Ethnomusicology Commons^™

“Ab-Soul’S Outro,” “Hiiipower,” And The Vernacular: Kendrick Lamar’S Rap As Literature, Tyler S. Bunzey

Senior Honors Theses

Kendrick Lamar’s “Ab-Soul’s Outro” and “HiiiPower” employ complex patterns of Signifyin(g), testifyin’, and other classical African-American literary tropes in order to construct a nuanced style. Lamar creates a double-voiced text not only within his narrative, but also within the form itself. Lamar plays on rap's unique status in African-American literature as an oral text; it is an extension of the vernacular. Through this oral text, Lamar decentralizes the Eurocentric focus of classical interpretation and qualification of literature to a new Afrocentric perspective that privileges the oral text. These raps are complex, wrapped up in their current context along with a …

“Strength Shed By A New And Terrible Vision:” The Organic Evolution Of The Blues And The Blues Aesthetic In Richard Wright’S 'Uncle Tom’S Children', Jeffrey J. Horvath

Student Publications

An exploration into the development of the "blues aesthetic" in the African-American literary tradition.

“Caught Between Southern Pride And Southern Blame”: Brad Paisley’S “Accidental Racist”, Brianna E. Kirk

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

An ongoing and rather controversial debate in the Civil War world is that over the rightful placement of the Confederate battle flag in American memory. Being such a provocative symbol both in terms of history and race relations, its ‘true’ meaning and ‘true’ symbolism are constantly in flux. With recent disputes on the removal of the Confederate flag from Robert E. Lee’s tomb at Washington and Lee University making their way into the mainstream news, the complicated meaning of the rebel symbol and where it belongs in American memory have earned their places at the forefront of the national consciousness. …

Exploring The Efficacy Of "Crooked Sticks" : Diasporan Resistance And Discursive Ambivalence In Zora Neale Hurston's Jonah's Gourd Vine, Amy Schmidt

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

From The Editor-In-Chief: A Celebration Of American Arts And Letters, Regennia N. Williams

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Regennia N. Williams

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Self-Realization In A Restricted World: Janie's Early Discovery In Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Delisa D. Hawkes

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Zora Neale Hurston And Then Ishmael Reed: Syncretizing Moses With "Sympathetic" Comic Rhetoric, Gillian Johns

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

One School Year With Zora Neale Hurston: A September - June Timeline Unit For K - 8 Schools, Lana J. Miller

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

New Perspectives On Religion, Race, And Culture, Regennia N. Williams

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Pentecostalism In An African Context, Michael L. Zadell

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Contemporary Conversations On Cross-Cultural Exchange, Jenni L. Shelton

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Southern Black Gospel Music: Qualitative Look At Quartet Sound During The Gospel `Boom' Period Of 1940-1960, Beatrice Pate

Masters Theses

The purpose of this work is to identify features of southern black gospel music, and to highlight what makes the music unique. One goal is to present information about black gospel music and distinguishing the different definitions of gospel through various ages of gospel music. A historical accounting for the gospel music is necessary, to distinguish how the different definitions of gospel are from other forms of gospel music during different ages of gospel. The distinctions are important for understanding gospel music and the `Southern' gospel music distinction. The quartet sound was the most popular form of music during the …

Musical Influence On Apartheid And The Civil Rights Movement, Katherine D. Power

Student Publications

Black South Africans and African Americans not only share similar identities, but also share similar historical struggles. Apartheid and the Civil Rights Movement were two movements on two separate continents in which black South Africans and African Americans resisted against deep injustice and defied oppression. This paper sets out to demonstrate the key role that music played, through factors of globalization, in influencing mass resistance and raising global awareness. As an elemental form of creative expression, music enables many of the vital tools needed to overcome hatred and violence. Jazz and Freedom songs were two of the most influential genres, …

I Am Not Your Video Girl, Rashida Aluko-Roberts

SURGE

“We need girls who are willing to be up on stage with us and who are not afraid to go HAM dancing in front of a crowd. I know at least a few of you who have the confidence/jaw-dropping dance moves to pull this off.” [excerpt]

When Black Meets White In The Heart Of Worship: A Case-Study Of Musical Changes In A Multiracial Church, Serge Volpe

Masters Theses

The Worldwide Church of God began as a denomination relying on certain Jewish practices and other Euro-centric distinctions to define its' identity. In the New York City area, African-American churchgoers exceeded that of whites; yet church liturgy retained its European-American flavor. When the denomination underwent transformation in the 1990s, many congregants were unable to accept changes, including new musical styles, and reacted in a manner inconsistent with what church leaders had hoped for. This thesis examines what some African-Americans experienced during this period when liturgy changed to include music representative of their culture. Interviews were conducted with African-American churchgoers from …

