DOCSLIB.ORG

Hip Hop and Literacy in the Lives of Two Students in a Transitional English Course

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Hip Hop and Literacy in the Lives of Two Students in a Transitional English Course Running head: HIP HOP AND LITERACY 1 Hip hop and Literacy in the Lives of Two Students in a Transitional English Course A dissertation submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services Literacy and Second Language Studies University of Cincinnati Deborah M. Sánchez, M.Ed. Dr. Susan Watts-Taffe (Chair) Dr. Chester Laine (Co-chair) Dr. Carmen Kynard (Member) Dr. Gulbahar Beckett (Member) HIP HOP AND LITERACY 2 Abstract This qualitative dissertation study investigated the following research question: How does Hip hop influence the literate lives, i.e., the connections of Hip hop to readings, writings and other communicative practices, of students who placed into transitional college English courses? The impetus for the study came from the importance that Hip hop has in the lives of young people (Smitherman, 1997). The participants in this study, Dionne and Mike, were students placed into a 1st year non-credit bearing English course, also known as a transitional course (Armstrong, 2007), at a 4-year university. The study employed tools of ethnography (Heath & Street, 2008), such as interviews, classroom observations and textual analysis of students‘ language and literacy practices in spaces inside and outside of the classroom. This study is conceptually framed within cultural studies (Hicks, 2003, 2005, 2009; Nelson, Treichler, & Grossberg, 1992) and sociocultural studies (Dyson & Smitherman, 2009; Street, 2001). Data were analyzed using linguistic analysis (Alim, 2006) and textual analysis (Kellner, 2009). Findings suggest that Dionne and Mike, two students who disliked reading in the traditional sense, found rhetorical power (Hicks & Dolan, 2003) and humanistic understanding through participation in Hip hop culture. The historical moments, ideological stances, and language of Hip hop contributed to the social construction of these young people‘s literate identities. These two cases provide evidence which might add to a more robust philosophy of ―remedial‖, ―developmental‖, or transitional education, with a renewed focus on affective issues involved in literacy learning. HIP HOP AND LITERACY 3 HIP HOP AND LITERACY 4 Acknowledgments I want to thank my Mother and Father for planting the seeds of social justice and the rest of family and friends for all of their support during the years that I‘ve been working towards finishing the dissertation. A special thanks goes to my husband, Jorge; I never would have achieved this huge accomplishment without his belief in me and constant encouragement. There are many others that I want to thank who contributed their unique academic voices and critical perspectives that helped shape this document, including Drs. Eric J. Paulson, Connie Kendall, Deborah Hicks, Carmen Kynard, and Gulbahar Beckett. I want to give a special thanks to my co-chairs, Drs. Chet Laine and Susan Watts-Taffe, for their kindness, encouragement, and expert knowledge of the field. The defense of this document would not have been possible without all of the hours that both put in to reading and commenting on multiple drafts. I especially appreciate their gentle style which made the process a positive intellectual experience. Thank you to many special colleagues and friends for their kindness and friendship, especially Michelle Holley, Aaron Kerley, Laurie Bien Bauer, Dr. Deborah Kellner, Dr. Susan Bernstein, Hannah Chai, James Stallworth, Dr. Elizabeth Corbo and Dr. Sonya Armstrong. Thank you for all of the laughs, words of encouragement and engaging conversations. Thank you also to the research participants who volunteered to participate in the study, especially Dionne and Mike. HIP HOP AND LITERACY 5 Table of Contents Abstract 2 Chapter 1: Introduction Background 7 Rationale 8 Statement of the Problem 12 Significance of the Study 13 Conceptual Framework 14 Cultural Studies 14 Sociocultural Studies on Language and Literacy 16 Composition Studies 17 Social Networking Sites and Literacy 18 Definitions of Terms 20 Guiding Research Question 22 Chapter 2: Literature Review Overview 23 History of Hip hop Culture 23 African American Language (AAL) 25 Hip hop Linguistics (HHLx) 29 Hip hop Literacies 31 Research on Hip hop and Literacy 