AFBL 136 - Poetics of Hip Hop

Students in this course will seek to understand the art, culture, and politics of hip hop while using the skills of literary analysis to explore the genre’s five elements: emceeing, deejaying, breakin’, graffiti, and beatboxing. Students will create a piece of art and/or music inspired by hip hop, and we will spend most of our class time deconstructing and close reading rap songs from hip hop’s beginnings in the 1970s until our current moment. This class will help students broaden their understanding of not only hip hop music, but also of the discourses, industries, technologies, racial and gender politics, and significant moments in U.S. history that have influenced the music. One of the most ubiquitous American art forms, and it was created by Black Americans, which is why hip hop deserves our attention and scrutiny.

Cross-listed with ENGL 136
3 credits