As a predominantly American phenomenon, hip hop culture has been attracting the attention of journalists and the media for some time now. And while theoretical analyses of hip-hop within various fields -- including (ethno)musicology, sociology, and race and gender studies--are legion, the systematic study of hip hop language within established sociolinguistic paradigms, and the challenges it poses for their adequacy as well as its potential to lead to the emergence of new paradigms, have only recently begun to be explored by linguists. Adding to the complexity of this phenomenon are global aspects of hip hop culture: more than the domain of Black America, hip hop has been spreading across national, ethnic and linguistic boundaries, quickly turning into an important vehicle, and primary research area, for globalization.
During this one-day workshop, eight specialists from universities across the US and Canada and ten UIUC faculty and graduate students will be coming together to explore different aspects of the interface between language and hip hop culture. Ultimately, our aim is to forge bridges between lay and academic perceptions of local and global cultural phenomena, bringing academics out of their 'ivory towers' and raising widely debated issues such as the potential and need for linguistic activism.