Doing Diss. Differently: Black Aesthetics, Hip-Hop Scholarship, and the Dissertation

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Presenters will share their journeys through the dissertation creation process using arts based methods including Afro-futuristic fiction, spoken word poetry, rap, and complementary artistic dissertation construction formats. The dissertation formats explored in this session include a spoken word poetry collection, a fiction novel, and a hip hop album.

The primary objective of this session is to provide graduate students with resources and exemplars of how to use black aesthetics and hip hop culture to inform the structure and formats of the dissertation project. Additionally, a secondary objective of this session is to offer dissertation chairs and supporting faculty information on how to support non-traditional dissertation topics, formats, and the students passionate about pursuing these approaches.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Hip Hop Theories, Praxis & Pedagogies

Chair

• Bettina L. Love, University of Georgia

Papers

• Focus on the Method in From the Stage to the Streets: Minoritized Youth Poets' Civic Actions - Camea Davis, Georgia State University

• Curriculum of the Mind - Stevie Darnell Johnson, Woody Guthrie Center / Bob Dylan Center

• The Story Is in the Data: An Afro-Futuristic Approach to Restorying the Dissertation - Stephanie R Toliver, University of Colorado - Boulder

• It's Lit: A Critical Qualitative Case Study on the Intersections of Hip-Hop Education, Spirituality, and Race - Moira E Pirsch

Discussant

• Sherell A. McArthur, University of Georgia - Athens