Student Research Threads Page

Music: Beginning at the African-American World [link] web site, one group of students researched the influence of gospel music and blues on rock and roll and contemporary recording artists. The group also read biographies of Robert Johnson, Louis Armstrong, and Little Walter Jacobs. As one student in the group explained, “The site our group visited was talking about blues—on how it got started and how it influenced other music like rock and roll, and how it influenced our artists. Gospel music was spread out by concerts, radios, recordings, and song publishing.”

Theatre: Student visited Africana.com to investigate African-American theatre. Student learned about playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, rapper/actor Mos Def, and the 2004 Broadway production of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun,” featuring Sean Combs. “This proves that in all genres there are African-American artists.”

Music: Student searched for information about university music programs and careers in music. Student research included visits to the Indiana University School of Music website, Colleges.com, and musicians.about.com. Student and her group learned about Charleston rag inventor Eubie Blake, discovered that over 25 colleges offer scholarships for music, and explored careers in music by reading an interview with “a studio musician named Russ Miller, a professional drummer for Nelly Furtado, Ray Charles, the Bee Gees, and hundreds more. Miller says that producers come to him constantly to ask him to play on records.”

Dance: Visiting sites including African American World, Africana.com, and using the search engine Google.com [link], student learned about popular figures in African American dance. His report to the class included information about Josephine Baker “the highest paid dancer in France,” Bill Bojangles, “the best tapper during the Harlem Renaissance and the top performer at the Cotton Club,” and Sammy Davis, Jr., who “was the only singer of his time to incorporate tap in his live performances.”

Music: “What makes music so significant?” wondered student. After exploring websites at African American World and bet.com, student concludes, “We’re communicating emotions and ideas; [it is a] part of everyone’s culture.”