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Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley: Rock and Roll, CRT, and America in the 1950s

Mon, August 18, 2:30 to 4:10pm, TBA

Abstract

Critical Race Theory offers a lens through which various texts can be explored particularly as these texts enable or challenge status quo conceptions of American culture. Rock and roll music, in the broadest sense, represents an intriguing, highly malleable, assortment of media texts from a range of genres. This paper is an exploration of rock and roll music from the 1950s era through the lens of Critical Race Theory as well as the theory of oppositional culture. Three major artists are the focus of the analysis—Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley. What emerges is a nuanced counterstory to the dominant mainstream narrative, a counterstory that underscores complex issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality during the 1950s early rock and roll era.

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