32 Hip hop Pedagogy: The Bridge Metaphor 39 History of Open Admissions 40 Research on AAL and College Literacy 42 Hypocritical Language Practices 44 Summary 47 Chapter 3: Methods Overall Research Design 48 Qualitative Data 50 Constant Comparative Perspective 50 Co-occurrences for Pattern Detection 52 Research Context 52 Research Site 52 Research Participants 53 Sampling Procedure 53 Purposeful Sampling 53 Ethnographic Tools 54 Data Content 54 Table 1: Data Content 55 HIP HOP AND LITERACY 6 Table 2: Data Sources 55 Surveys 55 Interviews 57 Semi-structured Interviews 57 Interview 1 57 Interview 2 58 Conceptual Memos 59 Writing on Facebook and Other Artifacts 60 Data Analysis 60 Textual Analysis 60 Linguistic Analysis 66 Hip hop Linguistics (HHLx) 66 Linguistic Analysis of African American Language and Literacy 67 Recursive Process 68 Reflexivity and Ethnocentricity 69 Timeline of Study 70 Chapter 4: ―We Are All Queens‖ Case One Who is Dionne? 72 Findings 75 Black Self-Pride 75 Female Self-Pride 77 AAL in the Everyday/prosaic 81 Activism in Non-Traditional Spaces 85 Hip hop as Activism 85 Christianity as Activism 89 Poetry as Activism 90 Chapter 5: ―A Call to My Soul‖ Hip hop as Cultural Practice 98 Humanistic Understanding 99 Case Two Who is Mike? 103 Findings 103 Hip hop tells a Story 103 Hip hop is Freedom 108 Hip hop is Philosophical 111 The Soul 115 Multiple and Contradictory Texts/subjectivities 122 HIP HOP AND LITERACY 7 Chapter 6: Conclusions and Implications Discussion 129 An Absence of Caring in Education 132 Sociocultural Theories of Language Learning—the Moral Link 133 References 141 Appendices 155 List of Tables and Figures Table 1 Data Content 55 Table 2 Data Sources 55 Figure 1 Screenshot from Mike‘s Facebook page 65 Figure 2 The multiple modes at work within a Facebook page 66 Appendices A. Hip hop Survey 155 B. Interview 1: Protocol 156 C. Interview 2: Protocol 157 D. Adult Consent Form for Research 158 HIP HOP AND LITERACY 8 Chapter 1: Introduction “My son, Christopher Wallace, told stories. Some of them were funny. Some of them were sad. Some of them were violent. But people listened.” Voletta Wallace, Mother of beloved and deceased rapper and Hip hop legend, Christopher “Biggie/Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace Background Why, as Voletta Wallace argued in the quote that introduced this section, did people listen to the stories that her son told? Why are urban youth so moved by the stories expressed in Hip hop music? Smitherman (1997) begins to address the answers to these questions in the following quote about Hip hop in the lives of young people: ―This music has become…the— principal medium for Black youth to ‗express their views of the world‘ and to seek to ‗create a sense of order‘ (Allen, 1996) out of the turbulence and chaos of their, and our, lives‖ (p. 5). This study focuses on the ways in which Hip hop influences the literate lives of two students, one Black and one White, who were placed into a non-credit bearing transitional English course. I am using instead the term transitional to describe the course, and the students in it, in order to move away from any pejorative connotations associated with the words, remedial or developmental. I also wish to describe students who place into these courses as people who are learning academic literacy, which is a complex process that develops over time, not a set of skills that can be mastered in a quarter or semester of ―remediation‖ (Armstrong, 2007; Sánchez & Paulson, 2008). The transition is not a single transition, from worse to better, from inferior to superior, but part of the process of discourse and genre acquisition dependent on situations and life experiences (Ivanič, 1998). This study is both timely and important because the numbers of students enrolling in ―remedial‖ English courses is growing (Boylan, 2000). In addition, although scholars have found that Hip hop plays an important role in the lives of students, and national organizations highlight the importance of connecting literacy to the self and the human HIP HOP AND LITERACY 9 experience (NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts, 1996), these goals often go by the wayside in discussions about policy, remediation and school reform (Rose, 2009a, 2010). Hip hop was created in the 1970‘s by mostly young African Americans in New York City (Smitherman, 1997) in response to the social conditions that they