Hip-Hop: A Cultural History

Overview

The term hip-hop encompasses not only a musical genre but also a culture, based initially in New York, that incorporated DJ-ing, MC-ing, breaking and graffiti. DJs developed 'turntablist' techniques involving two turntables and a mixer but these were superseded and, indeed, revolutionised by the advent of digital sampling techniques in the 1980s. In the meantime, MC-ing or rapping developed – the speaking or chanting of highly rhythmic lyrics, which became elevated to new levels of poetic sophistication during the genre's so-called 'golden age' in the late-1980s. 

This day school will chart the cultural history of hip-hop from its origins in 70’s New York and the explosion of hip-hop innovation in New York’s Black suburbs of the late-1980s, paying close attention to New York’s post-Civil Rights history of race, class and geography. It will expand outwards to explore the genre's regionalisation from the 1990s, ultimately exploring its profound and extended influence on Black popular music in the UK.

Please note: this event will close to enrolments at 23:59 UTC on 5 March 2025.

Programme details

9.45am:
Registration at Rewley House reception (for in-person attendees)

10am:
'The Bronx is on fire!': hip-hop, radical imagining, and New York's urban crisis

11.15am:
Tea/coffee break

11.45am:
'Strong Island': the golden age and post-Civil Rights Black suburbia

1pm:
Lunch break

2pm:
All across the map: regionalisation of hip-hop in the 1990s and 2000s

3.15pm:
Tea/coffee break

3.45pm:
Hip-hop and beyond in the Black Atlantic: the sounds of the UK

5pm:
End of day

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee - in-person attendance (includes tea/coffee) £120.00
Course Fee - virtual attendance £110.00
Baguette Lunch £7.30
Hot Lunch £19.25

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit or are a full-time student in the UK you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees.

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr James McNally

James McNally is currently the Nasir Jones Fellow in Hip-Hop studies at Harvard University. He was, previously, Marie Curie Research Fellow at University College Cork, and he has taught across courses related to the social and cultural histories of music, race and cities at the University of East London and the University of Bristol. His scholarly writing appears in Journal of the Society for American Music, Global Hip-Hop Studies, Journal of Popular Music Studies, and Visual Culture in Britain. His first book, based on his PhD research, will be Future Shock London: A Cultural History of Hip-Hop and the Capital, 1982-85.

Application

Please use the 'Book' button on this page. Alternatively, please contact us to obtain an application form.

Accommodation

Accommodation is not included in the price, but if you wish to stay with us the night before the course, then please contact our Residential Centre.

Accommodation in Rewley House - all bedrooms are modern, comfortably furnished and each room has tea and coffee making facilities, Freeview television, and Free WiFi and private bath or shower rooms. Please contact our Residential Centre on +44 (0) 1865 270362 or email res-ctr@conted.ox.ac.uk for details of availability and discounted prices. For more information, please see our website: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/accommodation

IT requirements

For those joining us online

We will be using Zoom for the livestreaming of this event. If you’re attending online, you’ll be able to see and hear the speakers, and to submit questions via the Zoom interface. Joining instructions will be sent out prior to the start date. We recommend that you join the session at least 10-15 minutes prior to the start time – just as you might arrive a bit early at our lecture theatre for an in-person event.

Please note that this course will not be recorded.