- St. Olaf Libraries
- Research Guides
- Music 230: African American Song Literature
- Other recommended resources
Music 230: African American Song Literature
LibKey Nomad
Research and Instruction Librarian for Music & Fine Arts
Karen Olson
she/her/hers
Databases
- Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology-Online This link opens in a new windowDissertations and dissertations-in-progress in musicology, music theory, ethnomusicology, and related disciplines. Once you find a likely dissertation, look for it in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses to read it -- and borrow from the bibliographies!
- Musical America This link opens in a new windowMusical America provides daily updates of the latest in-depth news reported by a team of international journalists, 30+ searchable databases with detailed industry contact information (searchable by artist specialty, budget, event type, or geography), and blogs written by industry experts.
Helpful Websites
- Black Music ScholarBlack Music Scholar is run by Dr. Kevin Johnson from Spelman College, and features blog posts, artist biographies, and other materials about black music produced by his students.
- Library of CongressThis link opens to the search results for "songs of protest". The Library of Congress database is a phenomenal one; they have a vast collection of digital resources that you should definitely take advantage of, not just for this class, but for all your research and exploration needs!
- National Museum of African American History and CultureResources for educators, parents, and individuals for self-care, antiracist work, and communities. Includes definition of terms, readings, videos, and phrases for opening up conversations and getting comfortable with discussing race.
- “The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed” by Joel ThompsonFrom sevenlastwords.org
BIPOC Composers
- Alex Shapiro's Programming ResourcesA collection of resources for info about BIPOC, women and LGBTQ+ composers.
- Amplifying Composers of ColorA CURI summer research project led by D.r Emery Stephens.
- Institute for Composer DiversityTheir website includes a Composer Diversity Database.
- MBC Living Composers DirectoryA directory for living Black composers by the Music by Black Composers organization.
- Music by Black Composers (MBC)The homepage for MBC.