Blacksmythe

Since political scientists have been able to count, researchers have been interested in the types of historic changes that lead to shifts in partisanship in the electorate. More recently there have been questions about the degree to which the Latino vote is up for play. In “Earthquakes and Aftershocks: Race, Direct Democracy, and Partisan Change” a trio of researchers argue that explicit racial appeals like the ones used in California in the mid nineties may have the opposite effect of what was intended by Republican Party elites: (more…)

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In short, yes.

Nick Winter recently published a paper in The American Journal of Political Science arguing that social security was in effect racialized in the exact opposite way as Affirmative Action had been racialized: (more…)

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Political scientists like myself have surveys on the determinants of black political ideology, on political participation, on sexual attitudes. But examining the cultural politics literature, it appears as if no one has sought to apply the various things we’ve learned about survey research to the realm of cultural politics.

Should hip-hop be thought of as an American art form, or as an African American art form specifically? Do MCs have a duty to talk about the problems of poverty and racism in their lyrics? Are the best female MCs equal to or better than their male counterparts? Survey research is uniquely suited to not only assess the degree to which youth hold these attitudes, it is uniquely suited to ferret out potential determinants of these attitudes.
I’ve got a number of ideas about why these methods haven’t taken hold within American Culture Studies. ACS is largely dominated by the humanities and is much more of a theoretical enterprise. As such there is a tendency to shy away from econometric approaches to human life. But there are some questions that are uniquely suited to be answered using traditional social science tools. I suspect there exists an entire clan of us–folks trained in the social sciences who are dying to apply our skills to ACS questions. Could be hip-hop that drags ACS kicking and screaming into the new millenium.I’ve added a new blog to my blogroll. Democracy and Hip-Hop represents an attempt to add some theoretical heft to many of the discussions currently blazing hip-hop blogs. Check it out (JEREMY YOU’D LIKE THIS) if you get a chance.

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Within the subculture literature a number of scholars have talked about the virtual absence of women. Looking at the works that attempted to analyse the punk movement in Great Britain for example, it is almost as if girls weren’t present. No girls at the clubs, no girls in the bands, no girls in the “gangs”, no girls to even fight over/sing to/make out with. We see a similar deal in hip-hop. Of course the women are there–you can’t shoot a video these days without scantily clad women. But where are the female producers? The female breakers? The female djs (besides Spinderella)? Reading the central works of hip-hop one would think that women are sexual objects and little to nothing else. (more…)

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In the article “Keepin’ It Real–Black Youth, Hip-Hop Culture, and Black Identity” author Andreana Clay expands on the concept of “cultural capital” elucidated by Bourdieu by analyzing how black youth use hip-hop to authenticate their identities.

Clay has this to say about “cultural capital:”

“Cultural capital is used to position people in a particular status hierarchy among their peers. Furthermore, it acts as a criterion for setting up boundaries and determining who is legitimate or authentic in a setting, excluding those that lack legitimacy.” (p. 1349)

(more…)

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