Music in the Black Atlantic

Create and carry out a substantial research project that addresses an aspect of music in the Black Atlantic. You are strongly encouraged to identify your own topic according to your interests. You might choose to focus on a composer or performer, a geographic area, or a time period. Your paper should include: 1) a thesis or argument that is developed and supported with evidence; 2) cultural and historical context for the artist or genre; 3) musical analysis or description; and 4) connection to a broader course theme such as diasporic identity, gender performance, changing technology, music industry trends, cultural appropriation, social justice, or representation. You should cite at least six sources, at least four of which must be scholarly. With approval from the instructor, you may also choose to conduct a mini-ethnography of a local music community or interview a local musician. Your paper should be seven to eight pages (1,750 to 2,000 words), not including bibliography and music examples. Many students initially make the mistake of creating a topic that is too broad in scope, which can lead to generalistic writing and shallow research. Your research paper should have focus, detail, and direction. Writing about music and the American Civil Rights Movement, for example, is far too big a topic to capture in a paper of this length. Writing about Nina Simone’s ambivalent relationship to the Civil Rights Movement as reflected in her songs “Mississippi Goddamn” and “Four Women,” however, might allow you to explore the same themes in a much more detailed and exciting case study.