witnessed around them. More recently, the commercial influence of Hip hop has transcended race and influenced students from many different backgrounds (Morrell & Duncan-Andrade, 2008). Despite its origins as a black cultural art form, Chang (2005) in a historical rendering of the history of Hip hop, argues that cultural homogeneity--the idea that people from many different backgrounds can come together over a similar cultural practice--was one of the original goals of Hip hop. The goal of this research project was not to make the role of Hip hop an essential one in the lives of Black urban youth, or to assume that all Black youth live in urban settings, or that all youth who live in urban areas are Black. While keeping the above points in mind, but at the same time adopting Smitherman‘ s view that Hip hop does play an important role in the lives of many Black youth, I hoped to investigate what students did with Hip hop texts and why Hip hop was so important to them. Since I only included findings from two students in the following study, results are not generalizable.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 1. Summer Rain by Carl Thomas 2. Kiss Kiss by Chris Brown Feat T Pain 3
    1. Summer Rain By Carl Thomas 2. Kiss Kiss By Chris Brown feat T Pain 3. You Know What's Up By Donell Jones 4. I Believe By Fantasia By Rhythm and Blues 5. Pyramids (Explicit) By Frank Ocean 6. Under The Sea By The Little Mermaid 7. Do What It Do By Jamie Foxx 8. Slow Jamz By Twista feat. Kanye West And Jamie Foxx 9. Calling All Hearts By DJ Cassidy Feat. Robin Thicke & Jessie J 10. I'd Really Love To See You Tonight By England Dan & John Ford Coley 11. I Wanna Be Loved By Eric Benet 12. Where Does The Love Go By Eric Benet with Yvonne Catterfeld 13. Freek'n You By Jodeci By Rhythm and Blues 14. If You Think You're Lonely Now By K-Ci Hailey Of Jodeci 15. All The Things (Your Man Don't Do) By Joe 16. All Or Nothing By JOE By Rhythm and Blues 17. Do It Like A Dude By Jessie J 18. Make You Sweat By Keith Sweat 19. Forever, For Always, For Love By Luther Vandros 20. The Glow Of Love By Luther Vandross 21. Nobody But You By Mary J. Blige 22. I'm Going Down By Mary J Blige 23. I Like By Montell Jordan Feat. Slick Rick 24. If You Don't Know Me By Now By Patti LaBelle 25. There's A Winner In You By Patti LaBelle 26. When A Woman's Fed Up By R. Kelly 27. I Like By Shanice 28. Hot Sugar - Tamar Braxton - Rhythm and Blues3005 (clean) by Childish Gambino 29.
    [Show full text]
  • (2001) 96- 126 Gangsta Misogyny: a Content Analysis of the Portrayals of Violence Against Women in Rap Music, 1987-1993*
    Copyright © 2001 Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture All rights reserved. ISSN 1070-8286 Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture, 8(2) (2001) 96- 126 GANGSTA MISOGYNY: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE PORTRAYALS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN RAP MUSIC, 1987-1993* by Edward G. Armstrong Murray State University ABSTRACT Gangsta rap music is often identified with violent and misogynist lyric portrayals. This article presents the results of a content analysis of gangsta rap music's violent and misogynist lyrics. The gangsta rap music domain is specified and the work of thirteen artists as presented in 490 songs is examined. A main finding is that 22% of gangsta rap music songs contain violent and misogynist lyrics. A deconstructive interpretation suggests that gangsta rap music is necessarily understood within a context of patriarchal hegemony. INTRODUCTION Theresa Martinez (1997) argues that rap music is a form of oppositional culture that offers a message of resistance, empowerment, and social critique. But this cogent and lyrical exposition intentionally avoids analysis of explicitly misogynist and sexist lyrics. The present study begins where Martinez leaves off: a content analysis of gangsta rap's lyrics and a classification of its violent and misogynist messages. First, the gangsta rap music domain is specified. Next, the prevalence and seriousness of overt episodes of violent and misogynist lyrics are documented. This involves the identification of attributes and the construction of meaning through the use of crime categories. Finally, a deconstructive interpretation is offered in which gangsta rap music's violent and misogynist lyrics are explicated in terms of the symbolic encoding of gender relationships.
