DEPARTMENT OF WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES: Women & Hip Hop
At the conclusion of the semester students will be able to
1. Develop interdisciplinary research skills and familiarity with feminist theories and modes of inquiry.
2. Describe women’s historical and contemporary contributions to culture and society.
3. Demonstrate oral communication, writing, and critical thinking skills.
4. Apply what is learned in the classroom into own spoken word/hip hop piece/production and own lives.
PART 1: Research Paper
1) Students will research a female hip-hop or spoken word artist from 1960-present day [See link https://www.ranker.com/list/female-rappers/whatevayoulike]. You will explore how she campaigned social change. What issue(s) did she address? How effective has she been? What is her impact on bringing wreck? Explore the impact and intersection of gender, race and sexuality on her message. This is NOT a biography cut & paste project.
• Select a Female Hip Hop/Spoken Word Artist- She must have at least 12-15published/performed pieces that follow the criteria for the genre.
• Select a social issue she addresses in her lyrics.
• Annotate the lyrics using course material Joan Morgan, Gwendolyn Pough
• Use gender theory such as (black) feminism, and intersectionality, critical gender theory, African Critical Race Theory, Queer Theory, New-Colonialism to analyze the lyrics. Issues to Keep in the forefront of your critical analysis
2) Write a 9-11 page (typed, 12 size font, proper margin spacing, double-spaced) to introduce your project. You are required to use all textbooks are primary sources and 6 additional sources. Paper should include:
Background of the Problem “She” confronted- History, causal factors (e.g. racism, abuse, patriarchy, power, capitalism, etc.) What where reasons for tackling the issue? What were some of her obstacles? What are her successes? What could she do differently?
Large Gender Issues For project/Paper tied to Hip Hop: Feminist; Public sphere vs. Black public sphere vs. subaltern counterpublic; Capitalism; Queering
Heteronormativity; Patriarchy; Colonialism/Colonialization; Hegemony; Narrative; Standpoint theory; Subjugated knowledge; Politics Representation; Politics of Respectability; Sexism; Racism; Ethic of Love vs. Ethic of Domination; Power; Empowerment
a. Utilize a theoretical perspective to analyze the issue.
b. Bibliography (APA, Chicago Style, or MLA format)
c. Citations required (footnotes or parenthetical notation
d. Grammar is critical.
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