The aim of this assignment is to demonstrate your knowledge of the “particularit

The aim of this assignment is to demonstrate your knowledge of the “particularity” v “universalism” binary, how it relates to jazz and other African American musics, and how it may (or may not) have continued meaning in contemporary debates over music and culture, ethnicity, and/or race.
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Your required to
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Explain the binary contrast between “particularity” and “universalism” as it relates to jazz (as discussed in class), and how is this binary connected to race.
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Describe how the “particularity” versus “universalism” binary is evident in BOTH Joel Rogers’s “Jazz at Home” and HR-57 (Concurrent Resolution of US Congress, 1987). You might address these questions: does one of the authors embrace either “particularity” or “universalism” more or less than the other? In what way(s)? You can find any creative way you want to relate the two and get at the central question (particularity v universalism).
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Bring in an example from contemporary music and/or politics that demonstrates the continued salience of the debate (and its “paradoxical” nature). Examples could be a musical piece, the discourse surrounding a piece, an artist, the discourse surrounding the artist, a particular event (or discourse around an event), and so forth… or any combination of those.
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The fundamental aim is to explore the facts and stakes of staking claims that music, or a particular kind of music, is more linked to a particular group of people rather than being a “universal” possession of human beings in general.
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Feel free to express your opinion, but please be respectful and engage with sources “faithfully.” (That is, feel free to criticize, but criticize what the authors really say—or mean—rather than criticizing a caricature of what they’re saying.)
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In doing so,
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Discuss at least 3 musical moments with our usual level of “specific” description and analysis.
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Engage with at least three written sources (one beyond the required Rogers and HR-57). You can bring in a source from outside our class readings, but I recommend checking with me first. Journalism is generally unsuited, unless the piece you choose is appropriately thought-provoking. Feel free to stick to class sources! I have provided both PDF files that are used in class
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Word-count: 450-750.