    [Show full text]
  • A Hip-Hop Copying Paradigm for All of Us
    Pace University DigitalCommons@Pace Pace Law Faculty Publications School of Law 2011 No Bitin’ Allowed: A Hip-Hop Copying Paradigm for All of Us Horace E. Anderson Jr. Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/lawfaculty Part of the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons, and the Intellectual Property Law Commons Recommended Citation Horace E. Anderson, Jr., No Bitin’ Allowed: A Hip-Hop Copying Paradigm for All of Us, 20 Tex. Intell. Prop. L.J. 115 (2011), http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/lawfaculty/818/. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law at DigitalCommons@Pace. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pace Law Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Pace. For more information, please contact [email protected]. No Bitin' Allowed: A Hip-Hop Copying Paradigm for All of Us Horace E. Anderson, Jr: I. History and Purpose of Copyright Act's Regulation of Copying ..................................................................................... 119 II. Impact of Technology ................................................................... 126 A. The Act of Copying and Attitudes Toward Copying ........... 126 B. Suggestions from the Literature for Bridging the Gap ......... 127 III. Potential Influence of Norms-Based Approaches to Regulation of Copying ................................................................. 129 IV. The Hip-Hop Imitation Paradigm ...............................................
    [Show full text]
  • WXYC Brings You Gems from the Treasure of UNC's Southern
    IN/AUDIBLE LETTER FROM THE EDITOR a publication of N/AUDIBLE is the irregular newsletter of WXYC – your favorite Chapel Hill radio WXYC 89.3 FM station that broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week out of the Student Union on the UNC campus. The last time this publication came out in 2002, WXYC was CB 5210 Carolina Union Icelebrating its 25th year of existence as the student-run radio station at the University of Chapel Hill, NC 27599 North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This year we celebrate another big event – our tenth anni- USA versary as the first radio station in the world to simulcast our signal over the Internet. As we celebrate this exciting event and reflect on the ingenuity of a few gifted people who took (919) 962-7768 local radio to the next level and beyond Chapel Hill, we can wonder request line: (919) 962-8989 if the future of radio is no longer in the stereo of our living rooms but on the World Wide Web. http://www.wxyc.org As always, new technology brings change that is both exciting [email protected] and scary. Local radio stations and the dedicated DJs and staffs who operate them are an integral part of vibrant local music communities, like the one we are lucky to have here in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Staff NICOLE BOGAS area. With the proliferation of music services like XM satellite radio Editor-in-Chief and Live-365 Internet radio servers, it sometimes seems like the future EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Nicole Bogas of local radio is doomed.
    [Show full text]
  • Sonic Jihadâ•Flmuslim Hip Hop in the Age of Mass Incarceration
    FIU Law Review Volume 11 Number 1 Article 15 Fall 2015 Sonic Jihad—Muslim Hip Hop in the Age of Mass Incarceration SpearIt Follow this and additional works at: https://ecollections.law.fiu.edu/lawreview Part of the Other Law Commons Online ISSN: 2643-7759 Recommended Citation SpearIt, Sonic Jihad—Muslim Hip Hop in the Age of Mass Incarceration, 11 FIU L. Rev. 201 (2015). DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.25148/lawrev.11.1.15 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by eCollections. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Law Review by an authorized editor of eCollections. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 104 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 12 - SPEARIT_FINAL_4.25.DOCX (DO NOT DELETE) 4/25/16 9:00 PM Sonic Jihad—Muslim Hip Hop in the Age of Mass Incarceration SpearIt* I. PROLOGUE Sidelines of chairs neatly divide the center field and a large stage stands erect. At its center, there is a stately podium flanked by disciplined men wearing the militaristic suits of the Fruit of Islam, a visible security squad. This is Ford Field, usually known for housing the Detroit Lions football team, but on this occasion it plays host to a different gathering and sentiment. The seats are mostly full, both on the floor and in the stands, but if you look closely, you’ll find that this audience isn’t the standard sporting fare: the men are in smart suits, the women dress equally so, in long white dresses, gloves, and headscarves.
