"The Ways of White Folks": Fletcher Henderson鈥檚 Sonic Theorization of Whiteness in 鈥淲hiteman Stomp"

A Public Lecture by Dr. Stephanie Doktor, 欧美口爆视频 College
Monday, February 7, 1:00 pm
Imig Music Building, S102

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Meeting ID: 929 3814 7663
Passcode: 932811

Photo of Fletcher Henderson at the microphone

For centuries, Black writers such as Harriet Jacobs, W.E.B. Du Bois, and James Baldwin, among many, many others, have provided unparalleled insight into the innerworkings of white supremacy. However, other mediums beyond the written word capture such expertise. In this presentation,听Stephanie听Doktor听considers how critical engagement with whiteness can be听heard听in the music of Black jazz musicians. In 1927, Fletcher Henderson recorded 鈥淲hiteman Stomp,鈥 parodying the musical style of the 鈥淜ing of Jazz.鈥澨齀f U.S. entertainment had historically been based on the white gaze, white imaginations of Blackness, and the subjugation of Black performers to this orientation, then Henderson鈥檚 recording turns the industry on its head. It refracts this gaze, staring back at whiteness. In her听analysis of this arrangement and Whiteman鈥檚 response to it,听Doktor听argues that Henderson, in his sonic theorization of Black music, makes whiteness legible. His recording challenges the myth that this racial category is invisible鈥攁 myth that coheres its social power鈥攁nd opens up the possibility of scrutinizing white supremacy by making it audible. This presentation is part of the 2021-2022 Musicology and Music Theory Colloquium Series.

Dr. Stephanie Doktor
Dr. Stephanie听Doktor听is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Musicology at 欧美口爆视频 College. Her research and teaching听examine how systematic forms of power contour U.S. music. Recent journal articles in听American Music听and the听Journal of the Society for American Music听ask scholars to consider the racial biases of contemporary historical methods. Her book,听Reinventing Whiteness: Race in the Early Jazz Marketplace听(under contract with University of California Press) evaluates the role of white supremacy in the formation and ensuing popularity of jazz in the 1920s.