Teaching African American Music History: Creating an Equitable and Responsible Curriculum

This course gives students the opportunity to study the music, history, artist, styles and cultural impact of African American Music from West Africa to Brooklyn through research, listening, discussion and creating. Though African American music history is a cornerstone of American music and history, many music teachers have a limited knowledge about how to incorporate Afro-centric pedagogy into their classrooms, leaving their curriculum unbalanced and inequitable. This class will survey and demonstrate the musical and cultural history, genres and artists that comprise the rich diaspora of Black music including spirituals, blues, jazz, gospel, rock, funk, soul, pop and hip hop.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Plan and incorporate effective and equitable curricula, units and lesson plans that are centered around various Afro-centric music styles and history
• Recognize and discuss the defining characteristics of significant African American genres
• Facilitate “safe and courageous” conversations about Black history and American history in your classrooms
• Identify and teach the music and history of major Black genres and artist
• Identify the differing philosophies and pedagogical practices of Eurocentric and Afro-centric music education
• Write and create songs in various Afro-centric styles
• Research the social, cultural and political movements that evolved, defined and/or arose out of the development of Black music.