Kanye West and Ice Cube aren’t traditionally looked at as literary figures, but one OU class has dedicated itself to analyzing hip-hop as a literary genre.
Students in Hip Hop as Poetry, Literature and Culture Expression study hip-hop’s and urban life’s histories, analyze albums from artists like Tupac and Arrested Development and participate in their own freestyle battles.
Saul Martinez, professional writing senior, said students should learn about their own generation as much as they would ones before it and the class is a good way of doing that.
“It’s really important because it’s [hip-hop] been more exposed to our generation than the previous ones,” he said. “It has influenced our culture like rock and roll did in the ’70s.”
But the class, which addresses issues like sexism and racism, sometimes brings more about arguments than most classes.
“We talk about controversial things so it’s not surprising people get upset about it,” said Cole Ford, political science and English sophomore. “I’ve seen heated discussions, especially when it comes to racism.”
But Martinez said controversies aren’t explored enough in college and this class has brought to light issues students wouldn’t normally think about or discuss with other students.
“Racism is such a taboo subject that I feel we don’t discuss it a lot, but we are in a college environment so we need to discuss it more,” he said. “It gets you out of what you’re familiar with and makes you think about what other people and other cultures go through.”
Catherine John, English professor, said she teaches the class because hip-hop is a unique way of delving into broad social issues.
“The controversy in hip-hop is useful because it allows us to examine social and political issues in a really serious way if we choose to,” she said.
John said she introduced the class to the English department because hip-hop is something that has affected her own life.
“I think of myself as a product of the early hip-hop generation,” she said. “A part of me feels connected to the kind of spirit and vibe of the culture.”
John said she had wanted to teach a hip-hop analysis class for a while before she introduced it and said it has only become more of an influential art form.
“Over the last 20 years, hip-hop has exploded. It has not just become a marginal form of rap music that a few people listen to,” she said. “There are people all over the world who are now fusing hip-hop with the cultural expression of their own countries,” she said.
John’s class also requires students to memorize pieces from the course and write their own poetry.
The class will be offered during summer intersession this June for the first time and counts as a general artistic forms class or major credit for English majors.
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JJanowiak 3 years, 1 month ago
This class sounds about as integral to a well-rounded educatino as Understanding Dance. Rap is good, rap is nice, but rap is not... literature. If rappers were writing books, then it'd be called literature, but from what I've seen, most of them can't write.
Flips88 3 years, 1 month ago
Yes, much of mainstream rap is idiotic. I think anyone will concede that point. However, there is a vast number of hip hop artists that do have lyrics that are exceptional and poetic. I would include Tupac, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Saul Williams, Common, Nas, and others as worthy of study or at least contributing to the national culture in a worthwhile way.
commentgirl 3 years, 1 month ago
JJanowiak: I think you're operating under the traditional idea of the literary canon being the only valuable "literature." But, I guarantee you that your daily life is impacted more by popular culture, including the forms you have no respect for (like rappers who apparently "can't write," based on...what...your personal interaction with them?) than it is by Jane Eyre or Moby Dick. Also, do you think lyrics don't ever get written down before they're sung? If you listen to a book on tape, would that not count as literature anymore because it's aural and not visual? Step outside the box and expand your notion of what can be valued as literature in our society. Instead of knocking the class because you don't agree with it, how about you just not enroll in it and let other people enjoy it, while you're getting your otherwise "well-rounded" education that teaches you that others' cultures don't contribute to learning.