This course explores the political and aesthetic foundations of
hip hop. We will trace the musical, corporeal, visual, spoken
word, and literary manifestations of hip hop over its thirty-five
year presence in the American cultural imaginary. We will also
investigate specific black cultural practices that have given rise
to its various idioms. Hip hop has invigorated the academy,
inspiring scholarship rooted in black musical and literary
traditions. We will also assess these sharp breaks and
flamboyant versionings of hip hop style that have occurred within
the academy.
Because "hip hop" is an ever-expanding area in formation, we
will be concerned with the process of research circumscription.
How are areas of popular culture to be explored? What
research methodologies are useful in the study of popular
culture? What are the discursive boundaries of something we
can call "hip hop?"
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