"Go In De Wilderness": Evading The "Eyes Of Others" In The Slave Songs, Erik Nielson

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

This essay explores the trope of the wilderness in the slave spirituals, arguing that it functions to recreate symbolically the natural landscape into which slaves regularly took refuge in order to elude white surveillance. Drawing on a variety of sources, it considers the unique surveillance culture in the antebellum South, its effect on the everyday lives of the slaves, and the ways in which the slaves used their natural surroundings to avoid it. It then uses a close analysis of the song "Go in the Wilderness " as a point of departure for a broader discussion of the way the …

Whence Comes Black Art?: The Construction And Application Of “Black Motivation”, Derrell Acon

Lawrence University Honors Projects

George Schuyler, in his tragically misguided 1926 essay for The Nation magazine, “The Negro-Art Hokum,” suggests that the only difference between Blacks and Whites is the color of skin, and that both races experience the same social, psychological and educational forces in America. He blatantly disregards American racism and inequality, and in his attempt to put forth his advocacy of color-blindness he merely projects and perpetuates the most racist of ideals within our country. Schuyler views the concept of Black Art very narrowly and insists on the impossibility of such an idea because of the supposed Americanness of the art. …

Passing For Black: Coon Songs And The Performance Of Race, Patricia R. Schroeder

English and Creative Writing Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Bronx Soundscape: Reflections On The Multicultural Roots Of Hip Hop In Bronx Neighborhoods, Mark Naison

Occasional Essays

No abstract provided.

Images And Lyrics: Representations Of African American Women In Blues Lyrics Written By Black Women, Danette Marie Pugh-Patton

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this thesis is to examine to what extent representations of double jeopardy and the stereotypical images of African American females: Mammy, Matriarch, Sapphire, and Strong Black Woman emerge in the blues lyrics of Alberta Hunter, Gertrude "Ma" Rainy, Memphis Minnie, and Victoria Spivey, using the theoretical framework of Black feminist rhetorical critique. The findings in this research entail several meanings regarding the lives of African American women during the 1920s and 1930s. Representations of racism, sexism, and classism also appear in the theme of relationships with various subthemes. The focus of this study is to explore the …

Leaders Of The New School: A Comparative Analysis Of Selected African American Rap Artists, Andrew P. Smallwood

Black Studies Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

“This is a presentation examining the cultural influence of rap groups Gang Starr, The Roots, and Rakim to examine their message directed at African American youth culture . . . It is through examining the messages in Rap music that we can educate Black youth about Black culture and Black life at the dawn of the 21st century.”

The Black Church: The 'Cocoon' For The Black 'Butterfly' And The African-American Music Idiom, Hubert Walters

Trotter Review

An interesting phenomenon takes place in the world of nature when the larvae of the Monarch butterfly goes through the period of metamorphosis in the protective cover of the cocoon, and emerges as one of the most beautiful butterflies in North America. This phenomenon seems to be an appropriate metaphor to use in our discussion of the African-American Music Idiom. This idiom was developed and nurtured in the "cocoon" of the Black Church, while undergoing the "metamorphosis" of slavery, second-class citizenship, and segregation and emerge as the beautiful Black musical, "Butterfly," which stands at the very foundation of the only …

George Alan Russell: Jazz's First Theorist, Robert E. Moore

Trotter Review

In 1953 George Alan Russell published The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization. By virtue of this work Russell carved out a unique niche for himself in the history of jazz, his opus representing the first theoretical work to come out of the jazz tradition. The purpose of this paper is to define his place in jazz history and to offer a biographical sketch off jazz’s first and most important theorist. My points of departure will be references made to Russell in two widely read works—Gunther Schuller’s Early Jazz and Wilfrid Meliers’ Music in a New Found Land. …

Ua77/1 Western Alumnus, Vol. 49, No. 6, Wku Alumni Association

WKU Administration Documents

Alumni magazine published by WKU. This issue has the following articles:

• Dero Downing Steps Down
• Douglas, Michele. Top Banana – Gary Riggs
• Egan, Sherry. WKU State Climatic Center
• Gibson, Debbie. I Kind of Believe It’s a Gift – Burt Feintuch, Folk Music
• New on the Gridiron
• Adams, Bob. Digital Voltmeter – Engineering Technology
• Schock, Jack. The Projectile Point – Archaeology
• Armstrong, Bryan. Confessions of a Journalism Intern
• Highland, Jim. Terry Climer
• Beauchamp, Donnie. Commonplace Things – Photography
• Miller, Richard. The Exceptional Student – Psychology, Biology
• Harry Snyder Speaks at Commencement
• Douglas, Michele. Students Take Advantage of Study Trips Abroad
• Western …

A Selective Study Of Negro Worksongs In The United States, Margaret E. Hilton

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.