University of California, Davis
Department of Chemical Engineering and
Materials Science

FRS 003-008: Township Music in South Africa
(CRN# 25397)

Winter Quarter 2008

Tuesday (3:10-4:00 PM)
Room 123 Wellman

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Instructors: Brian G. Higgins
Office : Bainer 3012
Office Hours: TBA
Bainer 3012
Phone: 752-8780
e-mail: bghiggins@ucdavis.edu

Course Overview

Description: The course will trace the roots of township music that arose during the Apartheid era of South Africa (pre 1994). The specific music styles that we will study are Marabi, Kwelo, Mbaqanga, and the evolution of South African jazz by such masters as Hugh Masekela, Abdullah Ibrahim, Chris McGregor, Basil "Mannenberg" Coetzee, etc. Students will have an opportunity to listen to rare music clips from 1930-1960's; we will discuss how music became the voice against apartheid, and describe life in the townships that the musicians had to endure. We will also review history of Soweto and other townships such as Mamelodi, Mannenberg, and Cato Manor. We will study the importance of Sophiatown in the development of South Africa music during the 1950's, as well as the slum yards of Johannesburg. Sophiatown was bulldozed by the apartheid government in 1963 and its inhabitants were forcibly moved to Medowlands (now part of Soweto). The instructor will provide audio and video clips, and reading material from In Township Tonight by D .B. Coplan, Chris McGregor and the Brotherhood of Breadth by M. McGregor, Marabi Nights by C. Ballintine, and Beyond the Blues by B. Breakey. There will also be required reading from Hugh Masekela's autobiography.

Required Text: Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela, Hugh Masekela & D. Michael Cheers, Three Rivers Press (2004) ISBN 1-4000-8317-6.

Format: The seminar will meet once a week for one hour. The time will be divided between lecture presentations by the instructor, discussion and student participation. Audio and video recordings will be used frequently during presentations. Grading: Students will be required to prepare two short papers (1500 words) on the course topics. One paper must be on Sophiatown and its music. The course grade will be based on submitted papers (75%), and class participation (25%). Grade will be P/NP.