Graduation Year
2015
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Religious Studies
Second Department
Politics
Reader 1
Darryl Smith
Reader 2
Joti Rockwell
Reader 3
John Seery
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2015 Cameron J. Cook
Abstract
This thesis aims to explore how conceptions of the black prophetic tradition, as discussed by thinkers Cornel West and George Shulman, might be expanded into the realm of African American musical traditions and genres. I argue that musical genres like the blues and hip-hop function as an affective discourse that aesthetically, politically and religiously function as sites of resistance to white supremacy and provide alternate pathways to liberation as compared to more canonical instantiations of the black prophetic. In particular I provide close readings of performances and art by Nina Simone and Kanye West.
Recommended Citation
Cook, Cameron J., "And I Heard 'Em Say: Listening to the Black Prophetic" (2015). Pomona Senior Theses. 138.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/138
Included in
African American Studies Commons, African Languages and Societies Commons, Christianity Commons, New Religious Movements Commons, Other Music Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons
