Sounds of Reform - by Derek Vaillant (Paperback)

About the Book

Sounds of Reform: Progressivism and Music in Chicago, 1873-1935

Book Synopsis

Between 1873 and 1935, reformers in Chicago used the power of music to unify the diverse peoples of the metropolis. These musical progressives emphasized the capacity of music to transcend differences among various groups. Sounds of Reform looks at the history of efforts to propagate this vision and the resulting encounters between activists and ethnic, immigrant, and working-class residents.

Musical progressives sponsored free concerts and music lessons at neighborhood parks and settlement houses, organized music festivals and neighborhood dances, and used the radio waves as part of an unprecedented effort to advance civic engagement. European classical music, ragtime, jazz, and popular American song all figured into the musical progressives' mission.

For residents with ideas about music as a tool of self-determination, musical progressivism could be problematic as well as empowering. The resulting struggles and negotiations between reformers and residents transformed the public culture of Chicago. Through his innovative examination of the role of music in the history of progressivism, Derek Vaillant offers a new perspective on the cultural politics of music and American society.

Review Quotes

Vaillant's principal characters--musicians, reformers, immigrant and African American Chicagoans seeking pleasure and power--come across as complex human beings and not simply stand-ins for general concepts. This book makes a major contribution to our understanding of the ambiguous legacy of progressivism and the meaning of cultural conflict in twentieth-century America.(Frank Couvares, Amherst College)

"Vaillant's principal characters--musicians, reformers, immigrant and African American Chicagoans seeking pleasure and power--come across as complex human beings and not simply stand-ins for general concepts. This book makes a major contribution to our understanding of the ambiguous legacy of progressivism and the meaning of cultural conflict in twentieth-century America."

About the Author

Derek Vaillant is associate professor of communication studies and faculty associate in the program in American culture at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.