D. Scott Stewart
Below are suggested supplementary activities that can be used to supplement the unit based on your needs or to spark your own ideas around music and identity.
1. Fictional characters.
The goal of this activity is to have the students use characters from books they personally select for reading. Can they find examples of where a character actually talks about the music they prefer? Based on details in the book, what kind of music do you think they would like to listen to?
2. Examination of popular musicians’ projected identity
The goal of this activity is that students will be able to examine the projected identity of public figures in contemporary popular music and reflect on how those personas are managed in order to connect with a variety of demographics. Students need to use a variety of sources to support class discussion.
3. Songs about Identity
There are songs across multiple genres that explicitly deal with identity ranging from an individual singer’s declaration of their own identity to broader themes of a united cultural or national identity. An internet search on “songs about identity” will garner several resources from which to develop activities related to a use of music as an explicit affirmation of personal and projected identity.