CFP: Its Bigger Than the Government: Literature, Politics and Pedagogy in the Age of Hip Hop

Its Bigger Than the Government: Literature, Politics and Pedagogy in the Age of Hip Hop

Call for Papers Date: 2009-08-07

This call for papers seeks social scientists with a special interest in political scientists, sociologists and interdisciplinary scholars. This project seeks to assess hip-hop culture’s impact on contemporary American politics and political participation. In addition the project will assess the pedagogical implications of hip hop studies, how and why the culture has revived early twentieth century debates on African American political culture and its impact on the framing of resistant political identities nationally and globally. Additional topics that would be of interest include hip hop culture and rap music’s impact on identity formation with regard to gender (though there have been some book-length studies published in this area recently) and/or race, ethnicity, geography in the era of globalization, as well as hip hop’s function within contemporary African American religion and spirituality. There is also a desire to analyze themes within hip hop political discourse such as discussions of the Southern region and critiques of societal institutions.

Veronica Womack
Georgia College & State University
CBX 018
Milledgeville GA 31061
Email: veronica.womack@gcsu.edu

Meeting Cornel West and Notes on His Speech

I was fortunate enough to speak at a symposium where Cornel West was the keynote speaker. At a book signing, I had a brief moment to chat with him and the experience was incredible. I’ve never felt more thoroughly embraced by another scholar. Dr. West was engaging, eloquent, and accepting. He gave a talk to hundreds where he spoke for an hour and a half without so much as one sheet of notes. He tied together issues of hip-hop, evolution, President Obama’s election, and ideas of christian love.

West demonstrated not only the characteristics of a well-rounded humyn being and an excellent scholar, but also that of a great speaker. What scholars try to do at conferences and the like is to sound as intelligent as they write. That rarely happens. It is difficult to vocalize, in a coherent manner, the often complex ideas we trap on paper. To speak to a crowd made up of students, professors and community members alike, adds difficulty to the task.

It is relatively easy to talk to scholars about postmodernism, natural law, racial stereotypes, etc. But it is profoundly more difficult to do that with the community when one’s thoughts are tightly wrapped in the language of the academy. Dr. West was both scholarly and personable. He present his ideas using the diction and tone of a learned man, but was able to connect with the diverse audience all the same. Many have proclaimed that Dr. West is the most prominent public intellectual of our generation and it is not difficult to see why.

I was even more convinced that it was necessary at all costs to be personable to desire the connection that makes our writing and speaking actionable. All the talk in the world means little if people are unable or unwilling to act on it. West clearly desires enabling listeners. He recognizes the connection between scholarship and activism. He knows that people solve problems. It is no coincidence that both words start with “p.”

We should all take these lessons to heart. Sound speaking leads to sound advocacy. Sound advocacy is enforced by a sound connection amongst people. Perhaps that is why Dr. West is indeed one of the most important intellectuals of our time. He understands his responsibility to the community. He simply gets it.

The Evolution of Street Knowledge: Hip Hop’s Influence on Law and Culture

The West Virginia University College of Law proudly presents a progressive exploration into the real and burgeoning impact that hip hop music and culture is having on U.S. law and on global culture. The Sports and Entertainment Law Society, together with the West Virginia University Festival of Ideas, the WVU Center for Black Culture and Research, the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, the WVU Office of Social Justice, the WVU Black Law Student Association and Wolters Kluwer/Aspen Publishers join with the College of Law in assembling and presenting one of the most accomplished and diverse groups of academics and thinkers ever assembled to debate the profound global impact that hip hop culture is demonstrating for both good and ill. We are proud to present: The Evolution of Street Knowledge: Hip Hop’s Influence on Law and Culture. Keynote addresses for this event will be provided by Cornel West and Talib Kweli. We invite you to join us on February 12th and 13th, 2009, in beautiful Morgantown, WV, in the Marlyn E. Lugar Courtroom on the campus of the West Virginia University Law Center. We look forward to providing and stimulating, insightful, forward-looking discussion and debate.

If you need information or have questions or comments about the conference, please feel free to contact one of the conference organizers at West Virginia University:

Conference Chairperson:
andré douglas pond cummings
Professor of Law
West Virginia University College of Law

Conference Directors:
Bethany Swaton
Symposium Director
President, Sports and Entertainment Law Society
3L, West Virginia University College of Law

Robert Dixon
Executive Vice-President, Sports and Entertainment Law Society
3L, West Virginia University College of Law

Review: Soul Plane

I sat down and watched Soul Plane this weekend.  It was a horrible movie that tried too hard to criticize stereotypes.  The movie came off more as a mockery of itself than of the pervasive stereotypes directed at Black and White people.  I did not expect Snoop Dogg to be a great actor, nor did I expect Method Man to shine, but I thought the movie could have been funnier.  I ended up laughing at myself for watching the movie more that at the movie. 

Out of five stars, I would give this movie one.