    [Show full text]
  • NEW Dlrecmns for CORRECTIONS Creative Concepts Far Future Criminal Justice Planning
    If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. (. ,~ NEW DlRECmNS FOR CORRECTIONS Creative Concepts far Future Criminal Justice Planning ~. "Rehabilitation: What Part of Corrections?" Albuquerque, New Mexico May 2-5, 1977 Co-Sponsored by: The Division of Public Admini3tration The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico and The Institute of Urban Studies Research and Service Programs Division The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, Texas ~.~. Volume V \()~.~........ - NCJRS MAR 2 b 1079 ACQUI~iTIONS REHABILITATION: WHAT PART OF CORRECTIONS? Division of Public Artministration University of New Mexico May 2-4, 1977 Conference Convener Leonard Stit1eman, Ph.D. Editors Brenda Bradshaw Peter J. Eck Project Director Douglas W. Denton Project Advisor Isabelle Co110ra This conference is the last in a series of five held in Federal Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas). This project, NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CORRECTIONS was made possible by the Texas Criminal Justice Division and the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration on grant HDS-77-EOl-4307. NEW DIRECTIONS FOR. CORRECTIONS is administered by The Institute of Urban Studies, The University of Texas at Arlington. The views expressed by participants in this conference are their own, and should not be ascribed to The University of Texas at Arlington or the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This is the last of a five (5) volume set of conference pro­ ceedings produced as an aspect of a Law Enforcement Assistance Admini­ stration (LEAA) grant. The project goal is to enhance citizen efforts to address criminal justice issues. The conferences in this series were designed to be a dynamic research process which encouraged input by criminal justice professionals and practitioners, as ~ell as the lay plli",'i i c and ex-offenders.
    [Show full text]
  • Chandler Knows Rap
    Chandler Knows Rap 1. The speaker of a song titled for these people proclaims that he will “throw it in the gutter and go buy another” after he wrapped his car “‘round the telephone pole.” Another song titled for these people has an Eminem reference in its line “they money slim, they actin’ shady.” A song titled for this group of people features the artist shooting his friend JD after catching him trying to steal an Alpine speaker. A single titled for these people was the first release of (*) Ruthless Records. The artist of a song titled for these people raps “do it just like Nicki gon’ (go on) and bend it over / Say she never smoked I turned her to a stoner.” The chorus of a song titled for these people contains the line “don’t quote me boy, ‘cause I ain’t said shit.” A popular 2014 song titled for this group of people repeats the refrain “hol’ up.” For 10 points, what group of people which title a Wiz Khalifa song are “always hard” according to an Eazy E song? ANSWER: the boyz [accept “We Dem Boyz” or “Boyz-n-the-Hood”] 2. This EP’s title track describes the artist snorting adderall during “an episode out in Hollywood, / wilin’ out like Nick Cannon.” The artist of this mixtape analogized the breakup of his former group Kids These Days to a “C section.” It’s not by Biggie, but a song on this EP repeats the refrain “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, fuck 12,” and is about the murder of Laquan McDonald.
    [Show full text]
  • 2009 Winter Partnership
    Partnershipthe official newsletter of Islamic Relief Winter 2009 AFGHANISTAN Years of conflict, poverty and addiction have left millions of Afghans in desperate need of support to survive UDHIYAH/QURBANI The blessed days of Eid are quickly approaching; Over 2 million people helped worldwide last year Winter 2009 1 COVER Afghanistan: In Struggle and Optimism 4 Afghanistan: Striving to Rebuild and Restart Islamic Relief’s projects help more than 500,000 across Afghanistan over the last three years. 6 Afghanistan: In Focus Photo spread from Afghanistan field visit. 8 A Generation of Hope and Optimism Islamic Relief’s development program trains Afghan widows and orphans for the future. 2 Partnership FEATUre Partnership the official newsletter of Islamic Relief winter 2009 STAFF Melissa Barreto Zaid Hisham Laila Khan Mostafa Mahboob Homaira Shifa Udhiyah/Qurbani: More Than Just Meat 15 CONTRIBUTORS Islamic Relief prepares for the upcoming Udhiyah/Qurbani Saadia Abdu Saara Ahmad season. Over 2 million people benefitted last year. Azhar Azeez Daud Mohmand Christina Tobias-Nahi DEPARTMENTS ISLamIC RELIEF 6131 Orangethorpe Ave Suite 450 Field Updates Buena Park, CA 90620 Children of Mali Aim for the Stars 10 Education projects in Mali give children high hopes. (888) 479-4968 toll-free [email protected] www.irw.org Fasting with Dignity 12 Ramadan food distributions help disadvantaged Tax ID# 95-4453134 families in 23 countries worldwide. Partnership, the official newsletter of Orphan Sponsorships Finish Strong 14 Islamic Relief, is published quarterly. Ramadan orphan drive sponsors over 1,200 children. Please contact us to request additional copies for distribution, Horn of Africa In Need 18 or, if you would like to reproduce, Food crisis threatens community security.
