Transnational Acoustics : The Art and legacy of Joan Baez and Sixto Rodriguez

This paper offers an analysis of the transnational impact of two acoustic singers Joan Baez and Sixto Rodriguez in order to map out the political legacy of their works. Baez and Rodriguez had impact not only on their culture, but through the transnational turn on other cultures as well. This thesis discusses their transnational work through their biographies and lyrics, which are are going to be my primary sources. The work of Randolph Bourne, José Martí and Shelley Fisher Fishkin provide the theoretical background of this thesis. Both Baez and Rodriguez have Mexican descents, although they live in the U.S., however they became famous in different parts of the world. Baez through her pacifist and anti-war worldview became a peace advocator, what is more she even made impact on East European countries. I will present the connection of Sixto Rodriguez and the South African anti-Apartheid era and explain his impact there. This paper attempts to show their double significances: being a singer and an activist during and since the civil rights movements era. Social movements offer opportunities to melt the borderlines between culture and politics. The final purpose of my paper is to prove that in today’s transnational world singers can be politicians too.