Patricia Dixon is a classical guitarist, who has performed in the United States, South America and Spain.
Blowin' in the wind
Protest songs still air society's concerns
Patricia Dixon, a senior lecturer in music, joined Wake Forest in 1980. She is teaching a first-year seminar this fall exploring protest movements in North and South America that led to “protest music.”
What is the definition of protest music and how is it different from mainstream music in exploring society and culture?
Protest music has social significance, and it seeks to make people aware of the ills of society. It differs from mainstream music in that it does not seek to entertain, but seeks to inform and establish dialogue that can move people into being active participants in the democratic process.
Can you give us some examples?
“Blowin' in the Wind,” “A Hard Rain is Gonna Fall,” “Strange Fruit,” “We Shall Overcome,” “El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido” and “El derecho a vivir en paz.”
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What makes protest music so powerful?
It communicates values that can be universal, such as justice or peace, or it can be rhetorical, such as telling a story of a particular social movement. The Civil Rights movement relied heavily on music to convey its message of non-discrimination and non-violence in the 1960s. Since music is also reflexive, it remains in the collective memory of people, and it also serves to foster community through a constant dialogue that questions the status quo, thus serving as an equalizer, as an arbiter between the powerful and the common folks.
Your students were required to write a song of protest. What issues did they write about?
They were very creative in selecting their topics for the protest song assignment. They have written songs about the war in Iraq, terrorism, the military establishment, the environment, the way we treat the elderly, the effects of digital technology in personal relationships, the problem of drugs, and the hypocrisies in our political system. It is amazing what they come up with, from fighting eating disorders to questioning God's influence in our lives.
» Read the lyrics to Thomas McGinley’s protest song “What If.”
» Read the lyrics to Brett Kaiser’s protest song “Talking with our Ears.”
What inspired you to offer a seminar on protest music?
The interdisciplinary character of the topic inspired me. When I taught the first FYS on Music of Protest in 1995, I felt that it was important for students to study how music uncovers the history of common people. It is like a sung newspaper that narrates a cultural and social process that is ongoing and very committed. Students need to understand that everyone has the power to change society.
We hear music all the time. How is listening in your class different?
I aim to foster a special attentiveness to the way we listen, not just to music but to each other. I try to instill a reverence for the learning process and to foster an atmosphere of tolerance toward each other. It is about awareness in everything we do, from reading a text to listening to a particular piece. Since music is integrated into the whole process of life, it lends itself to the study of every aspect of life: politics, spirituality, the environment, education, technology, science and culture. Mindful listening is essential.
How does this seminar exercise your students' critical thinking skills?
The topics I choose for the course are broad and cover not only musical elements, but historical, social, political and spiritual ones as well. It's about the struggle to reconcile our personal life with our collective mission, if we have one. Students have to think how they can make a difference by studying how others have done it in the past.
What challenges do you face in teaching this seminar?
The challenge of teaching this course is the amount of history we cover — from the 1920s to the present. It is also harder to teach protest music today because this generation is bombarded with so much information that it is hard for them to discern what is good information. Also they tend to rely more on the Internet than on books.
