This course will survey the emerging field of Hip-Hop studies. As a novel and increasingly influential artistic and cultural movement both domestically and internationally, Hip Hop has been shaped and has come to shape our collective culture. The course starts with a history of the genre, including its predecessors and component parts: DJing, MCing, breakdancing, and graffiti from its humble beginnings to its current status as a major cultural and artistic force. From there, we will trace the evolution of the subculture, and how its ascendancy served to transform it. Students will gain familiarity with the major contributors to the history of hip hop, as well as to the burgeoning scholarship around it. This will involve considerations of class, racialization, gender, sexuality, oppression, censorship, and the politics of art in the United States and abroad. [Tracks C, M]