The Caribbean

Here we are, finally, somewhere warm–a welcome relief from the winter outside.

This week, we’l discuss the Caribbean. This isn’t a single country, or even a universally English-speaking country, but a reagion in which some countries are Anglophone. We already have seen a student presentation on Rastafarianism and Reggae Music. This discussion will delve into notions of Hybridity, of language Creoles, and look closely at some of the politics involved in songs by Bob Marley.

Here’s a map of the region.

Here’s the sample MP3 of Nalo Hopkinson we listened to (original Realaudio sample here).

Here’s the sample MP3 of Derek Walcott we listened to (from this page).

Here are the handouts from the lecture, except the short excerpt from the novel Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson, for which the audio sample above is the text.

Pop Culture in the UK, Part 2

We looked at Monty Python again a little bit (includng the clips from last week, and a newly discovered “long-lost” clip here), and then turned to The Office. I’ll upload the question sheet soon (it’s on my other computer).

After working through the pilot episode of The Office, we had a glimpse of the Sex Pistols, including the song God Save the Queen (mp3, lyrics, and video plus a better video). We’ll talk more about punk, and turn to sport culture in Britain, next week.

Here’s the small documentary clip that I might play if we have time, after discussing the song. (Otherwise I’ll recommend you to check it out after class.)

Pop Culture in the UK, Part 1

I’ll be using this Powerpoint Presentation to give you a rough (very rough!) overview of UK Pop Culture.

We’ll hopefully be viewing the following clips, if the computer handles them well:

Here is the pdf containing the discussionn questions for Episode 1 of The Office.

Finally, an Update!

Finally, I’m getting around to updating this page.

There was no handout for the lecture on English in India and the Indian Film Industry, before Chuseok, but this week, there is a handout — but I can’t find it online.

For the record, it was Matt Groening’s cartoon The Storefront of Doom, taken from Greil Marcus’s Lipstick Traces, and a photocopy was distributed in class.

Our exam will be on Thursday, 26 October, and should take about an hour to complete.

Presentations Schedule (to Midterms)

Here is the Presentations Schedule from now until Midterms:

28 September:

5 October:

12 October:

19 October:

26 October:

1 November:

Remember that you will be doing a second presentation after this first one. Sign-ups will come before mid-term exams along with a list of topics so you can prepare ahead of time. If you need help preparing your presentations, or in finding a suitable topic, please come to see me for help early on and I will do all I can to help you.

Osmosis & Transformation: The Beats and Beyond

This week, my lecture will focus on the beats and perhaps a little on the later movement that grew out of the beats, which was known as the hippies.

The article I mentioned, in which the Beat Generation was first “announced”, is here.

The handout, “Belief & Essentials For Modern Prose” by Jack Kerouac, is here.

Allen Ginsberg’s reading of America is available in MP3 here, and the text of the poem is here.

My Powerpoint-compatible slideshow is here… I’ll be adding credits to the sources for the photos soon, but since it was created in a hurry, the credits are left out for this version.

From Blues to Jazz…

Today I lectured a little about parallels between African-American and European musical traditions, focusing on musical structure and tradition of the blues, the African and the European roots of the blues, and the connection between blues and other kinds of music, especially different kinds of jazz including Swing and Bebop, especially regarding the effect “practical considerations” on performance.

In connection to folksongs of Europe, the song “Scarborough Fair” was mentioned. Here’s the Wikipedia entry for the song, and a link to the Sarah Brightman video. (It’s not the best example of the song… I recommend the Simon & Garfunkle version, but I can’t find a free MP3 online. Sorry!)

Students are expected to have read the James Baldwin essay “Stranger in the Village” for next class. Students are also expected to have emailed me by Wednesday morning letting me know about English-speaking countries, or aspects of popular culture, which are of interest to them personally. (Failure to do so will unfortunately necessarily result in assigned presentation topics.)

Next time we will watch some of the movie “Bird” (and maybe more than a little, if you are interested, later on) and discuss the Baldwin essay. We will also sign up for presentations up to the midterm exam period, and discuss upcoming topics, in order to help you prepare for your presentations in advance.

Student Info Sheet

Hi everyone. Some students still haven’t given me Student Information Sheets. I’ve run out, but some people still need the sheet. If you haven’t given me this sheet yet, please download it and print it out, and then fill it out and give it to me. Thanks!

Week 1: The Roots of Popular Culture: From Blackface Minstrelsy to the Harlem Renaissance… and Beyond

Bubble SistersThis week, we talked about the roots of American and global popular culture in the tradition of blackface minstrelsy, and connections between African-American culture and popular culture in general in America. We explored this through video, recordings, audio, texts, and lecture. This brings us from 1845 to roughly 1945.

Here are some videos, mp3s, and texts of some use to the class:

Minstrelsy and Blackface:

The Harlem Renaissance:

Langston Hughes:

    • The Negro Speaks of Rivers (mp3) (text)
    • Trumpet Player (mp3)
    • Let America Be America Again (text)

James Baldwin:

Bukka White:

        So it begins…

        Welcome to the Fall 2006 semester. This is the page for students in my Popular Culture in English Speaking Countries course. Here you can find all the information for our course, including handouts I’ve prepared, links for more information, and other materials as well as information on homework assignments and so forth.

        A sub-page will soon be added containing the presentation schedule, once you have signed up for it. This way, you can check and make sure that your presentations will be ready by the right date.

        For now, here’s a copy of the syllabus for the course: Popular_Cultures_in English Speaking Countries syllabus

        See you soon!