    [Show full text]
  • 8123 Songs, 21 Days, 63.83 GB
    Page 1 of 247 Music 8123 songs, 21 days, 63.83 GB Name Artist The A Team Ed Sheeran A-List (Radio Edit) XMIXR Sisqo feat. Waka Flocka Flame A.D.I.D.A.S. (Clean Edit) Killer Mike ft Big Boi Aaroma (Bonus Version) Pru About A Girl The Academy Is... About The Money (Radio Edit) XMIXR T.I. feat. Young Thug About The Money (Remix) (Radio Edit) XMIXR T.I. feat. Young Thug, Lil Wayne & Jeezy About Us [Pop Edit] Brooke Hogan ft. Paul Wall Absolute Zero (Radio Edit) XMIXR Stone Sour Absolutely (Story Of A Girl) Ninedays Absolution Calling (Radio Edit) XMIXR Incubus Acapella Karmin Acapella Kelis Acapella (Radio Edit) XMIXR Karmin Accidentally in Love Counting Crows According To You (Top 40 Edit) Orianthi Act Right (Promo Only Clean Edit) Yo Gotti Feat. Young Jeezy & YG Act Right (Radio Edit) XMIXR Yo Gotti ft Jeezy & YG Actin Crazy (Radio Edit) XMIXR Action Bronson Actin' Up (Clean) Wale & Meek Mill f./French Montana Actin' Up (Radio Edit) XMIXR Wale & Meek Mill ft French Montana Action Man Hafdís Huld Addicted Ace Young Addicted Enrique Iglsias Addicted Saving abel Addicted Simple Plan Addicted To Bass Puretone Addicted To Pain (Radio Edit) XMIXR Alter Bridge Addicted To You (Radio Edit) XMIXR Avicii Addiction Ryan Leslie Feat. Cassie & Fabolous Music Page 2 of 247 Name Artist Addresses (Radio Edit) XMIXR T.I. Adore You (Radio Edit) XMIXR Miley Cyrus Adorn Miguel Adorn Miguel Adorn (Radio Edit) XMIXR Miguel Adorn (Remix) Miguel f./Wiz Khalifa Adorn (Remix) (Radio Edit) XMIXR Miguel ft Wiz Khalifa Adrenaline (Radio Edit) XMIXR Shinedown Adrienne Calling, The Adult Swim (Radio Edit) XMIXR DJ Spinking feat.
    [Show full text]
  • Pamela Rose Smith
    THE IMAGE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN AS PRESENTED BY AMERICAN MASS MEDIA AND POPULAR CULTURE: INTERPRETATIONS BY URBAN AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENT FEMALES REGARDING THEIR LIFE CHANCES, LIFE CHOICES, AND SELF-ESTEEM By Pamela Rose Smith A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Sociology - Doctor of Philosophy 2014 ABSTRACT THE IMAGE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN AS PRESENTED BY AMERICAN MASS MEDIA AND POPULAR CULTURE: INTERPRETATIONS BY URBAN AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENT FEMALES REGARDING THEIR LIFE CHANCES, LIFE CHOICES, AND SELF-ESTEEM By Pamela Rose Smith The aim of this study was to investigate the image of African American women in popular culture and gain an understanding of how those images are interpreted by urban African American adolescent girls (N=40) between the ages of 13-19 years old. Black magazine covers and hip-hop/rap music videos that display images of African American women were viewed by the participants. Questions were asked of the girls that explored whether popular culture media images of African American women affect the interpretation of their self-esteem, choices they make, and future chances in life. Specifically, I sought to understand: 1) Do images of African American women shown in popular culture influence the interpretation of life chances and life choices of urban African American adolescent girls, and if so, how?; and 2) Whether portrayals of African American women in popular culture influence the interpretation of the self-esteem of urban African American adolescent girls. A mixed method research process was used to gather data that represents the participants’ perspectives.
