W&M Featured Events
[PAST EVENT] Mahalia Jackson and the Black Gospel Field; Dr. Mark Burford; Music and American Culture Series
The Music and American Culture Series Presents: ?These Are They?:
Mahalia Jackson and the Black Gospel Field; with Dr. Mark Burford, Associate Professor of Music, Reed College; co-sponsored by Religious Studies, American Studies, Africana Studies and the History Dept.
Hailed by fans and commentators as the ?Queen of the Gospel Singers,? Mahalia Jackson (1911?1972) enjoyed crossover success that has led some to cast her as an exceptional case within black gospel. Illustrated by rare recordings and footage that offer a comparative look at performances of ?These Are They? by Jackson and her contemporaries, this talk situates Jackson within gospel as a field of cultural production. Together, Jackson and the black gospel field raise questions about prestige, aesthetic value, and the complexity of subject positions that insistently percolate to the surface in the study of American music.
Contact
[[dominique, Professor David Dominique]]