Marcyliena Morgan

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.

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This course is a comprehensive study of culture, communication and gender. It introduces students to the field of gender and communication and some of the principal questions of feminist theory, as viewed from linguistics, media studies and sociolinguistics. It provides an introduction to debates surrounding gender and technology, including historiographical and theoretical perspectives on feminism and technology from various perspectives. This course will explore an approach to gender and communication that emphasizes the grounding in social practice of both. The course has a strong international and multicultural focus, drawing on descriptions of women and men’s speech across the globe. The lectures and in-class activities explore the principal concepts and issues that 3define the field of gender, culture and communication. These areas include: sociolinguistics, discourse and interaction, gender and culture, communication theory, gender and media, cultural studies, political economy, and symbolic communication. In particular, we will examine how everyday interactions, media, film, popular culture and journalism, incorporate gender and sexuality and at times perpetuate stereotypes of men, women and sexuality in general.

COMM 12SI
Instructor, Angela Steele

“Hip-Hop is the voice of this generation. It has become a powerful force. Hip-hop binds all of these people, all of these nationalities, all over the world.”
- DJ Kool Herc Can’t Stop Won’t Stop

Born in the embattled streets of New York City in the 1970s, Hip Hop culture has grown into a powerful artistic, cultural, and political movement. From Shanghai to San Juan, youth around the world are now using Hip Hop culture to express the realities of their lives. This course will examine Hip Hop cultures in Japan, China, France, Italy, Kenya and the Philippines. Students will use written texts, films, and music to explore issues of authenticity, identity formation, processes of appropriation, localization, race, and resistance. SyllabusDownload file

COMM/AFAM/AMST 148
Marcyliena Morgan

Hiphop is a global phenomenon that influences social life far beyond the music and entertainment industries. 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 hip-hop and charged with upholding them, has not been thoroughly explored. This course provides a critical examination of hip-hop in the US and its role as a cultural, political and artistic resource for youth. It will explore the artistic, social, cultural, linguistic and political implications of hiphop. It is taught from the perspective of cultural and linguistic anthropology and media studies. Each year the course will include a special topic with guest lecturer. In 2007, the main focus will be on hiphop, health and world affairs.

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Stanford UniversityFocus this year is hip-hop and the media. Hip-hop as a global phenomenon with social influences beyond the music and entertainment industries. The development of standards. Hip-hop in the U.S. and its role as a cultural, political, social, and artistic resource for youth. Perspectives include cultural and linguistic anthropology, and media studies.

See course description at Harvard University

This course examines the development of hip hop in the US as a cultural, political and artistic resource. In particular, we will examine hip hop literacy, language and learning, art, performance and dress. Topics include: culture, community, crime and injustice, economics, education, family, history, identity, language, politics, sports, race and racism, sex and sexism. Emphasis will be placed on hip hop in a variety of contexts including schools, religious organizations and political movements.

See course description at University of California, Los Angeles

This course examines the development of hip hop in the U.S. and its importance as a cultural, political and artistic resource for youth. Youth in the US and throughout the world are national and international leaders as they experience, develop and redefine new technologies and new identities. As a result, they are the catalyst for discussions of globalization, transnationalism, post modernism and urbanization. One aim of the course is to provide theory and resources for those who incorporate hip hop in classrooms and community organizing. In particular, the course will examine hip hop literacy, language and learning, art, performance and dress.

Topics include: community, crime and injustice, economics, education, family, history, identity, language, politics, sports, race and racism, sex and sexism. Particular emphasis will be placed on the importance of hip hop in framing urban youth identity.