An introduction to popular music and diversity in America: jazz, blues, Top-40 pop, rock, hip-hop, and other genres. Musicians and their music studied in the context of twentieth-century and contemporary American society, emphasizing issues of race, gender, class, and resistance. We will study significant styles of American popular music, with a focus on select songs that exemplify their respective genres, and explore several recurring themes throughout the course: 

• the role of popular music as a symbol of identity (race, ethnicity, gender, social class, generation, etc.) 
• the interaction of European American, African American, and Latin American traditions
• the influence of mass media and technology (printing, recording, radio, video, internet) 

Link to Syllabus