General Education Course Information Sheet

Please submit this sheet for each proposed course

Department & Course Number Dance Department/Asian American Studies Department
Dance 98T/AAS 98T
Course Title “Hip Hop Dance and Asian American Cultural Politics”
Indicate if Seminar and/or Writing II course Seminar

1 Check the recommended GE foundation area(s) and subgroups(s) for this course

Foundations of the Arts and Humanities

• Literary and Cultural Analysis
• Philosophic and Linguistic Analysis
• Visual and Performance Arts Analysis and Practice X
Foundations of Society and Culture
• Historical Analysis
• Social Analysis
Foundations of Scientific Inquiry
• Physical Science
With Laboratory or Demonstration Component must be 5 units (or more)
• Life Science
With Laboratory or Demonstration Component must be 5 units (or more)

2. Briefly describe the rationale for assignment to foundation area(s) and subgroup(s) chosen.
Foundations of the Arts and Humanities:
This seminar is a disciplinary bridge between the departments of Dance and Asian American
Studies. As such, this seminar belongs to two different GE foundation areas. First, like many
courses offered within Dance, this course belongs to the Arts and Humanities foundation area
because it focuses on the artistic productions, cultural practices, aesthetic principles, and
discourse of dancers. In this area, the course falls under the category, “Literary and Cultural
Analysis,” as it promotes the analysis of hip-hop culture as known through its dance and embodied
practices, and “Visual and Performance Arts Analysis and Practice,” because it employs active
learning activities of viewing, writing, discussing, and doing dance to develop students’ practice-
based analytical skills.
Second, this seminar belongs to the foundation area, Society and Culture. In Asian American
Studies tradition, this seminar focuses on individuals and communities that self-identify as Asian
and Asian American. Students will look at Asian American cultural politics as both exceptional and
paradigmatic to understanding today’s multi-racial U.S. society and multi-ethnic American culture
as a whole. Training students in “Social Analysis,” this seminar equips students with theoretical and
methodological tools to qualitatively analyze Asians and Asian Americans through established
social frameworks of ethnicity, race, gender, dance, and globalization. Students will be given the
opportunity to analyze social issues from varying levels, from the intimate signification of a single
dance to larger questions about the social construction of Asia and Asian America through hip-hop
culture.

3. "List faculty member(s) who will serve as instructor (give academic rank):
Jeffrey Lorenzo Perillo (PhD Candidate in Culture and Performance/Asian American Studies
Concentration Program), under Professor Susan Foster (Dance, formerly WAC) and Professor Victor
Bascara (AAS).
Do you intend to use graduate student instructors (TAs) in this course? Yes No X
If yes, please indicate the number of TAs

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3. Indicate when do you anticipate teaching this course over the next three years:
2011-2012 Fall Winter X Spring
Enrollment Enrollment Enrollment
3. GE Course Units
Is this an existing course that has been modified for inclusion in the new GE? Yes No X
If yes, provide a brief explanation of what has changed.

Present Number of Units: 5 Proposed Number of Units: 5

Please present concise arguments for the GE principles applicable to this course.
 General Knowledge This course meets General Knowledge principles by directing students through a
wide variety of “ways of knowing” hip-hop dance theories and methods
spanning Ethnic Studies, Race Studies, Dance Studies, Gender Studies,
Globalization, and community-based intellectual domains. This course
introduces critical thinking, critical viewing, and research writing through weekly
disciplinary discussions. Weekly reading responses are assignments designed to
get to the core of that week’s intellectual domain, as well as generate discussion
and ideas for the final research paper.

 Integrative Learning This course introduces students to written published articles drawn across Asian
American, Dance, and Hip-hop disciplines. In addition, recorded and live dance
performances serve as main texts for description, interpretation, and analysis.
Students will turn in an “admission ticket,” or a set of two critical questions
based on the weekly texts, dances, and disciplinary approach. The questions
focus the major debates intersecting Asian American Studies and hip-hop dance.
Admission tickets will act as the raw material for students and peers to weigh
different ideological stances, dialogue, and reflect during intensive in-class
discussions.