    [Show full text]
  • 6 Nice Girl Wrong Place GANG STARR FEAT. BOY BIG Virgin
    KW 25/26/2003 Plz LW WoC Title Artist Distribution PP 1 s 2 6 Nice Girl Wrong Place GANG STARR FEAT. BOY BIG Virgin/VIRGIN/EMI 1 2 s 9 10 I Can NAS Ill Will/SONY MUSIC 2 3 s 4 2 Rock Your Body JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE Jive/ZOMBA 3 4 s 11 2 Music Monks SEEED EastWest/WARNER 4 5 s 15 8 21 Questions 50 CENT FT. NATE DOGG Shady/Aftermath/UNIVERSAL 5 6 s NEW 0 Breathe BLU CANTRELL FT. SEAN PAUL Arista/BMG ARIOLA 6 7 s 8 10 Come Close (RMX) COMMON FT. E.BADU,PHARRELL&Q-TIP MCA/UNIVERSAL 7 8 t 7 8 The Hustle COMMON MCA/UNIVERSAL 7 9 s 17 2 Double Shots MOBB DEEP FT. BIG NOYD Landspeed/MUSICA 9 10 t 3 8 Saian RZA FEAT. SAIAN SUPA CREW & GHOSTFACE KILLA Virgin/VIRGIN/EMI 3 11 s 39 2 Magic Stick LIL’KIM FT. 50 CENT Atlantic/WARNER 11 12 s 21 8 Play That Beat MISSY ELLIOT Eastwest/WARNER 12 13 s NEW 0 What Happened To That Boy BABY AKA BIRDMAN FT. CLIPSE Cash Money/UNIVERSAL 13 14 s NEW 0 Konexion / Paine BUMPY KNUCKLES Rapster/BBE/SOUL SEDUC. 14 15 t 12 10 The Jump Off LIL KIM FT. MR. CHEEKS Atlantic/WARNER 12 16 s 18 8 Seed 2.0 THE ROOTS MCA/UNIVERSAL 14 17 s 30 6 Ready 2 Rock With Us RASCO FT. KUTMASTA KURT Treshold/IMPORT 17 18 s 25 8 Edie Brickell DJ VADIM Ninja Tune/ZOMBA 11 19 t 10 8 Get By TALIB KWELI Rawkus/UNIVERSAL 8 20 s NEW 0 Ya’ll Stay Up YOUNGBLOOD BRASS BAND Ozone Music/n.a.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evolution of Commercial Rap Music Maurice L
    Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2011 A Historical Analysis: The Evolution of Commercial Rap Music Maurice L. Johnson II Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS: THE EVOLUTION OF COMMERCIAL RAP MUSIC By MAURICE L. JOHNSON II A Thesis submitted to the Department of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Degree Awarded: Summer Semester 2011 The members of the committee approve the thesis of Maurice L. Johnson II, defended on April 7, 2011. _____________________________ Jonathan Adams Thesis Committee Chair _____________________________ Gary Heald Committee Member _____________________________ Stephen McDowell Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members. ii I dedicated this to the collective loving memory of Marlena Curry-Gatewood, Dr. Milton Howard Johnson and Rashad Kendrick Williams. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the individuals, both in the physical and the spiritual realms, whom have assisted and encouraged me in the completion of my thesis. During the process, I faced numerous challenges from the narrowing of content and focus on the subject at hand, to seemingly unjust legal and administrative circumstances. Dr. Jonathan Adams, whose gracious support, interest, and tutelage, and knowledge in the fields of both music and communications studies, are greatly appreciated. Dr. Gary Heald encouraged me to complete my thesis as the foundation for future doctoral studies, and dissertation research.
    [Show full text]