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Christina Green
Today, the city of New
Orleans suffers from the
aftermath of Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita. There has
been so much controversy over
the evacuations, the rescues, and
the rebuilding that we have
perhaps forgotten the history
that was almost completely
under water. As the largest city
in the state of Louisiana, and
one of the principal cities of the
South, New Orleans has been
the melting pot of many ethnic
groups and musical genres in
America.
New Orleans was founded
in 1718 by Jean Baptiste Le
Moyne and remained a French
colony until 1763 when it was
transferred to the Spanish. In
1800, Spain relinquished it back
Orleans, as part of the Louisiana
Purchase, was sold to the
United States. It was the site of
the Battle of New Orleans in
1815 in the War of 1812, and
during the Civil War was
besieged by Union ships.
The city of New Orleans
became a major port for the
United States in exporting
petroleum products, grain,
cotton, paper, machinery, iron,
and steel. It was also a port that
welcomed immigrants to
America. Following the Civil
War, New Orleans’ population
was comprised of Acadians
(French speakers later known
more colloquially as “cajuns”),
Africans, Cubans, English,
German, French, Irish,
Italians, Spanish, and West
Indians.
This melting pot of cultural
backgrounds created an
international music mecca. The
musicians of New Orleans
developed musical genres,
including jazz, blues, rock and
roll, Cajun, gospel, country,
and classical, which have
shaped America’s music culture
into what it is today.
wT mE mT
Jazz music was born in
New Orleans. The “New
Orleans Jazz” style emphasizes
collective improvisation, while
the modern jazz style
emphasizes solo
improvisation. New Orleans
brass jazz bands play anything
from Latin jazz or the street
sounds of “bounce,” a
combination of rap and brass
band jazz. Louis Armstrong,
one of the best known jazz
artists to this day, began his
music career in the streets of
New Orleans.
Blues, or rhythm and blues,
was developed in the
plantation fields which were
part of Louisiana culture in the
18h century. The songs that
workers sang became known
as “field hollers” that could
spark great joy and dancing in
one song, and then great
sorrow and pity in the next.
The workers then added the
guitar, drums, and horns to
their blues.
Perhaps as an extension of
the instrumental part of field
hollers, rock and roll evolved
in New Orleans in the 1940s.
Singer Roy Brown recorded
the first song that used the word
“rock” to describe the unique
style which later became
known as rock ‘n roll. The
Beatles are just one of New
Orleans’ rock and roll legends.
Cajun, gospel, country,
zydeco, and classical music
were all developed directly
from certain cultures. Cajun is
a blend of French folk music
with Native American,
German, Anglo-America, and
African styles. Gospel is
associated with hymns and
songs traditionally performed
in spiritual ceremonies in the
Anglo-American and African-
American culture. Country is
an extension of the fiddling
and ballad-singing Anglo
settlers who moved to New
Orleans in the early 1800s.
Zydeco is a dance music
blended from African-French
and African-American styles.
Lastly, the first opera performed
in North America was in New
Orleans in 1796, which sparked
the popularity of classical
music in the South.
The many cultures which
make up New Orleans are part
of what makes the music
culture of Louisiana so unique
to the development of musical
genres throughout all of the
United States. Before the
hurricane, musicians of all
performance types could be
found performing on the streets,
just as in early days when
musical genres were first being
developed. Hopefully, as the
city of New Orleans
recovers from disaster,
the musical culture will also
revive itself and continue to
add to a history that represents
the strong diversity of our
country.
Online from page 1
Elizabeth Stiles, a sophomore
in Associates in Letters, Arts
and Sciences, says, “Some
[online] classes I learned more
in, because of the completeness
of the curriculum. Others,
however, I felt I would have
learned more with a
professor’s direct knowledge
and expertise in the classroom.”
The main problem students,
and professors, have with
online courses is the lack of
student-teacher and student-
student interaction. Students
feel they are not able to build a
relationship with a professor
like they could in a classroom
setting. Jeremy Naugle, a fourth
semester English student, says,
“Maybe it is just my way of
learning, but I feel like people
think from discussion and then
ask from their confusion. At
home on your couch” you
have no one to answer your
questions.
One professor brought up
the point that the instructor has
no way of knowing if the
student is taking the test, or
having someone else take it for
them.
Another widely
acknowledged problem is that
the program is still new and
there are still kinks that need
to be worked out. Integrative
Arts Professor Nancy Funk
notes that, “because the whole
course is online, all of the
internet links have to be
constantly updated.”
However, online courses do
have a lot to offer. Students
enjoy the flexibility of the
courses offered and the pace at
which each lesson is set.
Students get to work on the
course anywhere they want,
any time they want, in any
environment they want. This
offers students with families the
ability to spend time with their
children and spouses without
having to drive out to campus
several times a week. With the
recent increase in gas prices, this
option is increasingly
appealing.
Online courses also give shy
students an opportunity to ask
questions without having to
worry about other students’
reactions. They may feel more
comfortable talking to their
professors through email rather
than in a classroom setting.
A strong advantage of
online courses is that they are
in constant revision, which
keeps the information they offer
up-to-date without lessoning the
quality of the course. Stiles says
that several of her courses had
very “user friendly” course
pages to work on and that it
see Online page 8
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