 Ethical Implications

 Cultural Diversity The organization of the course enables a diversity of cultural perspectives
planned to support better understanding of the shared struggles of Asians and
Asian Americans. The first half of the seminar is organized around significant
fields of knowledge in weekly lessons: 1) Hip hop and Asian American Cultural
Politics 2) Hip hop and Asian American Dance Studies 3) Hip hop and Asian
American Racial Formation 4) Hip Hop and Asian American Women 5) Hip hop,
Space and Globalization. The second half of the seminar looks at specific hip
hop communities (South Asian, East Asian, Pacific Islander, and Filipino).

 Critical Thinking Student will accomplish three types of dance encounters (dance on camera,
dance film, and live performance) designed to introduce them to a variety of
media and methodological approaches to our course topic. Each report on
dance serves as an opportunity to practice documenting and critically thinking
about different aspects of dance. Each report varies in length and depth
regarding the components involved when looking at dance performance. For
example, while the first assignment asks students to describe the movement
they see in a music video of their choice, the second assignment asks students
to describe the movement and categorize different and similar types of
movement. As a whole, the reports walk students through the recursive
processes of movement description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation.

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 Timed to fit the research schedule, the assignments also act as potential building
blocks for the larger research paper. The grade value of each assignment is set
on an escalating scale in order to account for intellectual growth.

 Rhetorical Effectiveness The major method for student evaluation will be through a “draft and re-write”
process of a substantial written document. Over the course of the quarter,
students will complete a major research paper that analyzes a specific Hip hop
dance performance of their choice in relationship to the terms, theories, and
authors featured in class. During Week 10 students must present their project in
a brief oral presentation to the class. Papers are evaluated by their
demonstration of the student’s abilities to offer an original, nuanced
argumentative thesis about a dance performance, demonstrate understanding of
course materials, and connect to larger issues of Asian and Asian American
cultural politics.

 Problem-solving

 Library & Information

Literacy

(A) STUDENT CONTACT PER WEEK (if not applicable write N/A)
1. Lecture: 3 (hours)
2. Discussion Section: n/a (hours)
3. Labs: n/a (hours)
4. Experiential (service learning, internships, other): n/a (hours)
5. Field Trips: n/a (hours)

(A) TOTAL Student Contact Per Week 3 (HOURS)

(B) OUT-OF-CLASS HOURS PER WEEK (if not applicable write N/A)
1. General Review & Preparation: 1 (hours)
2. Reading 4 (hours)
3. Group Projects: n/a (hours)
4. Preparation for Quizzes & Exams: n/a (hours)
5. Written Assignments: 1-10 (avg 5) (hours)
6. Research Activity: 3-7 (avg 5) (hours)

(B) TOTAL Out-of-class time per week 15 (HOURS)

GRAND TOTAL (A) + (B) must equal at least 15 hours/week 18 (HOURS)

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 Perillo 1

Hip hop Dance and Asian American Cultural Politics

WAC98/AAS98
Spring 2012
Lorenzo Perillo Room: TBD
Office: Kaufman Hall 130A M 12-300P
Office Hours: Wed 1:45-4:00 & by appointment
E-mail: [email protected]
Course website: Accessible through www.ccle.ucla.edu or my.ucla.edu

Course Description

Introduction: In the 1970’s, young, marginalized African American and Latino males in the U.S. gave life to one of America’s
most dominant forms of popular culture: Hip hop. Initially, hip hop was recognized as a faddish yet resistant form of black male musical
expression. Hip hop studies is changing to examine the ways in which the mixed media culture is gendered, raced, classed and engaged
with the general processes of globalization. Despite this recent shift, hip-hop studies and Asian American studies have rarely
considered the ramifications of Asians and Asian Americans who are thriving and often dominating today’s global Hip-hop dance scene.

