Course Code: CULT 280
Academic Year: 2024-2025
From the rec rooms in the Bronx to the mobile parties of Los Angeles; from UK Drill in South London to Gully Rap in Mumbai, the city and Hip Hop have always been intimately connected as spaces of resistance. This course examines the relationship between Hip Hop culture and space. Using an international and interdisciplinary perspective, students learn how Hip Hop culture was a reaction to urban space and planning, but, in turn, transformed spaces to facilitate Hip Hops seismic growth and influence. Using a variety of media [i.e. podcasts, documentaries, and readings], along with site visits and talks with community and industry leaders, this course examines how Hip-Hop culture encapsulates struggles for space and identity. Topics include Hip-Hop's reaction to and transformation of urban space, filmic space and Hip-Hop, food spaces and Hip-Hop, therapeutic spaces and Hip-Hop, and the relationship between Hip-Hop fashion and gender. Content Warning: some of the material in this course may contain discussions of racism, sexism, transphobia, non-binary and gender diverse discrimination, homophobia, heterosexism, pornography, suicide, and violence. Additionally, some material may contain profanities and racial epithets. While some of this material may be unsettling and/or uncomfortable, it is not the intention of the class to have that kind of impact. The purpose of the materials is to help in achieving the learning outcomes for the course. Nevertheless, while certain material [songs and videos, for example] may contain profanities and racial epithets, the same words will not be repeated in classroom discussions. Potential students who may be offended or disturbed by such materials should take this into consideration before enrolling in this course.