In 2023, Hip Hop turned 50. A sound and culture that was once seen as a passing trend and has been vilified for explicit lyrics and commercialism, has undoubtedly proven its importance and value to not only the black and brown communities from where it originated, but worldwide.
The City University of New York sits at the center of hip hop history, communities and geographies, down the block and around the corner from some of hip hop’s most legendary sites, events, and practitioners. Some of hip hop’s biggest names have been CUNY students, scholars and administrators, and incalculable additions have been behind the scenes in offices and studios, as collaborators, educators, healers, journalists and more. While the contributions and impact of hip hop have been felt around the globe, we acknowledge and honor the tremendous role NYC has played in creating and sustaining hip hop culture.
The CUNY Hip Hop Commission CUNY Celebrates Hip Hop Conference will bring folx together to amplify and engage hip hop in an interdisciplinary, multimodal gathering of practitioners, scholars, and community members who love hip hop and want to keep the conversation going beyond the 50th Anniversary. Our 2-day conference April 4-5, 2024 will be hybrid, with virtual attendance (April 4) and in-person, at the CUNY Graduate Center (April 5).
This inaugural conference is looking for papers, presentations, and performances from hip hop practitioners and scholars in the community. Open to the public, we encourage you to think critically, expansively and imaginatively about what hip hop means to you, to CUNY, to NYC, and to the world beyond at this time of Hip Hop’s 50th Anniversary and ahead toward what’s to come.
Fields of Inquiry:
- Hip Hop Studies
- Black and African Diaspora Studies
- Ethnic Studies
- Dance & Performance Studies
- Gender and Sexuality Studies
- Queer Studies
- Music & Musicology Studies
- DJ Studies
- Graffiti & Aerosol Arts
- Visual Arts
- Health & Medical Studies
- Economics & Business
- Geography
- Environmental Sciences
- Education
- Disabilities Studies
- Technology & Digital Humanities
- Archival Studies
- Material Culture
- Aesthetics & Design
- Language & Literacy
- Literature & Poetics
- Pedagogy and Curriculum Design
- Sound Studies
- Affect Studies
If you’d like to present at this conference, please visit the Call For Proposals and complete our form with a 250-400 word abstract about your presentation, panel or workshop proposal, short biographical description and your contact information. Proposals due by March 4 and presenters will be notified by March 11.
Registration is free and will go live in March.
If you have any concerns or questions, please contact the conference organizers at thecunyhiphopcommission@gmail.com.
