Global History and Music of the African Diaspora - MUS00182H
Module summary
This project examines the global history of African and African diasporic musics. Taking a variety of approaches, we will discuss how political change, war, migration, colonialism, independence movements, and the afterlives of empire have impacted and transformed musical styles and cultural meanings across Britain, West Africa, the Caribbean, America and beyond.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2026-27 |
Module aims
The musicologist Samuel A. Floyd Jr. wrote that ‘The Africans and their descendants who travelled and made musics in their homelands and throughout the Diaspora ultimately created what Carol Lems-Dworkin calls “a marvellous, gigantic, international call-and-response” that has been going on for centuries’. In this module, we explore that call-and-response through various world events. Through close listening to diverse artists/genres, historical analysis, and engagement with conceptual frameworks, we will focus on issues of stylisation, aesthetic value, identity formation, socio-political context, and the myriad routes of culture. We will consider debates around diaspora, war, postcolonialism, protest, religion, and the construction of ‘Black Atlantic’ cultural identities (and critiques of these approaches). We ask the question: Is there really such a thing as ‘black music’? Sessions will link a specific historical event to a musical genre and an artist.
The module aims to help students identify the stylistic features of these genres and understand how they emerge from political, social and spiritual contexts. It introduces a range of theoretical frameworks, including Black Atlantic thought (Gilroy, Spillers), postcolonial critique (Brathwaite, Agawu), Afro-Protestantism (Sorett), cultural nationalism and semiotics, and considers scholarship that challenges or expands these perspectives (Chambers, Redmond, Lingold). Throughout the course, students will examine concepts such as diaspora, decolonisation, Pan-Africanism, migration, hybridity and the contested meanings of ‘Black music.’
Module learning outcomes
By the end of the taught part of the project, all students should:
- Understand some key concepts and terminology surrounding the aesthetics and stylisation of African diasporic musics;
- Demonstrate familiarity with the political, social and cultural histories of West Africa, the Caribbean, Britain, America and South Africa as they relate to diasporic sound.
- Critically evaluate concepts such as diaspora, Black Atlantic, Pan-Africanism, migration, hybridity and appropriation.
- Demonstrate familiarity with the various forms of Afro-Diasporic musics covered on the module
- Describe with confidence the primary aesthetic features attributed to various styles of Afro-Diasporic musics
- Write critically and perceptively about race, nationalism, empire, religion or transnationalism as they relate to music.
- Evaluate and synthesise a range of scholarly perspectives on diasporic sound, demonstrating bibliographical control and critical independence.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100.0 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
One of the following
- An essay of 3000 words, title chosen in consultation with module tutor;
- Performance recording and commentary (1000 words)
- Podcast of 15 min length with transcript (2,000 words)
Performance Recording
Your performance recording (minimum 3 minutes, max 5 minutes) should be focused on the aesthetics and creative practices of any African diasporic genre. This may be either a notated composition (with accompanying mp3 recorded realisation) for a solo instrument or small ensemble or an electronic composition making use of a DAW and appropriate recording techniques. You need to show your engagement with the learning outcomes of the project. In other words, your composition needs to represent a musical response that shows your ability to demonstrate key concepts surrounding the aesthetics and stylisation of African diasporic musics.
Commentary
Your commentary (1000 words) will be based on your performance recording. You are welcome to discuss other performance recordings that are directly relevant to the choices you made on your recording (note: the recordings must be stylised in an Afro-diasporic genre). You may also draw attention to the historical significance of the genre, stylisation, aesthetics, key concepts and any other Afro-Diasporic music-related issue of direct relevance to your recording. This will be a scholarly commentary in which you are expected to cite academically reliable sources.
Podcast
Your podcast (15 minutes in MP3 format) should address a topic related to the module’s themes, offering a critical, historically informed discussion supported by close listening. You may include short musical examples, original demonstrations, or time-coded references to recordings. Your transcript (2,000 words) must reflect the full spoken content of the episode and clearly indicate the placement of any musical examples. The podcast should demonstrate your ability to interpret sound as historical evidence and to apply concepts explored in the module. This will be a scholarly transcript in which you are expected to cite academically reliable sources.
Students may only take route 2 if they have already taken a module focused upon either notated or electronic composition techniques (as appropriate).
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100.0 |
Module feedback
You will receive written feedback on your assessment in line with standard univeristy turnaround times.
Indicative reading
Floyd, Samuel A., Melanie Zeck, and Guthrie P. Ramsey. The Transformation of Black Music: The Rhythms, the Songs, and the Ships That Make the African Diaspora. Oxford University Press, 2017.
Gilroy, Paul. Small Acts: Thoughts on The Politics of Black Cultures. Reprinted. Serpent’s Tail, 1994.
Gilroy, Paul. There Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack. Routledge, 2013.
Lingold, Mary Caton. African Musicians in the Atlantic World: Legacies of Sound and Slavery. New World Studies. University of Virginia Press, 2023.
Redmond, Shana L. Anthem: Social Movements and the Sound of Solidarity in the African Diaspora. NYU Press, 2013.
Spillers, Hortense J. ‘The Idea of Black Culture’. CR: The New Centennial Review 6, no. 3 (2006): 7–28.