32nd Annual Student Research Conference
Lyrically American: A Content Analysis of Presidential Campaign Songs
Kobe R. Hutcheson
Dr. Anton Daughters, Faculty Mentor
This research examines the campaign songs of winning presidential candidates and the characteristics or
ideals that they evoke in an effort to better understand what defines the American cultural identity.
Each winning presidential candidate’s campaign song, provided through the Smithsonian Instititute, was analyzed and every mention or evocation of a characteristic or ideal was recorded. We then examined that data across multiple eras of American history to determine if there were any characteristics or ideals that were consistently mentioned through time. The research found that, in fact, no characteristic or ideal was consistently mentioned across time, suggesting that the cultural identity of the United States is constantly changing.
Keywords: American, Music, President, Analysis, Cultural
Topic(s):Sociology
American Studies
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 102-3
Location: BH 114
Time: 9:00