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Anthem: Social Movements and the Sound of Solidarity in the African Diaspora Kindle Edition

4.7 out of 5 stars 12

For people of African descent, music constitutes a unique domain of expression. From traditional West African drumming to South African kwaito, from spirituals to hip-hop, Black life and history has been dynamically displayed and contested through sound. Shana Redmond excavates the sonic histories of these communities through a genre emblematic of Black solidarity and citizenship: anthems. An interdisciplinary cultural history, Anthem reveals how this “sound franchise” contributed to the growth and mobilization of the modern, Black citizen. Providing new political frames and aesthetic articulations for protest organizations and activist-musicians, Redmond reveals the anthem as a crucial musical form following World War I.

Beginning with the premise that an analysis of the composition, performance, and uses of Black anthems allows for a more complex reading of racial and political formations within the twentieth century, Redmond expands our understanding of how and why diaspora was a formative conceptual and political framework of modern Black identity. By tracing key compositions and performances around the world—from James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” that mobilized the NAACP to Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted & Black” which became the Black National Anthem of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)—Anthem develops a robust recording of Black social movements in the twentieth century that will forever alter the way you hear race and nation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Anthemis truly atour de force.Deeply-researched, brilliantly conceived, and beautifully written, the book reveals how & anthems register both a collective sense of history and a vision of the future for aggrieved groupsnot just people of African-descent.Anthemwill stand asthemodel for transnational scholarship for years to come." -- Robin D. G. Kelley,author of Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times

"Offers a model to future scholars who wish to blend the intricacies of musical analysis with other source bases or methodologies." ―
American Quarterly

"Anthemis an impressively rich analysis of the songs that gave rise to and developed out of the fraught history of diasporic political movements. Redmond's blend of musicology, political history, and social engagements establishes the anthem as a densely layered text, one that invites close reading but whose ultimate meaning can only be understood in the context of its reconstructed sociopolitical moment." ―
MELUS

"Anthemsucceeds in foregrounding the significance of music as an oral tradition, and its ability to move people who may not be literate in the written word. Redmond ably traces musics elemental power to move humans, and how it connects people to ideas, movements, and other activists. In general, the book succeeds admirably in making readers think about these songs in new ways." ―
American Historical Review

"Music as a form of expression in the Black community is not a new phenomenon. However, Redmond offers new interpretations of this old paradigm. She depicts music as a diasporic weapon of resistance, ambitiously expanding the boundaries of Black politics by carefully towing the line between sonic manifestos, social movements, and solidarity. The author judiciously wades through literature from myriad disciplines, exposing inconsistent arguments and confronting the intersection of social movements and solidarity, while positioning music both as a repository for collective memory and mobilizing agent throughout the diaspora. Her work deftly illuminates the role of the communitive and communicative aspects of the performer and the performance…. Redmond’s study is innovative and groundbreaking. She expands the boundaries of interdisciplinary studies by intersecting ethnomusicology, America political development, and Black politics. Each song travails to tap into the spirit of resistance and unity, while functioning as a balm to the wounds of domination and oppression. She clearly illustrates that music functions as a refuge, allowing performers and listeners to safely wade through “translocal” forms of state sanctioned oppression as she demonstrates and demarcates a continuum of Black music as a form of resistance." -- National Political Science Review

"In this important book, Redmond illuminates the ways that songs function as 'political acts of performance' . . . . Listen to the music as you read to appreciate even further this deeply intelligent, innovative, richly interdisciplinary, and thought-provoking book." ―
The Journal of American History

About the Author

Shana L. Redmond is Assistant Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. She is a former musician and labor organizer.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00GA0MHIW
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ NYU Press (December 6, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 6, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3502 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 499 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 out of 5 stars 12

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Shana L. Redmond
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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
12 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2014
Beautifully written and well researched, Redmond's Anthem speaks (or perhaps sings) into the gaps of several fields of research. Bridging sound studies, musicology, and African diaspora studies, among others, Anthem travels across multiple sites and sounds to tell the story of black resistance and solidarity in the 20th Century.
4 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2015
Professor Shana Redmond book is a great way of understanding Pan African thought and music.

Top reviews from other countries

Anahid
3.0 out of 5 stars There's pretty much NO overlap between the two
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 28, 2014
There is a MASSIVE PROBLEM here. The listing is for Shana Redmond's book, Anthem, but 'Look Inside' takes you to Ayn Rand's story. There's pretty much NO overlap between the two. PLEASE FIX THIS.

NB: I had to give it a star rating. But it doesn't apply to either text.
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