General Education Focus: This five-unit seminar is not introductory but rather provides an
extensive exploration of the particular topic--Hip hop dance--with a special attention to
practitioners of Asian descent. This rigorous general education course provides undergraduates with a strong foundation
in performance arts analysis through exploration of hip hop and Asian American cultural production. This course introduces critical
thinking, critical viewing, and research writing as “ways of knowing” hip-hop dance. This course introduces students to ‘texts’ that are
English-based, written published articles and drawn across several academic fields including Dance Studies, Asian American Studies, and
Ethnic Studies. In addition to written texts, recorded music and dance performances from various localities in Asia and the Diaspora are
introduced. Performances serve as main texts for description, interpretation, and analysis, approaches to dance with broader
applications to studies of arts and culture.

Course components: This course provides students with several different opportunities to write and engage with the course
topic. Inside class, brief in-class viewings of select hip-hop dance performances will act as material for directed free-writes. These
free-writes are designed to introduce a topic or approach, discover what they already know, and respond personally to a topic. After
free-writes, weekly critical questions act like “admission tickets” to the intensive in-class discussions. These questions focus on a major
debate or question that is raised by the week’s course material and promote a dialogue inclusive of all students. Outside of class, the
weekly writing assignments are designed to summarize the main points, direct critical thought about theories, and get students to the
core of authors’ works. Reports on dance are meant to introduce three types of dance encounters (dance on camera, dance film, and
live performance). Each report varies in length and depth, serves as practice in documenting different aspects of dance, and acts as a
building block for the larger research paper. Students will perform a series of research assignments that build up to the final draft of
their research paper. Each assignment serves as a checkpoint for production, feedback, and further revision, instilling students with an
appreciation for the processual dynamics of research. Taken as whole, these course components are meant to develop critical thinking
skills necessary to locate one’s self in the world.

Road map: This course provides students with several perspectives of theoretical approaches and disciplines. The course
discussion will also feature particular cultural groups and their different experiences in hip-hop dance despite their common affiliation
to the larger Asian American population. The first half of the seminar is organized around significant fields of knowledge and structured
in weekly lessons: 1) Hip hop and Asian American Cultural Politics 2) Hip hop and Asian American Dance Studies 3) Hip hop and Asian
American Racial Formation 4) Hip Hop and Asian American Women 5) Hip hop, Space and Globalization. The second half of the seminar
looks at specific hip hop communities. Throughout the course students will train and employ methodologies of analyzing written texts and
performances. Students will then be challenged to demonstrate their own original interpretations through active learning in-class
activities, discussion, and written assignments.

Course Goals

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At the end of this course students should be able to use various methods of dance research to critically examine Asians and
Asian Americans in hip hop dance. Furthermore, students should feel comfortable analyzing written text and performance
using distinct theoretical approaches and methodologies. Students should also be able to identify major debates intersecting
Asian American Studies and hip hop dance and argue their ideological position. These goals will be enacted by the course
components.

Course Components

Grade Distribution:
1. Active Participation 10 points
2. Weekly Reading Response (10 responses x 2points) 20 points
3. Admission Ticket (10 tickets x 1point) 10 points
4. Reports on Dance (20 points)
a. Dance on Camera 3 points
b. Dance film 7 points
c. Live performance 10 points
5. Final Research Paper (40 points)
 Week 3: Meeting with Instructor to discuss project 2 points
 Week 5: Project overview 3 points
 Week 6: Preliminary bibliography 5 points
 Week 8: First Draft of paper 5 points
 Week 10: Oral Presentation 5 points
 Finals Week: Final paper 20 points

Please note 1point= 1% total course grade Total 100 points

1. Active participation in Intensive Discussion (10 points)

Weekly discussions are the core of the seminar experience. Each week, students are expected to closely read the assigned
readings and come on time and prepared to discuss. Students are expected to be respectful to others (and their ideas),
receptive to critique and reflective. Students are expected to take their own ideas seriously and avoid reactionary responses
to peer review. Brief in-class viewings of select performances and in-class dance exercises will act as material for directed
free-writes. These free-writes are not graded and designed to introduce students to a topic or approach. Free-write allows
students to discover what they already know and respond personally to a topic. Students are expected to contribute in
writing, speaking, and movement to help take ownership of their critical pedagogical experience.

