Mix Up, Mix Up: Reviewing Bob Marley as the Militant Mulatto

Posted in Biography, Course Offerings, Literary/Artistic Criticism, Media Archive, United States on 2012-01-04 03:33Z by Steven

Mix Up, Mix Up: Reviewing Bob Marley as the Militant Mulatto

University of Miami
Fall 2011
ENG 106 R4/S4

Rachel Panton, Lecturer of English

In lieu of what would have been Bob Marley’s 66th birthday, we will explore the impact of Rastafari on the life and music of Marley, and on other contemporary Roots Reggae artists. We will also discuss the history of Marley’s mixed-race heritage and the ways in which race influenced his music and being. Students will be encouraged to investigate these issues, as well as develop their own inquiries about this mystical legend.

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Marley class inspires UM students

Posted in Articles, Biography, Campus Life, Media Archive, United States on 2012-01-04 03:04Z by Steven

Marley class inspires UM students

South Florida Times
2009-09-08

Juliana Accioly

CORAL GABLES — On a recent weekday, students at the University of Miami watched a screen in front of a blackboard ignite with lively performances of music legend Bob Marley.

Then, suddenly, those images were juxtaposed with graphic footage of segregation and violence.

When it comes to English lectures, the ones given by Professor Rachel Panton are far from routine.

Panton’s course, titled “Mix Up, Mix Up: Reviewing Bob Marley as the Militant Mulatto” has been a recurring hit among UM undergraduates.  Since 2006, more than 400 students have enrolled in the class.  They examine Marley’s life and music through his social and political times, and his contribution to the international recognition of reggae and Rastafari as empowering black power movements.

“There is all this iconography of Bob Marley just floating out there,” Panton told the South Florida Times. “This course analyzes the context in which he became a luminary.”

The class also explores the singer’s mixed heritage. He was born the son of a Jamaican black mother and an English white father at a time when intermixing of races was not rare, but still not welcome.

Marley chose to identify himself as black.

“Marley is an interesting figure because most biracial people don’t see the dichotomy ‘either or,’ but think of themselves as ‘both and,’” said Panton, alluding to her own black-white heritage…

Read the entire article here.

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