Unearthing American Roots: Discourses of Authenticity, Nostalgia and Race in American Roots Music and Literature

Abstract

In this thesis I aim to expose and explore the ubiquitous presence of discourses of authenticity and nostalgia in American literature, culture and music. For this purpose I outline the reasons and history lying behind America roots music community's fascination with discourses of authenticity and nostalgia, while contemplating similar patterns in literary works that deal with music from the American South. By sketching the history of the genre from its earliest commercial days, I intend to show how aesthetics of authenticity have been fabricated and romanticized in order to downplay the role of economic interest, a fact that has generated a problematic and whitewashed definition of American roots music, in spite of its great cultural cross-pollination. By exposing the ideologies hidden behind specific aesthetic and musical choices I point out the dangers inherent in discourses of authenticity, but I also stress its potential empowering aspects. Looking at several contemporary roots music acts, as a matter of fact, it is possible to identify how their use of retro and nostalgic aesthetics is directed to the fostering of community and the reevaluation of manual work and craftsmanship as a way of countering rampant capitalism. Moreover, in my examination of contemporary bands and authors engaged with Appalachian culture, I find a possible solution to the one-sided and unjustly romanticized image of American roots music. Such a solution consists in artists celebrating and engaging with past traditions in order to uncover the rich history of the music and the region, taking into account all ethnic groups and their contribution to the vibrant culture found in the South to this day.