Holla If Ya Hear Me Though: Cultivating Classroom Space(s) for Hip-Hop Feminism and Women Students of Color

• In Event: A Space of Our Own: Transforming Education, Innovating Pedagogy, and Upgrading Literacy With Black and Brown Girls in Mind

Abstract

This paper explores the dynamics (interpersonal and curriculum-oriented) of a predominantly Black female space created within the context of a ‘Hip-hop Feminisms’ course taught at a rural predominantly white institution. Hybrid in nature, this conceptual/theoretical piece relies on pedagogical reflection, feminist critique, and student work (produced during/in the course) to engage questions of community, (traditional) Black feminist thought versus Hip-hop feminism, and the process of knowledge production within a majority female/majority Black female course.
Focusing on the creative projects presented at the end of the course (in place of a final exam) this paper demonstrates the relationship between course materials, individual students, and the class community. This study highlights the range of projects, using them as interpretive artifacts- in particular, the ways in which Black and Brown female students used these projects to blur, reject and negotiate boundaries in terms of gender identity, sexuality/ies, engagement with elements of hip-hop culture, racial awareness, and feminism. At the heart of this research project is the educational imperative for a Black feminist, hip-hop educational praxis that expands the notion of ‘agency’ for Black and Brown female students (in their campus and home communities) across a variety of experiences, beliefs, and desires.

Author

• Stephanie Troutman, Appalachian State University