{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/110603"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/110603","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"American pseudo-realism: the subversion of black agency in George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (1935)","abstract":"This thesis interrogates George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess (1935) as propaganda that has shaped the dominant historical narrative regarding American opera and the representation of blackness therein. Considering the opera both in its premiere iteration and as an institution of tokenization that has supplanted the equitable representation of black artists and narratives within this genre, I consider how this work has come to be marketed and known as the ‘Great American Opera’ by the ‘Great American Composer.’ Part I of this thesis considers the socio-political context of the 1935 premiere, an overview of the problematic archetypes present on stage, and how the concept of what I view as “the New American Exotic” set precedence for the usage of the perceived cultural practices and sounds of the coastal North Carolina Gullah community as both narrative and musical content. Part II specifically looks at George Gershwin and playwright Dubose Heyward, situating them within the social and racial construct of the United States in the early-twentieth century and deconstructing the reductive binary of white vs. black. Part III presents the false depiction of black identities in the dominant historical narrative vis-à-vis blackface minstrelsy and black folk music. The aim of this study is not to prescribe definitive answers to the problematics of racial representation in opera, but rather to open meaningful discourse regarding contextual specificity, socio-cultural consideration, and a retrospective musicological listening that will hopefully lend to the rightful and equitable inclusion, representation, and agency of marginalized voices both on the operatic stage and in a broadened historical narrative.","abstract_html":"This thesis interrogates George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess (1935) as propaganda that has shaped the dominant historical narrative regarding American opera and the representation of blackness therein. Considering the opera both in its premiere iteration and as an institution of tokenization that has supplanted the equitable representation of black artists and narratives within this genre, I consider how this work has come to be marketed and known as the ‘Great American Opera’ by the ‘Great American Composer.’ Part I of this thesis considers the socio-political context of the 1935 premiere, an overview of the problematic archetypes present on stage, and how the concept of what I view as “the New American Exotic” set precedence for the usage of the perceived cultural practices and sounds of the coastal North Carolina Gullah community as both narrative and musical content. Part II specifically looks at George Gershwin and playwright Dubose Heyward, situating them within the social and racial construct of the United States in the early-twentieth century and deconstructing the reductive binary of white vs. black. Part III presents the false depiction of black identities in the dominant historical narrative vis-à-vis blackface minstrelsy and black folk music. The aim of this study is not to prescribe definitive answers to the problematics of racial representation in opera, but rather to open meaningful discourse regarding contextual specificity, socio-cultural consideration, and a retrospective musicological listening that will hopefully lend to the rightful and equitable inclusion, representation, and agency of marginalized voices both on the operatic stage and in a broadened historical narrative.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Jefferson, Max"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"M.Mus.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Music","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Sherwood Magee, Gayle","Ramírez, Carlos Roberto"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-09-17T01:13:35Z","date_published":"2021-09-17T01:13:35Z","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:52Z","subjects":["George Gershwin","Representation","Black Agency","Porgy and Bess","Opera","Propaganda"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright 2021 Max Jefferson"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110603","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Sherwood Magee, Gayle","Ramírez, Carlos Roberto"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Jefferson, Max"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2021-09-17T01:13:35Z","2021-04-30","2021-05"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text","Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Music"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.Mus."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["George Gershwin","Representation","Black Agency","Porgy and Bess","Opera","Propaganda"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2021 Max Jefferson"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110603"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["This thesis interrogates George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess (1935) as propaganda that has shaped the dominant historical narrative regarding American opera and the representation of blackness therein. Considering the opera both in its premiere iteration and as an institution of tokenization that has supplanted the equitable representation of black artists and narratives within this genre, I consider how this work has come to be marketed and known as the ‘Great American Opera’ by the ‘Great American Composer.’ Part I of this thesis considers the socio-political context of the 1935 premiere, an overview of the problematic archetypes present on stage, and how the concept of what I view as “the New American Exotic” set precedence for the usage of the perceived cultural practices and sounds of the coastal North Carolina Gullah community as both narrative and musical content. Part II specifically looks at George Gershwin and playwright Dubose Heyward, situating them within the social and racial construct of the United States in the early-twentieth century and deconstructing the reductive binary of white vs. black. Part III presents the false depiction of black identities in the dominant historical narrative vis-à-vis blackface minstrelsy and black folk music. The aim of this study is not to prescribe definitive answers to the problematics of racial representation in opera, but rather to open meaningful discourse regarding contextual specificity, socio-cultural consideration, and a retrospective musicological listening that will hopefully lend to the rightful and equitable inclusion, representation, and agency of marginalized voices both on the operatic stage and in a broadened historical narrative.","Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. 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Considering the opera both in its premiere iteration and as an institution of tokenization that has supplanted the equitable representation of black artists and narratives within this genre, I consider how this work has come to be marketed and known as the ‘Great American Opera’ by the ‘Great American Composer.’ Part I of this thesis considers the socio-political context of the 1935 premiere, an overview of the problematic archetypes present on stage, and how the concept of what I view as “the New American Exotic” set precedence for the usage of the perceived cultural practices and sounds of the coastal North Carolina Gullah community as both narrative and musical content. Part II specifically looks at George Gershwin and playwright Dubose Heyward, situating them within the social and racial construct of the United States in the early-twentieth century and deconstructing the reductive binary of white vs. black. Part III presents the false depiction of black identities in the dominant historical narrative vis-à-vis blackface minstrelsy and black folk music. The aim of this study is not to prescribe definitive answers to the problematics of racial representation in opera, but rather to open meaningful discourse regarding contextual specificity, socio-cultural consideration, and a retrospective musicological listening that will hopefully lend to the rightful and equitable inclusion, representation, and agency of marginalized voices both on the operatic stage and in a broadened historical narrative.","Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2021-09-16 without embargo terms","The student, Max Jefferson, accepted the attached license on 2021-04-30 at 06:18.","The student, Max Jefferson, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2021-04-30 at 06:28.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2021-04-30 at 09:38.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #16618 on 2021-09-16 at 16:49:37","Made available in DSpace on 2021-09-17T01:13:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 JEFFERSON-THESIS-2021.pdf: 1481095 bytes, checksum: c5dfd5475a31710bd1171e90479fed45 (MD5) LICENSE.txt: 4210 bytes, checksum: c20b52d6ac2ae3a200ae3f6bd313f3e7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2021-04-30"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110603"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2021 Max Jefferson"],"dc:subject":["George Gershwin","Representation","Black Agency","Porgy and Bess","Opera","Propaganda"],"dc:title":["American pseudo-realism: the subversion of black agency in George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (1935)"],"dc:type":["text","Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Music"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.Mus."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:52Z"}