Dance Music

American culture has a long and rich tradition of popular dance. From the folk dancing of Appalachia to the urban dance crazes that animated New York City in the 1920s, dance has been an important facet of social life. But dance is more than just boy-meets-girl on the floor. Dance has often been a place of cultural mixing, however indirect at times, and of testing the limits of societal norms. It’s a party, yes, but the party has repercussions, which can redefine the codes of conduct that organize everyday life.

This unit examines how dance and dance music impacted – and was impacted by – the changing social norms of the 1970s.