Week 3- Blackness and Hip-hop

This week, we are discussing Hip-hop's historical relationship to Blackness and African American culture. Our key word BLACKNESS and HIP-HOP guide our readings, audio selections and discussion. How can we understand these terms in relationship to the social, cultural and economic conditions that produced Hip-hop in its early stages? How do shifting ideas of race shape how we understand Hip-hop and Blackness? As you define these key terms, think about the ways that Hip-hop music and culture pushes racial, ethnic and national boundaries. How does Blackness,in relationship to U.S. Hip-hop, challenge social inequality?

Week 2- Hip-hop's Regional Sounds

This week, we will learn about the foundational elements of Hip-hop culture in the United States and the ways that Hip-hop music has been influenced by regional input and interpretation over time. As you blog on the key words of the week, Hip-hop's Regional Sounds, think about the ways that different urban and suburban spaces have influenced Hip-hop's sound. What are the similarities and differences between different regional sounds of Hip-hop? What are some of the regional influences that you can attribute to a particular geographic location? How do you recognize one regional Hip-hop sound from another?

Week 1 - Welcome to Hip-hop in Popular Culture

Welcome to the class blog for Hip-hop in Popular Culture, Spring 2012. This course explores the ways that Hip-hop music and Culture has influenced American Popular culture over the past 30 years. This blog is a site to engage the key words and theories that we will discuss in lecture and class discussion time. You will have the opportunity to post a critically engaged comment on the theory, visual and aural texts we utilize for this course. I look forward to reading your responses and guiding you on this amazing journey this semester. Best- Professor NHP