Browsing by Subject "African diaspora stories"

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Classically black
(2017-08) Taylor, X'ene S.; Dell'Antonio, Andrew; Carson, Charles D. (Charles Daniel)
This master’s report will revisit Saidiya Hartman’s account of how to 1) combat violence found in the archives and 2) mitigate silences imposed on marginalized bodies in her essay, “Venus in II Acts.” This work contributes to public musicology because it impacts the way scholars interact with musicians who are historically othered. Through attention to the lives and works of Philippa Schuyler, Hazel Scott and Nina Simone, I ask critical questions like how can we view these pianists’ lives in a way that does not reinforce canonic violence. I simultaneously weave my personal narrative into this discussion as I find myself occupying the spaces of researcher, performer and all the interstices found within the classical piano tradition. Through the work of Hartman, as well as Julia J. Chybowski, Karen Chilton and Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, I argue that Venus is a pianist like Schuyler, Scott and Simone whose usefulness is often tied to diversity within classical music's canon.