Blues Music and Cultural Memory in August Wilson’s Theatre: A Sociological Reading of African American Identity Representation in the Pittsburgh Cycle

Soleimaninejad, Vahid; Mahmoudjanlou, Mostafa; Haseli, Hamid

doi:10.30465/scs.2025.52357.3030

Blues Music and Cultural Memory in August Wilson’s Theatre: A Sociological Reading of African American Identity Representation in the Pittsburgh Cycle

Articles in Press

Document Type : .

Authors

vahid soleimaninejad ¹

mostafa mahmoudjanlou ²

hamid haseli ¹

¹ Music instructor, Faculty of Art and Architecture, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.

² Faculty member and music instructor, Faculty of Art and Architecture, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran

10.30465/scs.2025.52357.3030

Abstract

This research examines the role of blues music in August Wilson’s plays and demonstrates how it functions as a cultural tool for reconstructing individual and collective identity, as well as a medium for cultural resistance. Employing a qualitative methodology and content analysis of key plays such as Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences, and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, this study analyzes the impact of blues music on Wilson’s dramatic works. The theoretical framework integrates Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of cultural capital and social fields with Georgina Born’s theory of music as a cultural mediator. The findings reveal that blues music serves not only as an expression of pain and suffering but also as a means of fostering hope, reinforcing social and familial bonds, and enabling cultural resistance. The study concludes that in Wilson’s works, blues music transcends its role as a musical genre, evolving into a multifaceted language for narrating history, preserving cultural identity, and enhancing social cohesion.

Keywords

Blues Music

August Wilson

Cultural Identity

Cultural Resistance

Social Storytelling

Play

Subjects