Coastal Carolina University is hosting a new program titled "America's Music: A Film History of Our Popular Music from Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway," which begins in January and runs through April. The six-part series features documentary film screenings with scholar-led discussions of 20th century American popular music. The screenings and discussions will be held in the James J. Johnson Auditorium of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration Building on select Mondays from 7 to 9 p.m.

The six sessions focus on musical genres that are uniquely American: blues, gospel, Broadway, jazz, bluegrass, country, rock 'n' roll, mambo and hip hop. The sessions are designed to educate audiences how 20th century American music has influenced modern culture.

The program series will be shown on the following days:

* Monday, Jan. 27, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Session One: The Blues and Gospel Music featuring "Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Episode 1, Feel Like Going Home" and "Say Amen, Somebody"

* Monday, Feb. 10, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Session Two: Broadway and Tin Pan Alley featuring "Broadway: The American Musical, Episode 2: Syncopated City (1919-1933)"

* Monday, Feb. 24, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Session Three: Swing Jazz featuring "Ken Burns' Jazz: Episode 6: Swing: The Velocity of Celebration" and "International Sweethearts of Rhythm"

* Monday, March 24, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Session Four: Country and Bluegrass featuring "High Lonesome: The Story of Bluegrass Music"

* Monday, April 7, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Session Five: Latin Rhythms from Mambo to Hip Hop featuring "Latin Music USA, Episode 1: Bridges" and "From Mambo to Hip Hop: A South Bronx Tale" * Monday, April 21, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Session Six: Rock featuring "The History of Rock 'n' Roll: Episode 6, Plugging In"

"America's Music" has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor, awarded to CCU's Department of Music and Kimbel Library. CCU is one of only 50 sites nationwide selected to host this program series. "America's Music" is a project by the Tribeca Film Institute in collaboration with the American Library Association, Tribeca Flashpoint and the Society for American Music.

The James J. Johnson Auditorium is in the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration Building, located at 119 Chanticleer Drive E. in Conway. For more information, contact Patti Edwards, project director, at 843-349-2570 or pyedward@coastal.edu, or Amy Tully, project scholar, at 843-349-2352 or atully@coastal.edu.