Music of Senegal - Modern History

Modern History

During the colonial era, Senegal was colonized by France, and the people grew to adopt a French identity. Many, though not all, Senegalese identified as French instead of any African ethnicity. Post-independence, the philosophy of negritude arose to counteract this trend. The first President of Senegal, Léopold Sédar Senghor (also a poet) was one of the primary exponents of negritude, which espoused the idea that the griot traditions of Senegal were as valid, classical and meaningful as French classical music.

Read more about this topic:  Music Of Senegal

Famous quotes containing the words modern history, modern and/or history:

    If you look at the 150 years of modern China’s history since the Opium Wars, then you can’t avoid the conclusion that the last 15 years are the best 15 years in China’s modern history.
    J. Stapleton Roy (b. 1935)

    Perhaps a modern society can remain stable only by eliminating adolescence, by giving its young, from the age of ten, the skills, responsibilities, and rewards of grownups, and opportunities for action in all spheres of life. Adolescence should be a time of useful action, while book learning and scholarship should be a preoccupation of adults.
    Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)

    Look through the whole history of countries professing the Romish religion, and you will uniformly find the leaven of this besetting and accursed principle of action—that the end will sanction any means.
    Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)