How do history and Hip Hop connect? This course explores that question through a study of how the historical and contemporary societal factors that shaped the growth and evolution of Hip Hop in the U.S. informed and were informed by individual and group racial, class, and gender identities. The course begins with a look at the 1970s boroughs of New York City, where Hip Hop emerged, and then journeys across New York City and the United States, exploring how the beats and breaks of the Bronx evolved into both an artistic genre as well as a political and cultural movement. We will study 1) the complex networks of social structures in the 1970's Bronx that enabled the emergence of Hip Hop within dynamics of power, privilege, oppression, and opportunity; 2) the 1980's growth of the genre through the commercialization of rap; 3) the early 21st century uses of Hip Hop as a vehicle for political organizing, education, community outreach, and entrepreneurialism in cities across the U.S.; 4) the challenge of balancing the political potential of Hip Hop against the commercial context of popular arts; and 5) the harnessing of Hip Hop as a vehicle for personal uplift and empowerment alongside actions for social justice.This course was previously HIS-243554 Hip-Hop America: The Evolution of a Cultural Movement.