Course Description:

How is American popular music a reflection of the nation’s social history?  What motivated blackface minstrelsy?  How did hip hop emerge in the United States?  Ponder the how, why, and when of musical styles such as blues, jazz, country, folk, rock, and hip hop.  Listen to iconic historical recordings, watch video and live performances, read essays by music historians, and engage in class discussions and short essay assignments.  Explore topics such as race, geography, sexuality, gender, and technology, and come to understand the forces that shape the production and reception of popular music in America.

Course Details:

• 3 Credits
• CRN 36800
• MW 10-11:20
• 103 CH

About the Instructor: Larry Wayte

Larry Wayte teaches courses in American popular music history at the University of Oregon, including Blues, Jazz, and his newest offering, “Music of the Woodstock Generation.” Mr. Wayte earned his Ph.D. in Musicology at UCLA in 2007 after previously taking an M.A. in Composition (San Francisco State, 1999) and a J.D. (Stanford, 1988). Mr. Wayte’s dissertation focused on the development of jazz-rock in the late 1960s and early 1970s and, in general, his research interests tend to those moments when seemingly distinct genres mutate and combine, creating unexpected hybrids.