Midterm

Today is the midterm. I think I'll have students post it here with all the attachments. Your grade with narrative will be given to you separately. Post your planning sheet, outline and essay here. You can give me the notes and Tupac related assignments. Please include a works cited page and a bibliography with Dyson, Tupac Shakur, and one other scholarly source.

There was a rumble when I shared this request with students, so for students who finish their essays by 12 noon, and copy them onto my disk. I can post them on the blog.

I forgot Blood Beats at home. Please come my my office Monday, October 29, 9:10-11 a.m. to pick up a copy. Call me if you need to get it later on that day. I am on campus until 3 p.m. Hardy's book is one you can skip around in until you land on an article that appeals to you. I really like the bonus disc (180-215) and the Outro (217-218)and Coming Attractions. I also like the articles: "i, too sing hollywood," "god made them phunky," "les nubians," "too deep."

If anyone has any of the music or films he reviews and wants to bring them in to share excerpts or clips, that would be great.

Homework is to read Hardy up to page 12 and one other article and be prepared to talk about the article: it's topic, style, tone and whether or not you agree with Hardy's argument. Write a response to Hardy. We'll call these responses: Letters to Ernest Hardy. Number them. Students will post them on the blog in a section devoted to theses letters and responses to each other's letters over the course of the book. I think we'll do the same for Evolution of a Revolutionary.

Research Assignment
Tuesday we will talk specifically about the research essay and I will share examples of student projects and also show you a couple of films on Social Entreprenuers. They are not all artists; however, your assignment is to find an artist who is using his or her craft for social change.

A second topic could be to do a literature survey of a contemporary of Tupac. A third topic could be a research essay on the history of hip hop within the context of African musical forms. A fourth could look at hip hop culture as a movement and focus on the work of key figures in this movement. A final topic could be to explore one or more of the four elements of the genre.

Original topics are also welcome, as long as it fits within the themes we've been exploring this semester and it is an analysis of the literature or art produced: hip hop culture, Tupac Shakur, Black Revolutionary Movements....