2. Written Reading Responses (20 points)

Weekly Reading Responses are designed to develop students’ systematic critical reading and thinking practices. These
assignments are also designed to equip students with questions to bring to the readings and dance performances. Please
refer to the handout “Critical Reading Practice” for guidelines. Responses should thoroughly address the set of assigned
readings for each class. Responses will be around 250 words in length and posted the day prior to class by 8pm. Responses
may also be used to generate discussion and ideas for the final research paper. Responses will be reviewed for both
mechanics (grammar and spelling) and content. Writing that merely identifies the “stuff,” the facts and information from the
readings, will receive .5 points. Writing that identifies what the authors say about the “stuff”, and comments about the
significance of the arguments will receive 1 point. Writing that accomplishes the aforementioned and also relates different
readings to each other, to other course material to date, and to larger fields of knowledge will receive the complete 2 points
possible. Written reading responses are meant to get to the core of the authors’ and dancers’ works.

3. Weekly Admission Ticket (10 points)

Students will turn in an “admission ticket,” or a set of two critical questions based on the weekly reading. The questions
should focus on one of the major debates intersecting Asian American Studies and hip hop dance. Questions should be written
with plans to stimulate discussion. Rather than evoking yes/no answers, the admission tickets should call for open-ended
responses to questions the readings raise for the reader. Admission tickets will act as the raw material for students and
peers to discover different ideological stances, dialogue, and reflect during intensive in-class discussions. The admission

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tickets will be collected at the beginning of class meeting and evaluated. They should be legibly written on 5x7 index cards
with the student’s name. Appropriate and well-composed pairs of questions will receive the full one point.

4. Reports on Dance: (20 points)

Student will accomplish three types of dance encounters (dance on camera, dance film, and live performance) designed to
introduce them to a variety of media and methodological approaches to our course topic. Each encounter should be related in
some way to Asians or Asian Americans in hip hop dance. For example, the dancers themselves may self-identify as Asian or
Asian American, the dance may occur in an Asian or Asian American setting or location, or the movement vocabulary from
which dancers draw may have Asian or Asian American origins.
Each report on dance serves as an opportunity to practice documenting different aspects of dance. Each report
varies in length and depth regarding the components involved when looking at dance performance. For example, while the
first assignment asks students to describe the movement they see in a music video of their choice, the second assignment
asks students to describe the movement and categorize different and similar types of movement. As a whole, the reports
walk students through the recursive processes of movement description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation. Timed to fit
the research schedule, the assignments also act as potential building blocks for the larger research paper. The grade value
of each assignment is set on an escalating scale in order to account for intellectual growth.

A) Dance on camera Report: (3 points, Week 2)

500 words: Movement description of a short video-recorded dance performance. Describe what you see or
translate the moving images into written words. Refer to “Description” guidelines in “Reading a Dance” handout.
Decide on the particular object of report (i.e. music video, webisode, excerpt from a dance reality television
episode, or excerpt from a recorded dance concert).
B) Dance film Report (7 points, Week 4)
1000 words: Movement description and analysis of feature length video-recorded dance performance; Half
movement description, half analysis. Describe what you see and breakdown the components. Sort the visual data
into categories. Refer to “Description” and “Analysis” sections of “Reading a Dance” handout. During Week 2,
choose from a given a list of films from which to choose for report.
C) Live Performance Report (10 points- Week 7)
2000 words: At least one paragraph movement description, one paragraph analysis, one to two paragraphs
description of interpretation, and one to two paragraphs of evaluation. In addition to the previous components,
consider the range of meanings that the dance seeks to express and assess whether the work was effective or
compelling in doing so. Refer to the “Interpretation” and “Evaluation” sections of “Reading a Dance” handout.
During Week 2, we will discuss possible performances from which to choose for report. For instance, there are
several live performance opportunities within hip-hop dance in longstanding cultural shows of local UCLA-based
Asian American organizations (i.e. Samahang Pilipino Culture Night, Vietnamese Student Association Culture Night,
Nissei Student Union Culture Night).

