The Golden Band: African American Spirituals and the Hermeneutics of World

An innovative reading of the Spirituals that synthesizes African American public and religious thought with musical aesthetics

In The Golden Band: African American Spirituals and the Hermeneutics of World, author Asante Todd synthesizes African American public thought, religious thought, and musical aesthetics. Drawing on these rich resources, he develops an original theomusicology grounded in antebellum Spirituals. Through detailed analysis of the Spirituals’ musical and compositional features, he shows how they critique the cultural logic of sovereignty and open up possibilities for other ways of thinking and being in the world. Innovative and insightful, The Golden Band is a remarkable contribution to African American public theology.

Asante U. Todd is an independent scholar who taught for eleven years at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. His research focuses on public theology, African American religion, US religion and politics, and philosophical aesthetics.