and labor. Throughout the course, we will expand our listening skills and explore how the study of music and sound can illuminate our social and cultural understandings, in turn redefining what we consider country music and Black music to be. The course will culminate in a final project designed to prompt students to reflect on the sounds, skills, issues, concepts, and methodologies discussed in the course, and to explore a research question related to Black country music. This course is open to students with no formal training or background in music.