5. Final Research Paper: (40 points)

The major method for student evaluation will be through a “draft and re-write” process of a substantial written document.
Over the course of the quarter, students will complete a major research paper that analyzes a specific Hip hop dance
performance of their choice in relationship to the terms, theories, and authors featured in class. During Week 3 students will
meet one-on-one with the instructor to discuss potential projects. During Week 5 students will write a project overview (500
words). During Week 6 students will submit a bibliography that consists of 5-10 reputable sources. Sources can be
academic journal articles, books, and/or book chapters used in the course, but not Wikipedia. Students are not to rely
primarily on internet sources. During Week 8 students will submit an 8-10 page first draft (12 point font, double-spaced,
stapled, Times New Roman, MLA format). During Week 9 students will receive their draft back with comments and criticism
geared to support the development of the final “polished” product. During Week 10 students must present their project in an
8-minute oral presentation to the class. The hard copy of the final paper (14-16 pages) is due Finals Week. A separate
handout with detailed grading criteria will be distributed and reviewed in class. In general, papers are evaluated by their
demonstration of the student’s abilities to offer an original, nuanced argumentative thesis about a dance performance,
demonstrate understanding of course materials, and connect to larger issues of Asian and Asian American cultural politics.

Assignment Schedule Overview (Due upon Arrival to the Seminar):

Weekly:

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Reading response (posted online the day prior by 8pm)

“Admission ticket”
Active Participation
Week 2: Report on dance: Dance on camera report
Week 3: Meeting with Instructor to discuss project
Week 4: Report on dance: Dance film report
Week 5: Project overview
Week 6: Preliminary bibliography
Week 7: Report on dance: Live performance report
Week 8: First Draft of Research paper
Week 10: Oral Presentation
Finals Week: Final Research paper

Grading Scale: 100 points total

97-100 A+ 87-89 B+ 77-79 C+ 67-69 D+ 59-below F
94-96 A 84-86 B 74-76 C 64-66 D
90-93 A- 80-83 B- 70-73 C- 60-63 D-

6. Class Materials
Required text:
Schloss, Joseph G, Foundation: B-Boys, B-Girls, and Hip-Hop Culture in New York.
Oxford UP, 2009.

The Schloss text is available at the UCLA bookstore and most commercial online outlets. The rest of the course materials will
be available through a Course Reader (CR). The CR will also be available for purchase at UCLA Ackerman bookstore. Any
additional materials due to revised schedules will be available online for download or distributed in class. Materials for
further investigation are not required nor provided, but rather recommended for students who have decided to pursue a
research project related to a specific field of study, method, or community.

Viewing: Excerpts of videos will be shown in class on the date they are listed in the course schedule. These are indicated in
the syllabus as “in-class.” Videos marked as “outside class” will be made available online through video furnace on the
course website and through reserves in the Instructional Media Lab located in Powell Library. These should be viewed prior to
the date they are indicated in the course schedule and incorporated in the responses and questions.

Course Policies and Expectations

Absence
There is no way to replicate seminar discussion around culture and performance. Missing seminar means that one’s grade
will be negatively affected. Absence due to an emergency (family death, severe illness) requires that the student bring in an
official note with appropriate contact information (i.e. signed doctor’s note with phone number). If a student is aware ahead
of time that they will be absent, notify the instructor via email. Each student is allowed one officially excused absence.
Absences in excess will result in loss of one point from “admission ticket” and one point from active participation.

Americans with Disability Act

The Americans with Disability Act requires that reasonable accommodations be made for any student with a disability.
Students with disability should have so documented at the Office for Students with Disabilities and notify the instructor at the
beginning of the quarter to discuss the necessary steps of assistance.

