Felicity Jane Greenland    Department   Kyoto University of Foreign Studies  Department of British and American Studies, Faculty of Foreign Studies    Position   Associate Professor
Date	2011/10
Presentation Theme	Peace Songs & Protest Songs
Conference	PGL (Peace as a Global Language) #10
Conference Type	International
Presentation Type	Speech (General)
Contribution Type	Individual
Venue	Konan University, Hyogo
Details	The newly burgeoning ‘Occupy’ movement has brought with it a revival of interest in the songs of the US civil rights movement. This presentation looks at these and other ‘lyrical responses to discontent’ as a resource for cultural/historical discussion and language teaching. Themes include civil rights (including race, gender, class and labor-force inequalities), war, environmental issues and songs written in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake. A key point is that these songs are not high poetry but vernacular documentations of contemporary sentiment and as such can serve as versatile resources for social engagement in authentic cross-cultural and cross-generational discourse.