Invitation

I Hear America Singing: Understanding the Cultural Values in American Folk Music

Dear Colleague,

It is our pleasure to invite you and your final year students to this LASC event that will focus on the traditional music of both the white Anglo-peoples and on that of the African peoples enslaved mainly on the plantations of the American South.
In the case of the Anglo-Americans, the songs that they brought with them from the British Isles and modified in the New World, were songs of work, play, and love, songs that expressed the aspirations and apprehensions associated with their new ways of life and were often changed to fit this new and strange continent.
African-Americans used the rhythms and musical styles of their African roots but mixed them with the language and lyrics of this Anglo-tradition. Work songs, religious songs, songs about social and political situations were created by black singers and musicians, one of the most important of these being the gospel song and the spiritual, religious songs that express the singer’s hope for everlasting happiness. Many of the spirituals have an additional, often coded message expressing the yearning for freedom from slavery. The second major kind of black music - the blues – laid the foundation for jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll. Like spirituals, the blues too often express an aspiration for a better kind of life and lament the difficulties of blacks trying to cope with life in a white society or simply with the ‘troubles I’ve seen’.

Two speakers will present examples of both kinds of music and will connect them with major cultural values of U. S. society as they evolved throughout history.

Dr. Nan McEntire is Professor of English and Women’s Studies at Indiana State University, editor of The Folklore Historian and director of The Indiana State University Folklore Archives. She will speak about the European traditions and the changes that have been made to these traditions in the U.S., particularly to some genres such as bluegrass music and the Anglo-American ballad. Her topic will be: Traditional Values in American Folk Music.

Dr. David Stanley is Professor of English, Westminster College, Salt Lake City. He has published widely on literature, ethnic music, photography and folklore; produced CDs and edited collections of a.o. ‘Coalfield Tunes’ or ‘Cowboy Classics’. He will speak about black music and what it says about the history of racism, slavery and discrimination. His topic is: Protest in African American Spirituals and Blues.

In order to plan for the event, may we ask you to let us know whether you will be able to attend, individually, with colleagues or with your students, and in that case the number of students intend to bring along. The number of places is obviously not unlimited. Please contact: christine.gysen@lessius-ho.be to inform us of your participation before 10th March. The event as such is free.

We hope you will be able to accept our invitation and join us on 16th March.


Erik Hertog