Date
4-2022
Department
School of Music
Degree
Master of Arts in Music Education (MA)
Chair
Karen Kuehmann
Keywords
Social Justice Music, Music Curriculum
Disciplines
Music
Recommended Citation
Stiadle, Kathryn Eileen, "We Shall Overcome: Designing an American Popular Music Curriculum to Promote Racial Equality" (2022). Masters Theses. 850.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/masters/850
Abstract
There is a strong relationship between American popular music and the fight for racial equality. In the past, music has been used to promote justice throughout slavery, segregation, and the civil rights movement. Racism remains a problem in American society, however, and music is not currently used to teach students about tolerance. This paper presents the argument that anti-racism education can be taught using an American popular music curriculum. Initial research was conducted using existing literature to determine the historical aspect of the project as well as current and future concerns. The acquired information was used to design a curriculum that uses American popular music to teach students about racial tolerance. This project is presented in two parts: the paper, which examines the historical context of the study, and the ten-week popular music curriculum.
