Lecture 6 - October 24th

Gospel, blue, and rap - Secular tradition (Blues is also a political act of resistance) Call and Response - In fight for power Resistance Narratives: We will be focusing on oral texts in music and song lyrics and in speeches. ● The focus for this unit is on black resistance to racism and other forms of oppression. - Billie Holiday's recording of "Strange Fruit" is included here but the lyrics are not replicated in the course kit. You can certainly listen to other versions of these songs. 1. Introduction to the ‘unit’ - Overt vs Covert resistance 2. Primacy of the spoken word over the written - Geneva Smitermans - She purposely moves to oral forms rather than written You can be formally literate - but, the book knowledge offers very little knowledge Mothers wit.. - experimental knowledge Smithermen She traces 2 dials of language in the United States - One is sacred (A testament) - The other is secular (associated with street culture, banter, and gives voice to the urban experience such as, issues with income, work, marriage, etc. What is happening on the street) - Both dials of languages often merge and cycle 3. Cultural roles of oral texts - Carries on the communication of history Experiential Knowledge Cultural norms and preservation of tradition Survival (Physical as well as cultural) Identity formation (Individual and collective formation) 4. Song Traditions: I. Spiritual & Gospels II. Blues III. Rap Antebellum Period - Period where chattel slavery was legal and practised - Laws against literacy (To learn or read to write in secrete was a colbert form of resistance) Mahalia Jackson - Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child ● Innerstruggle and it sounds as if she is fighting back ● Very emotional sounding