On any given day, the tell-tale sounds of hip-hop tunes can be heard seeping through the walls of the dorms. In essence, the campus is constantly celebrating hip-hop. But over the past few days, the University officially recognized the Program in African and African American Studies’ Hip-Hop Appreciation Week.
Mark Anthony Neal, associate professor of African and African American Studies, and junior Brandon Hudson organized many of the events that stretched over the course of this project, which was open to the public. From movies to guest panels to “Hip-Hop Jeopardy,” hip-hop culture became the subject of several scholarly discussions on campus.
“It offers students the opportunity to learn more about hip-hop as a culture [and how] it pertains to the academy,” said Hudson, who coordinated three of the events this week.
On Monday, Associate Professor of Literature Grant Farred took part in a discussion with film director Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi after the screening of Inventos, a film about hip-hop in Cuba. “It was a provocative and productive experience,” said Farred, who taught “Introduction to the Cultural History of Hip-Hop” last year. He also noted that different members of the community were engaged in the prospect of discussing hip-hop as it pertains to Duke, since it has always been a part of American popular culture. “[It was] an opportunity to discuss [hip-hop] in structured form,” he said.
For participating professors and students, this week brought classroom discussions closer to the Duke and Durham communities.
Neal said he arrived in the fall with the intention of bringing hip-hop studies to Duke. The two current hip-hop classes offer “a great way to let the campus know that there are hip-hop scholars here so that they can look forward to hip-hop appreciation courses here at Duke,” he said. His special studies class, “Hip-Hop Aesthetics,” includes students of all races who range from freshmen to seniors. “[The class] looks at the music as a social, political and cultural movement,” Neal said. “Besides looking at individual artists and styles of music, [we] look at how hip-hop affects American society in the broader sense of the word.”
Hudson, who is a student in Neal’s class, explained that for adolescents, hip-hop has been an influential force over the last two decades. “People often times look at it as music, but if you look at graffiti and break-dancing as well, you really get to see how it serves as a prominent expression of youth,” he said. “We really cover the whole spectrum in terms of what hip-hop means in society.”
After spending a summer in Ghana researching the hip-hop influence there, Hudson is excited by the efforts being made here on campus. “I’m glad to be at the University at the time when this is getting off the ground, and I look forward to more things to happen,” he said.
Although advance publicity was slim for Hip-Hop Appreciation Week, Neal said the turnout at the events has been “pretty good.”
The final event will be a book party and panel discussion to be held in the Nelson Music Room today at 3 p.m.
“[It] is a panel discussion with myself and Murray Forman from Northeastern , and we’ve collaborated on a book called That’s the Joint,” Neal said. “We’re going to talk about the future of hip-hop studies on the American campus and why it's important that it should be taught and the implications it will have on higher education.”
Perhaps with the new academic approach to understanding hip-hop culture, students may learn a little more than how to drop it like it’s hot.
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