Catalog Description

Formerly known as SOC 11
Hours: 54 lecture
Description: Defining Hip Hop as both a noun and a verb, this course takes a critical look at the history, role, and influence of Hip Hop on social reality. Evaluates both the impact Hip Hop has had on culture and the manipulation of Hip Hop within social institutions. Builds a framework of understanding for socio-political and cultural conditions in exploring hip hop as a vehicle to social change and justice. (CSU, UC)

Course Student Learning Outcomes

  • CSLO #1: Apply social theories and critical analysis to the role of Hip Hop in social justice.
  • CSLO #2: Analyze how social stratification and the intersection of identities form and inform Hip Hop as a social movement.
  • CSLO #3: Evaluate and analyze the role of Hip Hop in informing identity and the student’s role in media and popular culture.

Effective Term

Fall 2024

Course Type

Credit - Degree-applicable

Contact Hours

54

Outside of Class Hours

108

Total Student Learning Hours

162

Course Objectives

1. Assess the historical, and current day, overview of music as activism and resistance
2. Describe how social conditions, such as poverty, immigration, prison industrial complex, and racism, influence the creation and action of Hip Hop
3. Evaluate the Intersections of social identities that form and inform through Hip Hop
4. Explain the core elements of Hip Hop as social justice
5. Assess and evaluate the impact of Hip Hop on the student's role as consumer and participant in media and popular culture.

General Education Information

  • Approved College Associate Degree GE Applicability
    • AA/AS - Behavioral Sciences
    • AA/AS - Multicultural Studies
  • CSU GE Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU approval)
    • CSUGE - D Social Sciences
  • Cal-GETC Applicability (Recommended - Requires External Approval)
    • IGETC Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU/UC approval)
      • IGETC - 4 Soc./Behav Sciences

    Articulation Information

      Methods of Evaluation

      • Classroom Discussions
        • Example: 1. Instructor will assign "muddy/clear" at the end of the class. Handing out index cards to the class, students will be asked to write down at least one thing from lecture that was clear to them and one thing that they are 'muddy'on, or still have questions about. Cards will be exchanged among classmates who will then get into small groups to discuss the muddy/clear items, making comments on the cards. Cards will be submitted, graded and returned to students the following class period. Students will be graded based upon participation. For example, this muddy/clear activity could occur following a lecture of examples of music in activism and students may be asked to align the specific song/artists to a specific historical movement. 2. Instructor will get students into small groups and hand out a review sheet for the upcoming exam. Students will discuss review sheet, and generate 1-2 potential exam questions per review item. Instructor will collect, assess, and choose questions to include on exam. Students will be graded based upon participation. For example, students may design a short response question addressing the role that poverty and socio-economic status plays in the creation of hip hop.
      • Essay Examinations
        • Example: 1. Using Merton's theory of anomie, or structural strain, explain how hip hop may fall into all five of Merton's response types. 2. Using the conflict perspective, explain how social stratification impacts hip hop. Rubric grading.
      • Objective Examinations
        • Example: 1. M/C question: The core components of Hip Hop include which of the following: a. graffiti b. dance c. the DJ d. all of the above 2. True/False: Hip-hop has always been criticized for being very misogynistic, however women have always played a huge role in hip-hop. Standard grading.
      • Projects
        • Example: 1. For Social Justice Days, students will conduct research and create a visual poster project on the history of Hip Hop and its role in social justice work. Poster project will be displayed during the event. Project will be peer reviewed and graded by the instructor based upon a structured rubric. 2. Student will write and perform a Hip Hop song addressing a specific theme of social justice discussed in class. Student will be assessed based upon a detailed grading rubric.
      • Reports
        • Example: 1. Students will work in groups, in and outside of class, to create a class presentation on Social Justice pedagogy and the role of Hip Hop, in a particular time period, on social change. Students will be required to include academic research and critical analysis on the topic. The group will present their report via video or slide lecture presentation to classmates. Project will be assessed via rubric, combing both peer review and instructor grade. 2. Student will chose one Hip Hop artists and evaluate that artist's work in the context of social justice pedagogy. Report will be assessed via writing assignment rubric.

