The Curriculum of the Jester: An Examination of Hamilton, An American Musical

Abstract

Relying on a curriculum theory and cultural studies lens, this paper examines the Broadway musical Hamilton and asks "What history is it teaching?".  Focusing on the cycle of cultural production, the paper further examines the lines of impact the musical has had culturally.  Using a curricular lens combined with the work of Sylvia Wynter and Anne Tsing, the analysis shifts away from only looking at the musical’s historical accuracy to include a consideration of it as something more complex, as something between domination and resistance.  Furthermore, this paper argues that whether the piece was written as an intentional act of resistance becomes less interesting and important when it is seen as site of friction between the hegemonic and counterhegemonic.  In other words, by viewing Hamilton curricularly, in terms of what Pinar (2004) calls “the complicated conversation,” this paper moves away from judging the play in terms of its inherent counterhegemony and instead examines it as a  site where the hegemonic and counterhegemonic intersect.