Initial Free Writing Assignment
Write a position paper of three to five pages length that outlines your take on "hip hop." Questions you might consider include: What's important about hip hop? Which elements among its users are most important? What are hip hop's "problems?" How has hip hop changed for the better or worse? Use thick description of at least one sequence, song, or "artifact" to underscore your point of view. Also include first-person narrative that details your experiential relationship to hip hop as you describe it. Initial free writing assignment is due on the last session of Unit 1.
Group Presentation Details
The oral presentation should be a group project, developed in collaboration with all the members of each group. The group will assemble an hour-long presentation on the topic at hand for that week’s session. The presentation should reflect an understanding of key concepts proposed by the readings; in fact, it MUST refer to at least some part of the readings. The presentation should also build on those concepts, either in consent or dissent, with additional musical and visual materials. Performance is welcome! The most successful presentations will include critical analysis, supporting materials, media examples drawn from beyond the course syllabus, as well as a performance of some sort.
The presentation should last no more than an hour, so that there is time for discussion and response.
Before the presentation, the group must hand in an outline for their presentation. In addition, each student must hand in individual research notes for the presentation. These notes should detail the individual contribution to the group presentation. The presentation will account for 30% of the final grade.
Performance Analysis Details
Attend at least one "hip hop" performance in the Boston area. Considering at least two of the analytical paradigms proposed in class, write a 3-5 page analysis of the performance. Note: You should approach two different paradigms than the ones for your group presentation or your final project. Your analysis might offer a close reading of performance and its context, or it might suggest future avenues for research. Your analysis should offer a close reading of the performance and its context in terms of your chosen lens. For example, if you decide to write about anarchy/activism and dance, you might offer an interpretation of specific lyrics that suggest an activist impulse, and how those lyrics relate to beats. You might continue your analysis to question the implications of dances that the artists and audience do in response to these lyrics/beats. Does the dance allay the potential impact of an activist message? Does the dance suggest a sort of physical anarchy? How do you know, or why do you think that?
Your analysis should refer with direct quotation to course materials, either media or literary. The performance analysis is due before Unit 12 sessions, and will account for 20% of the final grade.
Final Paper
Write a final paper of 7-10 pages length on the topic other than the Oral Presentation topic. The paper should synthesize material covered throughout the semester. The final paper shall account for 40% of the final grade. Proposals for final paper topics are due by email during Unit 5. The final paper will be due during class time on the last day of classes. No extensions will be granted for the final paper.