The Practice of Refusal in Willis Laurence James's Song Collecting
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3852380 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ellie Armon Azoulay (0000-0001-6031-2805, Newcastle University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 355-379 |
| Publication date | 2021-07-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Comparative American Studies An International Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1477-5700 • E-ISSN: 1741-2676 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14775700.2021.2003136 |
| OpenAlex | W3213661207 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 17 |
The aim of this essay is to reintroduce Willis Laurence James’s (1900-1960) radical practice as a collector and a critic of the field of collecting. James - one of the fascinating, yet understudied collector who documented the music and songs of African American men and women around the American South between the mid-1920s and mid-1940s. This interdisciplinary study makes use of archival documents, musical recordings, letters and photographs to show that his practice of collecting was one of refusal, resistance and reclamation: part of an overall project of empowerment. James resisted the status quo within African American folk music collection and exposed the limits of its domination by white collectors. He refused the conditions imposed on African Americans by the discriminatory and violent system of segregation; he refused to accept the material conditions of scarcity and he worked vigorously to remedy the neglect and the poverty and to create infrastructures and opportunities through music collecting, education and performance. He reclaimed his authority in the face of denial and he reclaimed the centrality and the contribution of individuals and communities by centring his collection on their lived experiences
Art · Denial · Face (sociological concept · Musical · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Resistance (ecology · Social science · Sociology · Status quo · Visual arts · White (mutation · History · Law · Music History and Culture · Poetry Analysis and Criticism · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics
The music of Black Americans
Scenes of subjection
Development Arrested
The Romance of the Negro Folk Cry in America
My Bondage and My Freedom
Slave songs of the United States
We Are Not What We Seem
Before the Ghetto
Taking Xhosa Music out of the Fridge and into the Townships
The Black Chicago Renaissance
Black visuality and the practice of refusal
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |