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CCOG for MUS 216 archive revision 201802

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Effective Term:
Spring 2018 through Fall 2020
Course Number:
MUS 216
Course Title:
Introduction to the History of Hip Hop Music
Credit Hours:
4
Lecture Hours:
40
Lecture/Lab Hours:
0
Lab Hours:
0

Course Description

Introduces the music of hip hop through a historical and cultural survey of its history. Covers pre-hip hop influences, the development of the art, its eventual popularity, and contemporary artists and trends. Traces the cultural and societal impacts and connections of the music. Includes an examination of production and musical practices of the style. Audit available.

Intended Outcomes for the course

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

  • Describe the richness and diversity of influences found in the music of hip hop.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of American culture and society through the music.
  • Identify common traits such as rhythmic devices, text, harmonic/melodic patterns, and production styles found in the different genres of hip hop music.
  • Identify the influence of hip hop musical elements in the music of the dominant culture.

Integrative Learning

Students completing an associate degree at Portland Community College will be able to reflect on one’s work or competencies to make connections between course content and lived experience.

Course Activities and Design

Historical and stylistic survey of the music of Hip Hop from it’s formation in the South Bronx in the 1970s, emergence into U.S. and global popular culture in the 1980s and 1990s, and up to the present day. Focus on U.S. artists from the East and West Coasts, and the South. Study of the history, culture, and aesthetics of Hip Hop music serves to illuminate issues of power, politics, and race in U.S. culture of the last 40 years.

Outcome Assessment Strategies

Qualitative/Quantitative examination including historical/cultural perspectives

Listening examination

Research papers and/or presentations

Class discussions that involve looking at current events through the student's understanding of hip hop culture

Course Content (Themes, Concepts, Issues and Skills)

Out of the ashes: development of Hip Hop culture in New York City

From Genre-less to New Genre: Rap music’s beginnings

Uptown/Downtown: exploitation of hip hop arts in commercial enterprise

The Golden Age of Hip Hop Sampling: creativity collides with litigation

Gangsta Rap’s political edge and cultural hustle

Black Nationalism and the fight for minds

G-funk and the ascendancy of bling in the 1990s

The Rise of the South

Female MCs in “a Man’s World”

Cultural capital: rap appropriations of Jazz

The Roots and the legitimation of Live Band Hip Hop

J Dilla and Neo Soul: in a brand new groove

Tripwires: Underground and mainstream hip hop in the New Millennium

Contemporary contestations: the music and meaning of Hip Hop in the 2010s