Prep

• H. Samy Alim, ‘“Bring It to the Cypher”: Hip-Hop Nation Language’, in Forman and Neal (2012). This is not a perfect reading, by any means: it’s long, it’s a bit pedantic, and the author makes a number of what I consider to be dubious claims. But again, I find it useful to engage with provocative texts. It’s okay to read something and think, ‘I don’t think this holds together very well, even if I can’t quite put my finger on it just yet’. Also, the most provocative claims have to do with language, and it’s high time we start thinking about how the language of hip-hop can help or hinder us as we try to employ language in other contexts — academic writing, for instance.

Asynchronous Work

1. Work on your midterm essay exam. MAKE SURE YOU’VE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY AND FOLLOWED THEM TO THE LETTER!!!

For Next Time

• Lennie Irvin, ‘What Is “Academic” Writing?’, in Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing (Parlor Press)