History of Jazz in American Culture
MUSC 272
Fall 2025
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
AMST 283, AFAM 272 |
Jazz, has been a staging ground for working out some of the most defining issues and aspects of American culture. These include the dynamics of race relations, the articulation of gender roles and class distinctions, artistic expressions of freedom and democracy, the creative possibilities of the encounter of European- and African-based cultures on American soil, and an extraordinarily influential aesthetic of cool. Jazz was the dance and listening music of choice for most Americans from the 1920s-40s, until it was displaced and pushed to the margins by R&B and rock in the 1950s. But it has remained an inspiration for many artists up to the present day, including Kendrick Lamar's jazz-drenched To Pimp A Butterfly and Janelle Monae's 21st-century Afrofuturism deeply indebted to Sun Ra.
This course will provide students with a broad-based literacy in the history of jazz, while examining its significance and impact within American culture. We will explore its early 20th-century origins in New Orleans, its rise as America's popular dance music in the 1920-30s, a shift to a more concert art-oriented form in the 1940s-50 (representing the epitome of cool and hipness), avant garde expressions of the 1960s (representing a new kind of universal spirituality), its move into rock and the growth of artist-based collectives of the 1970s, and its emergence in hip hop samples in the 1990s. We will learn about major artists and their classic recordings, including Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis, as well as new directions from recent generations. We will immerse ourselves in a combination of listening to recordings, viewing videos, reading, discussion, and in-class performances. Throughout the semester we will pursue the parallel goals of using jazz history to understand American history and vice versa. This is a jazz history course with a difference, able to accommodate curious newcomers as well as aficionados, and those interested in the social and cultural dynamics as well as the musical materials. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA MUSC |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Charry course notes
Various articles and chapters
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Examinations and Assignments:
Moodle forum responses; listening quizzes; recording and concert reviews; midterm and final research or creative projects. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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| Instructor(s): Charry,Eric Times: ..T.R.. 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 35 | | SR major: 5 | JR major: 5 | | |
| Seats Available: 30 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 6 | JR non-major: 6 | SO: 8 | FR: 5 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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