HIST 240: Hip Hop History: A Movement that Rewrote History without a Pen

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Class Program

History

Credits

Weekly Contact Hours

Course ID

091661

Meets Degree Requirements For

Diversity,

Social Science

Description

This course examines the socio-historical/cultural origins of Hip Hop in the 1970s. Hip Hop will be used as a historical lens to examine U.S. History after WWII. Emphasis will be placed on the economic, political, and social conditions faced by individuals in urban centers.

Grading Basis

Graded

Course Learning Outcomes

Develop and defend historical positions based upon primary or secondary research.

Identify key people, events, and ideas relating to the history and development of Hip Hop (Culture).

Evaluate the ways marginalized individuals gave voice to systemic racism through the use of Hip Hop. Emphasis on lyrical content

Analyze the origin and continual evolution of Hip Hop as a force for challenging societal injustices.

Interpret how historically marginalized people used Hip Hop to elevate social and public issues.

Core Topics

Historical Context
1. Jim Crow South
2. Black Diaspora
3. White Flight
4. Urban Renewal (Eminent Domain)
5. Red Lining
1960-1970s
1. Music that has something to say
  1. “People Get Ready,” Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
  2. “Strange Fruit,” Billie Holiday
  3. “A Change is Gonna Come,” Sam Cooke
  4. “What’s Goin’ on,” Marvin Gaye
  5. “Living for the City,” Stevie Wonder
  6. “Get Up, Stand Up,” Bob Marley & The Wailers
2. Kerner Commission: Separate and Unequal
3. War on Drugs
4. Failed Urban Renewal
Birth of Hip Hop
1. NYC/South Bronx
2. External Influences
  1. Jamaican/Caribbean
  2. Boricua-Latino/a
3. The Music of Outrage
  1. Disco…Nah!
  2. Parallels to Punk
4. 4 Pillars (Rapping, DJ’ing, Graffiti, & Break-Dancing)
Hip Hop 1990s to Present
1. Lyrical Reflections
  1. Golden Era
  2. Female Lyricists
  3. “Conscious Rap”
  4. “Gangster Rap”
  5. NWA-Straight Outta Compton
  6. Public Enemy-It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
  7. 2 Pac-2Pacalypse Now
  8. Nas-Illmatic
2. Hip Hop Style
  1. Cultural Aesthetics
  2. Dress Fresh
  3. “Money, It’s Gotta be the Shoes!”
3. Regional Styles
  1. East Coast v. West Coast
  2. Dirty South
  3. Trap
  4. Reggaeton
4. Incorporation/Globalization of Hip Hop
5. Hip Hop Culture as Political Voice
6. Female Empowerment