World music – Rhythms of resistance

South Africa – an only 30 year old democracy – holds a strong legacy of musical resistance and protest, which essentially played a vital role in bringing the apartheid regime to an end and pave the way for a democratic society based on “Ubuntu” – a South Africa proverb meaning “I am, because we are”.

Throughout human history music has been an important tool to express cultures, beliefs and to hand over traditions from one generation to another. As civilisations emerged, the concept of struggle songs, also known as protest music or liberation songs, was – and is to this day – used by politically disenfranchised protesters or oppressed peoples to influence political conversations, express emotions and even overthrow regimes.

In this class our starting point will be the history of South Africa’s fight against apartheid, through listening to the music of their resistance movement. From there we will discuss the potential role music may play in struggle and protest, how it may express both individual and societal identities and explore the concept of ubuntu in both a modern and broader context.