CONN 388 | Senegalese Pop Culture: An Immersive Exploration

Senegalese pop culture is a dynamic and evolving force that reflects the country¿s deep historical roots, diverse traditions, and engagement with global trends. This course provides an interdisciplinary exploration of contemporary cultural expressions in Senegal¿including music, film, fashion, digital media, and the performing arts. Students examine how these forms are shaped by historical influences such as pre-colonial traditions, the Negritude movement, and post-independence cultural policies.
Through academic readings, multimedia analysis, and creative inquiry, they explore how Senegalese artists interrogate the legacies of French colonialism, class structures, gender relations, and the politics of representation. Drawing from history, anthropology, literature, film studies, and cultural theory, students learn to approach Senegalese pop culture through multiple disciplinary lenses and reflect on how different ways of knowing intersect to reveal the complex relationships between identity, power, and creativity.
From the rise of Mbalax, Senegal¿s signature genre popularized by Youssou N¿Dour, to the politically charged world of Hip-Hop Galsen, we analyze how artists navigate national identity in a globalized world. The course also investigates the impact of Senegalese cinema¿from Ousmane Sembène¿s pioneering works to Mati Diop¿s Atlantics¿and how fashion, social media, and performance become spaces of activism, self-definition, and imagination. By the end of the semester, students will understand how Senegalese cultural producers use art and media to contest inequality, shape national identity, and connect local creativity to global conversations