“Show and Prove: The Tensions, Contradictions, and Possibilities of Hip Hop Scholarship in Practice”: New Work in Hip Hop Studies

“Show and Prove: The Tensions, Contradictions, and Possibilities of Hip Hop Scholarship in Practice”: A Symposium Featuring New Work in Hip Hop Studies

Call for Proposals Due May 21, 2010
Please submit a 200 word abstract and relevant contact information to ikj200@nyu.edu

New York University
Performance Studies Department
721 Broadway, 6th Fl. New York, NY
September 18-19, 2010

In Hip Hop performance communities, the “show and prove” attitude privileges action over words or the demonstration of skills over merely talking about them. “Show and prove” can also be an indirect critique of academics whose roles, in the simplest of terms, are to write on the actions of others. But with a growing number of practitioner-scholars and generations of those raised on Hip Hop taking classes, writing, and publishing work on the culture, today’s Hip Hop scholars feel as accountable to the academy as they feel to their own Hip Hop communities, seeking to give back in meaningful ways through their work. From negotiating the academy alongside varied Hip Hop audiences, these scholars must show and prove themselves in ways that may be conflicting or contradictory. At the same time, they struggle against the trappings of academic institutions that have historically objectified and even exploited such communities rather than recognizing them as active subjects in co
llaborative projects.

This symposium centers recent or unpublished work on Hip Hop by this new generation of scholars. It will be a forum for students of Hip Hop—whether in the classroom, the studio, the stage, or the streets—to exchange ideas, share their research, and ultimately contribute to an ever expanding body of work on Hip Hop. As a result, the symposium will showcase the current direction of the still-forming field of Hip Hop Studies. A select number of accepted papers will be included in a half-day, small group workshop on Sunday, September 19. This workshop will be an opportunity for presenters to get direct feedback on specific aspects of their projects from an invited scholar in the field.

Key Words:
Aesthetics of dance and visual art
Theory from cultural practice
Methodologies/ “Hiphopography”
Dance/ visual art/ theater/ music and education
Hip Hop as pedagogy
The complexities of commodification
Commercialization, Media, and Globalization
Hip Hop and community impact/activism
Is it Hip Hop?—e.g. graffiti art, “street jazz”, jerking, etc.
Racial and gender constructions/tensions
Gender and sexual identities in Hip Hop
Hip Hop and political possibilities
Shifting commitments of Hip Hop scholarship over time

Imani Kai Johnson, Ph.D.
Academic Diversity Post-Doctoral Fellow
Department of Performance Studies
Tisch School of the Arts, New York University
O: 212.992.8418
E: ikj200@nyu.eduNew York University
Performance Studies Department
721 Broadway, 6th Fl. New York, NY
September 18-19, 2010

In Hip Hop performance communities, the “show and prove” attitude privileges action over words or the demonstration of skills over merely talking about them. “Show and prove” can also be an indirect critique of academics whose roles, in the simplest of terms, are to write on the actions of others. But with a growing number of practitioner-scholars and generations of those raised on Hip Hop taking classes, writing, and publishing work on the culture, today’s Hip Hop scholars feel as accountable to the academy as they feel to their own Hip Hop communities, seeking to give back in meaningful ways through their work. From negotiating the academy alongside varied Hip Hop audiences, these scholars must show and prove themselves in ways that may be conflicting or contradictory. At the same time, they struggle against the trappings of academic institutions that have historically objectified and even exploited such communities rather than recognizing them as active subjects in co
llaborative projects.

This symposium centers recent or unpublished work on Hip Hop by this new generation of scholars. It will be a forum for students of Hip Hop—whether in the classroom, the studio, the stage, or the streets—to exchange ideas, share their research, and ultimately contribute to an ever expanding body of work on Hip Hop. As a result, the symposium will showcase the current direction of the still-forming field of Hip Hop Studies. A select number of accepted papers will be included in a half-day, small group workshop on Sunday, September 19. This workshop will be an opportunity for presenters to get direct feedback on specific aspects of their projects from an invited scholar in the field.

Key Words:
Aesthetics of dance and visual art
Theory from cultural practice
Methodologies/ “Hiphopography”
Dance/ visual art/ theater/ music and education
Hip Hop as pedagogy
The complexities of commodification
Commercialization, Media, and Globalization
Hip Hop and community impact/activism
Is it Hip Hop?—e.g. graffiti art, “street jazz”, jerking, etc.
Racial and gender constructions/tensions
Gender and sexual identities in Hip Hop
Hip Hop and political possibilities
Shifting commitments of Hip Hop scholarship over time

Imani Kai Johnson, Ph.D.
Academic Diversity Post-Doctoral Fellow
Department of Performance Studies
Tisch School of the Arts, New York University
O: 212.992.8418
E: ikj200@nyu.edu