This course offers a concentrated focus on several popular music genres in the African American secular tradition. Using a substantial range of readings, the class explores the influences of hip hop and jazz on American history, popular culture, music, literature, and visual art. Class discussions examine hip hop representations of race, gender, sexuality, and class. Students read literary works, study the work of well-known jazz lyricists, and closely examine the raps and rhythms of significant hip hop lyricists. The class also screens films and studies soundtracks that feature interviews, documentaries, and Hollywood representations of jazz and hip hop music.
