Black Studies, Rap, and the Academy

by Houston A. Baker, Jr.

Overview

In this explosive book, Houston Baker takes stock of the current state of Black Studies in the university and outlines its responsibilities to the newest form of black urban expression—rap. A frank, polemical essay, Black Studies, Rap, and the Academy is an uninhibited defense of Black Studies and an extended commentary on the importance of rap. Written in the midst of the political correctness wars and in the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots, Baker's meditation on the academy and black urban expression has generated much controversy and comment from both ends of the political spectrum.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226035208
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	06/15/1993
Series:	Black Literature and Culture
Edition description:	1
Pages:	117
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Houston A. Baker is Distinguished University Professor and a professor of English at Vanderbilt University. He has been awarded fellowships by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities and has been a resident fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and the National Humanities Center. He has served as president of the Modern Language Association and as editor of the journal American Literature.

Table of Contents

Preface
1: Black Studies: A New Story
2: The Black Urban Bear: Rap and the Law
3: Expert Witnesses and the Case of Rap
4: Hybridity, Rap, and Pedagogy for the 1990s: A Black Studies Sounding of Form
Afterword
Index