Students' Responses to Political Protest Music
Location
Session 2 (Room 1302)
Session Format
Oral Presentation
Your Campus
Statesboro Campus- Henderson Library, April 20th
Academic Unit
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Research Area Topic:
Humanities & Social Sciences - Psychology, Sociology & Political Science
Co-Presenters and Faculty Mentors or Advisors
Faculty Advisor: Dr. April Schueths
Abstract
Music is an art form that is capable of eliciting strong reactions. Historically, music has represented many social movements and has been closely tied with politics. Music has expressed many cultural struggles, such as inequality, war, poverty, and conflict, but has been largely overlooked in social science research for its power to influence a person’s thoughts or feelings about political content. This study aims to determine how American Government students react to politically explicit messages expressed through protest music and how their pre-existing political ideologies influence their reactions.
To answer these questions, four interviews were conducted using qualitative methods in order to gain thick, rich descriptions from participants. Participants were all current students enrolled in an undergraduate American Government course and were asked to listen to and view the accompanying music video for Childish Gambino’s, “This is America”. “This is America” is a politically explicit protest song, released in 2018, which reflects themes of racist violence, corruption within the justice system, and the United States’ value of entertainment over truth. Participants were then asked a series of questions following a semi-structured interview protocol.
Responses were audio recorded, transcribed by ear, and coded using a dual round coding process. An initial 39 codes emerged, which were combined and condensed based on criteria of similarity. Utilizing emerging patterns from the coding process, themes will be detailed in the presentation according to the qualitative method of thematic analysis.
Program Description
This qualitative research study examines the role of explicitly political protest music in shaping how American Government students perceive political content and maintain the relevance of political issues. By conducting four semi-structured interviews and performing dual-round coding, this project utilizes thematic analysis to identify emerging patterns within the data.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Presentation Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Start Date
4-20-2022 1:00 PM
End Date
4-20-2022 2:00 PM
Recommended Citation
Paulk, Shannon K., "Students' Responses to Political Protest Music" (2022). GS4 Georgia Southern Student Scholars Symposium. 62.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/research_symposium/2022/2022/62
Students' Responses to Political Protest Music
Session 2 (Room 1302)
Music is an art form that is capable of eliciting strong reactions. Historically, music has represented many social movements and has been closely tied with politics. Music has expressed many cultural struggles, such as inequality, war, poverty, and conflict, but has been largely overlooked in social science research for its power to influence a person’s thoughts or feelings about political content. This study aims to determine how American Government students react to politically explicit messages expressed through protest music and how their pre-existing political ideologies influence their reactions.
To answer these questions, four interviews were conducted using qualitative methods in order to gain thick, rich descriptions from participants. Participants were all current students enrolled in an undergraduate American Government course and were asked to listen to and view the accompanying music video for Childish Gambino’s, “This is America”. “This is America” is a politically explicit protest song, released in 2018, which reflects themes of racist violence, corruption within the justice system, and the United States’ value of entertainment over truth. Participants were then asked a series of questions following a semi-structured interview protocol.
Responses were audio recorded, transcribed by ear, and coded using a dual round coding process. An initial 39 codes emerged, which were combined and condensed based on criteria of similarity. Utilizing emerging patterns from the coding process, themes will be detailed in the presentation according to the qualitative method of thematic analysis.
