HUM 223 -- syllabus add on spirituals

African-American spirtuals. In the years after the Civil War, black spirituals were discovered by white musicians and became an important artistic form that combined the sound of African-American religious singing with the discipline of European classical music. Since we don't have a textbook for this part of the course, we'll read about it on the World Wide Web. Treat these readings as you would assigned readings in a textbook. The University of Denver's Sweet Chariot website is one of the best. Read the essay "Survival and Resistance" by Arthur C. Jones on the Sweet Chariot website. Note especially what he says about the song "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" and how 20th-century composer George Gershwin used its melodic structure -- and its emotional feeling -- in the classic song "Summertime." ... Read also "Music for Specific Times and Places: Evolving Cultural and Musical Contexts" by John J. Sheinbaum. It's long, and you'll have to click on four different links to get it all. If your computer lets you, listen to the sound bites, too. It's important stuff, and it will help you understand what what happens with jazz, blues, rock and hip hop later.