About the Project
This fellowship provided an opportunity to explore United States history through the unique lens of historical sheet music housed in Vanderbilt University’s Special Collections. Designed for a broad audience, sheet music was often visually striking and topical, offering immediate commentary on everything from wars and elections to evolving gender roles and racial dynamics. Alongside their mentor, the fellow examined illustrated covers, lyrical content, and musical composition as cultural artifacts that reflect key historical moments, ideologies, and social changes.
Mentor
Julia Khait
Fellow
Vyshalini Rajendran
Project
The fellow curated an online exhibit, Beneath the Dream of America: Songs, Slavery, and the South, which interprets two representative songs from the collection. The exhibit situates these works within their historical context, addresses the complex racial legacy embedded in their creation, and examines the existence of multiple versions of the same song as evidence of 19th-century publishing practices.