Final Reclamation Project: General Assignment Guidelines
General Information
For your final project, you will “reclaim” a popular tune from 19th-century American history and recompose the lyrics and, if you’re so inclined, remix the music structure. Essentially, this project asks you and your group to transform the song from one of degradation to one of protest or empowerment. This project follows in the footsteps of Rhiannon Giddens, René Marie, Cecile McLorin Salvant, John Sims, and other artists who have grappled with this tradition in their own ways.
Rhiannon Giddens, René Marie, Cecile McLorin Salvant, John Sims
As Sheryl Kaskowitz describes in “Before if Goes Away: Performance and Reclamation of Songs from Blackface Minstrelsy,”
In “Better Get Yer Learnin,” Giddens has turned the disconnect that she experiences in minstrel songs—a great tune queasily paired with degrading lyrics—and transformed it into a protest song. With a chorus that repeats the title phrase and an added warning (“Better get yer learning, before it goes away”), the verses give poignant voice to the lived experiences of African Americans during Reconstruction: “The year was 1863, the paper said that I was free / But no one read it to my ears, and so I slaved for two more years”; and “I heard about a school was free, way out east in Tennessee / before I got to go to town, the damned old Rebs had burned it down.”
The song’s power is multilayered: the contrast between the poignant, serious lyrics and their jaunty musical messenger makes the song’s protest message unexpected and thus forceful. The song illuminates multiple levels of transformation as an African-American performer—herself transformed when she came to understand the song’s history—replaced offensive lyrics with those that uncover, rather than denigrate, the experience of African Americans. This process of transformation provides a counter-narrative that challenges the minstrel tradition’s power of definition.
René Marie describes her transformation of “Dixie”—wherein she combines it with Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit”—thusly,
"Why should I let someone's misuse of a song determine whether I like it? I want to reclaim it as my mine — I'm from the South, too," she says. "But instead of singing it in this happy, up-tempo way it's usually played, I'm going to put some grit in there and some dirt, and sing it from the perspective of my people."
You can choose one of the songs we discussed in class, or one of the songs that are still relatively well known:
“Oh! Susanna”
“Camptown Races”
“Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me”
“Turkey in the Straw”
“Old Folks at Home”
“Dixie”
“I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”
“Carry Me Back to Old Virginia”
“Old Dan Tucker”
“My Old Kentucky Home”
You might also consider a song from Gumbo Chaff’s book, one of the earliest publications of minstrel tunes, or songs that you’ve heard before. You can also search around on the web and listen to complications of minstrel tunes, or even grapple with the sheet music from Music & Media Report 4. Some resources to help you and your group make your choice:
The project contains several components: in-class workdays, a short essay, and a final group assessment. We’ll also take the last day of class to preview your revisions.
Formatting and Submission Guidelines
Your reclamation project will have three components: a short essay, the song revision, and a group assessment.
Short Essay
Your short essay should be 2-3 pages, doubled-spaced, and typed in 12-point Times, Arial, or Cambria font with 1” margins on each side of the page. This short essay should explain why your group selected the song, the changes you and your group have made to the song, the rationale behind those changes, and what you want your audience to “take away” from your revision. You should incorporate classroom and outside sources to support your creative choices. Please submit directly to Blackboard. Please cite all source material appropriately (MLA, Chicago, APA – your style choice!) and carefully proof-read your work.
Song Revision
Your song revision should be submitted as a MP3. You can alter your song by using SoundTrap, an easy-to-use audio tool that even amateurs can use. Even if you’re uncomfortable singing, you should read your revision as a poem.
Group Assessment
You will complete a group assessment online via Canvas. This assessment will outline your contributions and those of your group members.
Grading
Your final compositions and essays are graded using the following rubrics.
Final Reclamation Project: Assignment Steps
The following images show how the assignment is broken down into a series of in-class workdays.
Final Group Assessment
At the conclusion of the group project, students assess their contributions and the contributions of each member. This survey is administered via Canvas and can be previewed below.