Grading and Assessment

This seminar is worth five units. Beyond the scheduled class meeting times, enrolled students are expected to spend at least
12 hours weekly on the course. These hours may consist of close reading, viewing dance, note-taking, writing responses,

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critical questions, reports, or research. The total pages assigned for each week are listed in the course schedule. Students
should plan their weeks carefully as some weeks have heavier reading loads than others and responses are due prior to the
class meeting. On weeks with lighter reading assignments there may be a required outside viewing or research assignment
due. There are no prior requirements for this course. Each student is expected to turn in work that is thoroughly proofread,
spell-checked, and grammatically sound. Students must use MLA format for citation and can refer to the Purdue online
resources for guidance (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/11/). Please submit papers on dates and times
indicated. Late papers will drop one point with each day after deadline. No extensions or incompletes will be given except
under extreme circumstances, in which case, students should notify the instructor via email. Students who have attended all
class meetings on-time, completed and submitted all course components on-time, and fulfilled all active participation
expectations are in good positions to receive an A grade.

Participation
Dialogue through intensive discussion helps generate a meaningful engagement with the course topic, authors, dancers, and
peers. Critical to this dialogue is a mutual respect and intellectual openness to views and opinions that may differ from our
own. Throughout the course, we will be exploring complex issues about which many students have passionate feelings. While
we may disagree, it is crucial for everyone to maintain an inclusive environment by avoiding personal attacks meant to
discredit or delegitimize other’s ideological views. Instead, we focus on building a productive discussion, where different
views can be asserted, challenged, examined, and re-asserted in many ways.
During class, students are expected to silence cell phones, log off all chat, skype, twitter, and facebook
applications. Unless directed to do so by an active learning exercise, emailing, texting, tweeting, fb-ing, and chatting during
seminar, are considered disrespectful to your fellow students and instructor. Violators will be warned and second-time
offenders will be asked to leave.

Plagiarism and Academic integrity

Students are expected to submit their own work. Intentionally or unintentionally copying or submitting another’s work
without proper citation is considered plagiarism. This course is ruled by a zero tolerance policy toward plagiarism and any
violations will be reported to the Dean of Students. Please consult the Student Guide to Academic Integrity from the Office of
the Dean of Students. (http://www.deanofstudents.ucla.edu/StudentGuide.pdf).

Schedule: Subject to Revision

Week 1: Hip hop and Asian American Cultural Politics

M Course Introduction: What is Hip hop dance? How do we understand Asian American popular culture?

READING: Total: 37 pages

Schloss, Joseph G, “Introduction” Foundation, p. 3-16

Jorge “Popmaster Fabel” Pabon’s “Physical Graffiti: The History of Hip Hop Dance” in
Chang, Jeff ed., Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip hop (CR) p.18-26.
URL: http://www.daveyd.com/historyphysicalgrafittifabel.html

Lee, Robert, “Introduction: Yellowface” in Orientals: Asian Americans in Popular Culture,

Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1999. p. 1-14. (CR)

VIEWING: (in-class)
LXD “Tales of Trevor Drift”- (14min.)
URL: http://thelxd.com/episodes/the-tale-of-trevor-drift/

For Further Investigation:

Matteo, Luis Angel, “Origins of Breakdancing,” interview by Mandalit Del Barco, National Public Radio (October 14, 2002).
URL:http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/breakdancing/

Week 2: Hip hop and Asian American Dance Studies

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M What is a dance studies theory and method? How do dance studies theoretical frameworks, methods, and texts
inform Hip hop dance?

DUE: Dance on camera report

READING: Total: 49 pages

Schloss, Joseph G, “ ‘We Have to Be Exaggerated’: Aesthetics” in Foundation p.68-93

Sklar, Deidre, “Toward a Culturally Sensitive Approach to Dance” in Ann Dils and Ann
Cooper Albright edited, Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. p.1-3.
(CR)

Wong, Yutian. “Towards a New Asian American Dance Theory: Locating the Dancing
Asian American Body.” Discourses in Dance 1.1 (2002) p.69-90. (CR)

VIEWING: (in-class)
Breakin’ (1984), Joel Silberg, 90min. (selected clips only)
“PlanetRock,” Afrika Bambaataa, 4min.
“Trans-Europe Express” Kraftwerk, 4min.

