Changing the World, One Song at a Time

A First-Year Seminar at The College of New Jersey

Social movements are at the forefront of social change, addressing the most important and interesting challenges that societies face. Music is often at the heart of movements. From the Civil Rights classic “We Shall Overcome” to the Spanish version of the U.S. national anthem played at 2006 immigrant rallies, movements use music to make demands and mobilize support.

But can a song really “change the world”?

How does music play a role in social change?

This seminar used protest music as a window to examine social movements that have shaped modern life in the United States and abroad. In our readings, we examined the role of music in a number of historical social movements, including U.S. workers’ movements of the 1930s, the U.S. Civil Rights movement and other activism in the 1960s, movements asserting collective identity, and 20th Century human rights movements around the world.

Each student chose one protest song and its social movement to research and analyze, and produced a final multimedia report that is part of this website.

Students wrote about the movement's history, the role of music and collective identity, and did a frame analysis of their song.

• "Fury"--The Movement Against AIDS, by Cassandra Boff
• "We Shall Overcome"--The Berkley Free Speech Movement, by Ariel Kaye
• "I--Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die-Rag" -- The Anti-Vietnam War Movement, by Elizabeth Mazer
• "World Wide Suicide"--The Movement Against the War in Iraq , by Carlie Voros
• "Lift Every Voice and Sing"--The Civil Rights Movement, by Martin Brown
• "Fighter" The Gay Marriage Movement, by Jessica Jamieson
• "Sold Down the River"--The Global Justice Movement, by Michelle Manzi
• "Changes"-- The Hip Hop Movement, by Allie Guarino
• "Vande Mataram"-- The Indian Independence Movement, by Megan Barry
• "La Carta"-- La Nueva Cancion in Chile, by Rachael DiMeo
• "London Calling"-- The Punk Movement, by Sean Bradley
• "The Internationale" The Russian Revolution, by Daniel Verello
• "Respect"--The Women's Movement, by Taiwo Odubote
• "Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be?"-- Women's Suffrage, by Truc-Lan Vu