Latino contributions to popular music in the United States have too often been relegated to the margins of a narrative dominated by African and European Americans—an overly black and white view of our musical history. Latin music is often portrayed as an exotic resource for "American" musicians, as suggested by pianist Jelly Roll Morton's reference to "the Latin Tinge." This course turns that phrase and that perspective on its head. American Sabor addresses problems of cultural representation that concern an increasingly visible and influential community in the U.S. We will document the roles of U.S. Latino musicians as interpreters of Latin American genres, including Spanish-language styles like salsa, banda, and reggaetón that have been strongly shaped by U.S. Latino communities. We will also highlight their roles as innovators within genres normally considered indigenous to the U.S., such as rock and roll, R & B, jazz, country/western, punk and hip hop. The course distinguishes regional centers of Latino population and music production—exploring unique histories, artists, and musical styles. At the same time it draws out broader patterns of boundary crossing, language, social struggle, generational difference, racial/ethnic/class/gender identification, and other factors that shape the experiences of U.S. Latinos everywhere.

The course is organized around the following three themes of the American Sabor: U.S. Latinos in Pop Music currently on display at the Experiene Music/Science Fiction Museum (EMP/SFM):

I. How have the musical innovations of Latino youths crossed ethnic and racial boundaries and helped shape American popular music?

II. How have immigration and migration shaped Latino and U.S. popular music?

III. In what ways have Latinos musically expressed their experiences as Americans?

The class schedule lists weekly reading and listening assignments which are to be completed by the beginning of the week where they are listed.

Most readings will be available as pdf files on e-reserves (accessed through the library website), but one or two books may be ordered for purchase (we will update).Questions on the reading will be posted in some weeks (see schedule), to be answered on-line in E-SUBMIT by noon on Monday of the week indicated.

Listening is also an important part of the studying for this course. Sound recordings can be listened to via the library's on-line course reserves website. Notes that provide important information and listening points for each song are posted separately on this website. It is important to listen to all the examples multiple times. A good strategy is to listen at least once before lecture and and at least once after.

Testing includes both listening-based tests, and essay tests. The listening tests (two quizzes, plus the listening portion of midterm and final) will be administered in sections. The essay exams (midterm and final) will be submitted on line through E-SUBMIT by noon on Monday of the week indicated. See the schedule for dates of quizzes and exams.

IMPORTANT: For the written exams, you will be allowed to log in to E-SUBMIT only once, and you will have both a word limit and a time limit, so you must wait until you have the time blocked out to do the whole exam at once.

Students will work in groups of 4 or 5 to prepare, rehearse, and perform a corrido, rap, or other type of song that relates to the course content. Performances will be done in the final week of class.

MORE DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS COMING SOON!

(1) 15% Bi-weekly reading reports: short essay responses or multiple choice based on readings) POSTED ON-LINE THROUGH E-SUBMIT

(2) 5% Listening quiz

(3) 25% Midterm exam (Comprised of two sections: (1) multiple choice taken in quiz section and (2) ESSAY PORTION POSTED ON-LINE THROUGH E-SUBMIT)

(4) 30% Final exam (Comprised of two sections: (1) multiple choice taken in class and (2) ESSAY PORTION POSTED ON-LINE THROUGH E-SUBMIT)

(5) 10% Corrido/song assignment (final week performances)
(6) 5% Museum exhibit assignment
(7) 10% Section Participation