Globalization of Gospel Music

Catalog description

For decades, gospel music has been used to heal the wounded heart and sooth the soul through the stories expressed within its lyrical content and musical composition. Music is about social life and is communicated through sounds and rhythms. Rooted in African musical practices, the gospel sound can be heard by sacred and secular artists. The aesthetic significance of the Black sound culture has been the catalyst for intercultural and intracultural borrowing as its contributed to the making of American popular culture. As sound culture remains an important area of discussion in African culture, its performance practices can be found in genres on the Black music continuum. This course will explore the history of gospel, how communication evokes social engagement through symbolic forms, its expansion from the church house to the streets and the hip-hop stage, and the artists responsible for constructing these multi-genre opportunities. This course also counts towards the music major.