Papers of the 2012 Tupac Amaru Shakur
Teaching Tupac Shakur through the Disciplinary Lens of Communication Carlos D. Morrison, Ph.D. Professor of Communications, Department of Communications Alabama State University 334-229-8802 (o), 478-542-4873 (c) After more than three decades, hip hop culture, and rap music specifically, continues to sustain a place of importance in society both on a national and international level. The music and the culture have influenced our notion of language, dress, and art throughout the world. Moreover, the culture has created its own music (Political and Gangsta Rap, “Crunk Music,”), language (“fresh,” “dope,” and “beef”), dress (“Hard Core,” “New Jack,” or “Fly Girl”) and art (graffiti). As a result of this type of influence on society and in particular, young people, scholars from a variety of academic disciplines such as sociology, history, cultural studies, political science, anthropology, and communication have put a critical lens to hip hop culture in an effort to understand its affect on today’s youth. Professors at various colleges and universities are not only teaching courses on hip hop culture, but more specifically are focusing their efforts on certain rap music artist. Cultural critic Michael Eric Dyson teaches a course on Jaye-Z at Georgetown University. However, one particular artist that has, in recent years, garnered attention from academicians is the late Tupac Amur Shakur. Ivey League universities, such as Harvard, have a Tupac Shakur course and the University of Wisconsin has a course that focuses on Shakur’s lyrics as literature. Yet, the questions become: Why teach a course on Tupac Shakur? What does a course on Tupac Shakur look like? Moreover, for the purpose of my discussion: What does a course on Shakur look like from a rhetorical perspective? This paper will outline a course on Tupac Shakur.
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