Jefferson believed that the spirit of the people was the heart of republican government. If music is an expression of the spirit, what does American music reveal about America? How has America shaped the music, the spirit, of its people? The course addresses these questions through a selective examination of some American music and some distinctive episodes in American History. The course includes some discussion of music theory but no specialized knowledge of music is necessary.
Instructors: John Moser is Associate Professor of History at Ashland University. He is the author of Twisting the Lion's Tail: American Anglophobia between the World Wars and Right Turn: John T. Flynn and the Transformation of American Liberalism. David Tucker is Associate Professor of Defense Analysis and Co-Director of the Center on Terrorism and Irregular Warfare at the Naval Postgraduate School. He has published on Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, and is the co-author of United States Special Operations Forces.