For Further Investigation:

Osumare, Halifu, “Phat Beats, Dope Rhymes, and Def Moves: The Africanist Aesthetic
meets the Hip-hop Globe,” in The Africanist Aesthetic in Global Hip-hop, Palgrave
Macmillan, 2007. p.21-60.

Week 3: Hip hop and Asian American Racial Formation

M What is racial theory and what is a racial studies approach to culture? How do we understand racial theory through
Asian-Black interracial relations and Hip hop dance?

DUE: Meeting with Instructor to discuss Research Paper

READING: Total: 44 pages

Schloss, Joseph, “Getting Your Foundation: Pedagogy” in Foundation. New York: Oxford, UP, 2009. p. 40-67.

Omi and Winant, Racial Formations in the United States, pgs 14-23 (CR)

Farrow, Kenyon, “We Real Cool?” On Hip-Hop, Asian-Americans, Black Folks, and Appropriation” Kenyon Farrow. Blogspot.
Accessed March 9, 2011.
URL: http://kenyonfarrow.com/2005/06/02/we-real-coolon-hip-hop-asian-americans-black-folks-and-appropriation/

VIEWING: (in-class)
Rize (2005), David LaChapelle, 86min. (selected clips only)

For Further Investigation:

Prashad, Vijay, “Kung Fusion: Organize the ‘Hood under I-Ching Banners” in Everybody
Was Kung Fu Fighting: Afro-Asian Connections and the Myth of Cultural Purity. Boston:
Beacon Press, 2001. P.126-149.

Week 4: Hip Hop and Asian American Women

M What are theories on women and hip-hop? How is Hip hop constructed in terms of women’s studies? Is there a
feminist method to hip-hop?

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DUE: Dance Film report

READING: Total: 17 pages

Guevara, Nancy, “Women writin’ rappin’ breakin’ “ in Droppin’ Science: Critical Essays on
Hip hop Culture, William Eric Perkins ed., Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996.
P.49-62. (CR)

Caswell, Michelle. “Life as a Female Filipino DJ | Asia Society.” Asia Society. Internet.
Accessed March 9, 2011.
http://asiasociety.org/arts-culture/performing-arts/music/life-female-filipino-dj

VIEWING: (outside class)

Hip-hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes (2006), Byron Hurt, 61min.

For Further Investigation:

Foster, Susan Leigh, “Choreographies of Gender,” Signs, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Autumn, 1998)
p.1-33 (CR)

Week 5: Hip hop, Space and Globalization

M What is globalization theory and approach to culture? How is space socially constructed in Hip hop dance culture?
What are the issues of globalization and Hip hop dance?

DUE: Project Overview

READING: Total=47 pages

Schloss, Joseph G, “ ‘In the Cypher’: B-boy Spaces,” in Foundation, p. 94-106.

Appadurai, Arjun. “Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy,” in

Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press, 1996. p.27-47. (CR)

Osumare, Halifu. “Global Breakdancing and the Intercultural Body,” in Dance

Research Journal, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Winter 2002) pp. 30-45. (CR)

VIEWING: (outside class)

Planet Bboy (2007), Benson Lee, 95min.

Week 6: Hip hop dance and South Asian Communities

M What is Hip hop’s relationship to South Asian Communities?

