Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
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- Creators: Department of Marketing
Description
This paper will explore the themes of performing race in hip-hop music. Through the genesis of the hip-hop industry in the Bronx in the 1970s, rap music has become aligned with afrocentric themes. The music spoke to inner cities and often held themes of economic abandonment, racism, and poverty. Today, non-black hip-hop artists are entering the rap scene. However, the mainstream hip-hop industry is still dominated by black artists. We explore the idea of performing race, specifically performing blackness. Non-black artists do this by dressing a certain way, speaking a certain way, and moving a certain way. We have chosen to identify three case studies to help us explore these ideas and understand how race is still important in the hip-hop industry today. Our case studies include Mellow Man Ace, Jin, and Brother Ali. While success is a complex term, we have discovered that race still follows a predictive outcome in monetary success and fame. The hip-hop industry is always in dynamic change. Our paper attempts to open the dialogue for talking about race and hip-hop music.
ContributorsKoyama, Curtis (Co-author) / Chiu, Carissa (Co-author) / Bhattacharjya, Nilanjana (Thesis director) / Montesano, Mark (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Colorism- "Prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group"- is a social problem that has plagued India for decades. This thesis aims to identify how colorism has been transported across oceans and countries and, not only transplanted, but transformed within the second generation demographic-- who are those whose parents immigrated here from India and were born in America. In order to identify how second generation Indians, see color and how it operates in their lives, I sat down with 10 individuals who are attending Arizona State University in pursuit of their undergraduate degrees. I asked them questions relating to social cohesion, society's set beauty standards, proximity to Indian culture, involvement with social media, the origins of colorism, and lastly privilege. Based off of the narratives and experiences they shared with me I concluded that, in terms of colorism amongst this demographic, individuals tend to care more or focus more on their own skin tone as opposed to judging others based on theirs, due to the fear of being othered by the community they are in- whether that be Indian or American. They may not necessarily feel shunned or not accepted by certain community's standards, but they most certainly feel the pressure to conform to both in various situations in their lives. Because of these conclusions, I think colorism operates within this community but has transformed into a concept of transnational beauty and wanting to be seen as beautiful point blank. Not beautiful for an Indian girl or handsome for an Indian guy, and most certainly not beautiful for a South Indian man or women. With further research and more individuals sharing their narratives and experiences, this demographic and generation can reduce the importance the Indian community places on color and widen the definition of beauty.
ContributorsLokareddy, Nikitha (Author) / Bhattacharjya, Nilanjana (Thesis director) / Miller, April (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05