Who Influenced Who? Africanist vs. Eurocentric Aesthetics
A live Black History Month lecture examining Africanist and Eurocentric aesthetics across music and dance traditions.
Zoom link sent one hour before class
What You'll Explore
This class explores aesthetic difference and influence through the cross-pollination of African, European, Caribbean, and American music and dance. We will examine Africanist and Eurocentric aesthetics across ragtime, plantation dance, line dance, jazz, hip hop, and more—asking not only what developed, but why, from whom, and in whose interest.
Participants will develop tools to deepen their comprehension of music and dance, question accepted histories, and understand history not as fixed truth but as narrative—constructed, contested, and changeable.
Topics Covered
Musical Traditions
Explore ragtime, jazz, hip hop, and the aesthetic influences that shaped these revolutionary art forms.
Dance Evolution
Examine plantation dance, line dance, and the cross-cultural exchange that defined movement traditions.
Critical Analysis
Question accepted histories and understand how narratives are constructed, contested, and changed over time.
A New Lens on History
"History is not about the past, it's about the arguments we have about the past."
— Ira Berlin
"History would be a wonderful thing, if only it were true."
— Leo Tolstoy
What You'll Gain
Deeper Comprehension
Develop analytical tools to understand music and dance beyond surface-level appreciation.
Critical Thinking Skills
Learn to question accepted narratives and understand whose interests historical accounts serve.
Cultural Context
Understand the cross-pollination of African, European, Caribbean, and American artistic traditions.
Join This Live Black History Month Lecture
Zoom link sent one hour before class begins