      Repeatable

      No

      Methods of Instruction

      • Lecture/Discussion
      • Distance Learning

      Lecture:

      1. Students will regularly analyze, evaluate, compare, and critique articles, lyrics, and popular culture in reference to Hip Hop and Social Justice. Lectures, readings, small and large group discussions, in-class activities, films, and guest speakers will all be utilized.
      2. After listening to lyrics of 2Pac's "Dear Mama" and handing out lyrics, instructor will facilitate small group discussion in which students discuss key concepts from the song as they apply to lecture concepts of race, economic, and gender stratification. Relates to Course Objective 2, as well as course outline topics around social stratification (i.e race, gender, class).
      3. Following readings and lecture ​related to Course Outline topics of "Core Elements of Hip Hop & their connections to Social Justice," the instructor will divide students into small groups and hand out cards with significant historic events (civil rights movement, feminist movement, globalization, etc). Students will assess the role of Hip Hop in influencing these events, in comparison to how these events influence Hip Hop. ​Relates to Course Objective 4, Explain the core elements of Hip Hop as social justice.

      Distance Learning

      1. Instructor will assign an audio file of 2Pac's "Dear Mama". Instructor will facilitate a discussion via video conferencing, multimedia tools, and/or chat to explore key concepts from the song as they apply to lecture concepts of race, economic, and gender stratification. Students will then be required to comment on at least one of their classmates' posts, in which they will include in their comment, and analysis of their classmate's post and identify additional themes to add to the discussion.Relates to Course Objective 2, as well as course outline topics around social stratification (i.e race, gender, class).
      2. Instructor will review (via text lecture, audio lecture, or video lecture)3-5 key historic social events (i.e., feminist movement, civil rights movement, globalization, increase in mass incarceration). Students will, via discussion board assignment, chose one with which to assess in conjunction to the movement of Hip Hop. Students will then be required to comment on at least one of their classmates' posts, in which they will include in their comment, and analysis of their classmate's post and identify additional themes to add to the discussion. ​Relates to Course Objective 4, Explain the core elements of Hip Hop as social justice.

      Typical Out of Class Assignments

      Reading Assignments

      1. Read and compare the two articles, “Booty Call: Sex, Violence, and Images of Black Masculinity” by Patricia Hill Collins and “Women of Color in Hip Hop: The Pornographic Gaze” M. Hunter and K. Soto. Using critical analysis, integrate into your comparison a discussion of the impact and influence of gender stratification in the world of Hip Hop. 2. Read “The Construction of the Ghetto” in American Apartheid by Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton and come prepared to class to discuss the impact of race, racism, and racial discrimination in American society.

      Writing, Problem Solving or Performance

      1. Compare and contrast two significant Hip Hop songs, one from two different generations. Explore the themes of gender, race, and/or economic justice. 2. Following guest speakers from Lower End Theory, write a reaction paper discussing the role of Hip Hop in education.

      Other (Term projects, research papers, portfolios, etc.)

      1. Research and/or interview a local, non-profit organization that utilizes Hip Hop in the social justice work [i.e., LET-C (Low End Theory Collaborative) or Auburn Hip Hop Congress]. Explore their mission statement, programs, goals, and their use of social justice in education and justice. Incorporate core themes from readings and class discussions. 2. Referencing a core historic event since the 1960s (i.e., feminist movement, civil rights movement, globalization, growth in mass incarcerations, war on drugs), write a term paper on the impact of this event on Hip Hop in the same time period. And Hip Hop's impact on this social trend.

      Required Materials

      • Unapologetically Outspoken : Hip-Hop, Social Justice and Liberation
        • Author: Solomon W F Comissiong
        • Publisher: Xlibris Corporation LLC
        • Publication Date: 2017
        • Text Edition: 1st
        • Classic Textbook?: No
        • OER Link:
        • OER:
      • Lessons Learned: Critical Conversation in Hip Hop and Social Justice
        • Author: Sunni Ali
        • Publisher: African American Images
        • Publication Date: 2020
        • Text Edition: 1st
        • Classic Textbook?: No
        • OER Link:
        • OER:
      • Let's Get Free : A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice
        • Author: Paul Butler
        • Publisher: The New Press
        • Publication Date: 2010
        • Text Edition: 1st
        • Classic Textbook?: No
        • OER Link:
        • OER:
      • That's the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader
        • Author: Foreman, ed.
        • Publisher: Routledge
        • Publication Date: 2011
        • Text Edition: 2nd
        • Classic Textbook?: No
        • OER Link:
        • OER:
      • Hip Hop Activism in the Obama Era
        • Author: Bakari Kitwana
        • Publisher: Third World Press
        • Publication Date: 2016
        • Text Edition: 1st
        • Classic Textbook?: No
        • OER Link:
        • OER:

      Other materials and-or supplies required of students that contribute to the cost of the course.