Classes » Spring 2007
Hiphop and Don't Stop: Introduction to Modern Speech Communities
COMM/AFAM/AMST 148/248
Marcyliena Morgan
Special Focus: Gender Politics and Hiphop
Hiphop is a global phenomenon that influences social and cultural life far beyond the music and entertainment industries. As such, it is poised to make a lasting impression on our understanding of African American, Latino, working class and general American youth character, identity and culture. Yet beyond descriptions and critiques of its mass appeal, few have considered Hiphop's development of standards and evaluations across all artistic areas and culture. Moreover, the consequences of an audience trained in the changing standards of Hiphop and charged with upholding them, has not been thoroughly explored. This course provides a critical examination of Hiphop in the US and its role as a communicative, linguistic, cultural, political and artistic resource. Hiphop America is taught from the perspective of cultural and linguistic anthropology. The main focus of the course is discourse, language and symbolism and the importance and development of critical evaluation and standards of assessment. Each lecture topic will include study questions and activities. The special topic for this year is: WOMEN IN HIPHOP.
