ENG573: Beats, Rhymes and Narrative

Hip-hop music's influence on popular culture, literature, entertainment and politics is undeniable. This course will examine the relationship between hip-hop and storytelling. Course texts will consist of weekly listening sessions, scholarly articles on hiphop theory and definitive text on hip-hop culture. We will listen to selected songs by a diverse array of artists and analyze their structures and traditional literary elements. A section of the course will be devoted to the study of a chosen album. Class discussions will examine hip-hop as a modern-day social justice tool and a narrative genre that explores gender, race, spirituality, class and resistance. Writing assignments will consist of original rap songs, which include recordings, and a final epistolary project.