| UNITS | TOPICS | KEY DATES AND EVENTS |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 (3 sessions) | Introduction and overview | Initial free-writing assignment due In class: Performance poet Staceyanne Chin. She is a fulltime artist, resident of New York City, a Jamaican National, and has been an "out poet and political activist" since 1998. |
| Unit 2 (2 sessions) | Dance How is dance "central" to hip hop culture? How is it marginalized? What kinds of dances do hedz do? How have hip hop dances changed over time? Where are the sources of dance in hip hop? A consideration of capoiera and early African American dance forms. | Group presentation during 2nd session In class: Rokafella and Kwikstep (of Full Circle Productions) performance and demonstration of work with MIT students. Full Circle Productions is a hip-hop dance theater company that offers an equal balance of men and women in presentations of authentic hip-hop dance technique from NYC hip-hop street culture. |
| Unit 3 (2 sessions) | Graffiti, fashion, and visual culture How have fashion and graffiti been important to hip hop style? How did graffiti grow up? How did baggy pants and dookie chains become popular? Has flossing always been a part of hip hop? Are there boundaries to gender representations in hip hop fashion or visual culture? Case study: Diddy | |
| Unit 4 (3 sessions) | Sex and sexuality Is hip hop obsessed with depictions of sex and sexuality? What kinds of depictions are most prevalent? What depictions are resisted by hedz, and why? How do sex and sexuality feed hip hop into world markets? | Group presentation during 2nd session In-class: visit by filmmaker and cultural critic Byron Hurt. More than a filmmaker, Byron Hurt is an anti-sexist activist who provides cutting-edge male leadership, expert analysis, keynote addresses, and workshop facilitation in the field of sexual and gender violence prevention and education. |
| Unit 5 (2 sessions) | Anarchy and activism Hip Hop has long been figured as the "CNN of the Streets," able to incite action and progressive change. But gangsta strains of hip hop seem to incite anarchy as much as activism. Are activism and anarchy two sides of the same coin? Can they be successfully combined in popular music for progressive social action? Case study: Public Enemy | |
| Unit 6 (2 sessions) | Misogyny and feminism Why does misogyny occupy such a large part of the hip hop imaginary? How might sexual role-playing be healthy or hurtful to young people in various contexts? Is misogyny inevitable in the construction of popular culture? Is misogyny inseparable from hip hop? Alternately, how can hip hop be enabled to empower women? What kinds of hip hop combats misogyny, and how is it produced? What sorts of rhymes and beats support feminist concerns? | Group presentation during 2nd session Final paper proposals due one day after 2nd session. |
| Unit 7 (2 sessions) | Realness What is the "real" in hip hop? How is it recognized? How does authenticity play into hip hop sensibilities? What are the boundaries of the real in hip hop? How have those boundaries changed? Case study: Kayne West | In-class: performance workshop with Nappy Grooves, an all drag-kings of color group. Founded by Nia Hamilton, Mattie Richardson and three other Bay Area residents in 2004 and based in Oakland, Calif., Nappy Grooves was formed to give black drag kings an opportunity to perform. Richardson was previously a member of the Disposable Boy Toys, a predominantly white drag king troupe, and said she grew tired of only being invited to perform skits on affirmative action. The troupe, dedicated to fun, sexy, anti-racist, feminist gender performance, features Bill Dagger, Corn Bread, and Tyrone Peaches (aka Nepharious Vulvaleen). They have performed a variety of genders and sexualities for audiences across California and New York. Richardson and Hamilton have provided tutorials on becoming drag kings, applying facial hair and assuming a masculine stride while physically evolving into Bill Dagger and Tyrone Peaches, their respective male characters. Richardson described Dagger as a womanizer who is closeted about his attraction to men, while Hamilton depicted Peaches as a questioning jock. Both said their characters reflect gender personalities or stereotypes within the African-American community. Richardson said her particular interest is "making commentary on black masculinities by placing them at odds with each other." |
| Unit 8 (2 sessions) | Globalization How is the global reach of hip hop related to commodities and exchange? How has hip hop changed as it has attracted a global audience and inspired a global marketplace? | In class: visit by Christina Gomes, producer of the HBO special Blaze Battle Christina Gomes began her career at WCVB-TV, Channel 5 Boston, then worked in the executive office of Miramax Films as the Assistant to the Executive Vice President. While working at Miramax, Christina recognized that there was an untapped urban market in the film industry. She collaborated with Urbanworld Film Festival and a host of independent directors, producers and celebrity talent and developed a meet-and-greet program with Miramax executives and emerging urban talent. During this time Christina discovered a local MC battle sponsored by VIBE/Blaze Magazine. She quickly jumped on board as an Executive Producer to develop an HBO special called the Blaze Battle. The Blaze Battle featured Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, KRS1 and a host of hip-hop pioneers as well as sixteen ambitious MCs vying to become the Blaze Battle Champion. |
| Unit 9 (2 sessions) | DJ'ing and musicality If hip hop music is mostly mediated, how does live performance figure into its aesthetic imperatives? What sorts of "liveness" are valued in hip hop music? How is musicality measured by djs? What are the relationships between composing and turntablism? | Group presentation during 2nd session |
| Unit 10 (1 sessions) | Mediation and science fiction What are the implications of mediated artifacts on the musical world of hip hop? What genres of electronic music does hip hop embrace? How does science fiction figure into the hip hop "real?" What effects do technology inspire in hip hop? A consideration of Afro-futurism. | |
| Unit 11 (2 sessions) | Whiteness Within an American context, what are some of the ways that white youth respond to hip hop? How is "whiteness" embedded in the construction of hip hop? What are the particularly American wages of racial segregation in terms of popular culture, and especially hip hop? | Group presentation during 2nd session |
| Unit 12 (2 sessions) | Underground How does the underground function as a continual site within hip hop? How has its location changed over time? What can an underground do that a mainstream cannot? | Group presentation during 2nd session |
| Review (1 session) | Review Compile annotated bibliographic snapshot; suggestions for [academic] interventions | Final paper due in class |