Due: Preliminary Bibliography

READING: Total: 78 pages

Maira, Sunaina, “B-boys and Bass girls: Sex Style and Mobility in Indian American Youth
Culture” in Desi Rap: Hip hop and South Asian America, edited by Ajay Nair and Murali
Balaji. MD: Lexington Books, 2008. P. 41-70. (CR)

Sharma, Nitasha Tamar, “Making Race: Desi Racial Identities, South Asian and Black
Relations, and Racialized Hip hop” in Hip Hop Desis: South Asian Americans, Blackness,

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and a Global Race Consciousness (Refiguring American Music). Duke UP, 2010. P.88-
137. (CR)

For Further Investigation

Maira, Sunaina, “To be Young, Brown, and Hip: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Indian
American Youth Culture” in Desis in the House: Indian American Youth Culture in New
York City. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2002. (CR) p. 29-83.

Week 7: Hip hop and East Asian Communities

M What is Hip hop’s relationship to East Asian Communities?

DUE: Live Performance Report

READING: Total: 57 pages

Wang, Oliver. 2007. “Rapping and Repping Asian: Race, Authenticity, and the Asian American MC,” in Alien Encounters: Popular
Culture and Asian America, edited by Mimi Thi Nguyen and Thuy Linh Nguyen Tu. p.35-68. (CR)

Condry, Ian, “Introduction” and “Yellow b-boys, Black culture, and the Elvis Effect,” in Hip hop Japan: Rap and The Paths of
Globalization, Duke UP, 2006. P. 24-48. (CR)

VIEWING: (in-class)
Step UP 3-D (2010), Jon M. Chu, 107min. (selected clips only)

Week 8: Hip hop and Pacific Islander Communities

M What is Hip hop’s relationship to the Pacific Islander communities?

Due: First draft of Research Paper

READING: Total: 26 pages

Henderson, April, “Between Our Islands We Dance: Hip Hop and Samoan Diaspora,” in Basu, Dipannita, and Lemelle, Sidney J.,
The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip-hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, (London: Pluto Press, 2006) p.180-199.

Kopytko, Tania, “Breakdance as an Identity Marker in New Zealand.” Yearbook for

Traditional Music, Vol. 18. (1986), pp. 21-28.

For Further Investigation:

Okamura, Jonathan, “Why There are No Asian Americans in Hawai‘i”. Social Process in Hawaii, Vol. 35, 1995.

Osumare, Halifu, “Props to the Local Boys: Hip-hop Culture in Hawai‘i,” in The Africanist
Aesthetic in Global Hip-hop, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. p.105-148.

Week 9: Hip hop and Filipino American Communities

M What is Hip hop’s relationship to Filipino American Communities?

READING: Total: 30 pages

Viola, Michael, “Hip-Hop and Critical Revolutionary Pedagogy: Blue Scholarship to
Challenge ‘The Miseducation of the Filipino’” Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies.
Volume 4, Number 2 (November 2006)
URL: http://www.jceps.com/?pageID=article&articleID=71

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 Perillo 9

Dimalanta, Jerome. “The Adaptation and Development of Streetdance in the Philippine

setting.” MA Thesis. University of the Philippines, 2006. p.1-20. (CR)

VIEWING: (in-class)
“‘Thriller’ (original upload)”
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMnk7lh9M3o

Week 10

DUE: Oral Presentations

M Research Presentations

Finals Week

DUE: Final Draft Research Paper

Submit hard-copy no later than 12pm Monday, Finals Week to Manila folder labeled “WAC98/AAS98 Final Drafts” located in the
Department of World Arts and Cultures, Kaufman Hall 130A. Emailed papers and papers on USB drives or CDs will not be accepted.

9
UCLA Course Inventory Management System - New Course Proposal https://web.registrar.ucla.edu/cims/courses/coursenewmodify.asp?CID=4...

New Course Proposal

Dance M98T
Hip Hop Dance and Asian American Cultural Politics
Course Number Dance M98T
Multiple Listed With Asian American Studies M98T
Title Hip Hop Dance and Asian American Cultural Politics
Short Title HIP HOP DNC&ASIA AM
Units Fixed: 5
Grading Basis Letter grade only
Instructional Format Seminar - 3 hours per week
TIE Code SEMT - Seminar (Topical) [T]
GE Requirement Yes
Major or Minor Requirement No
Requisites Satisfaction of entry-level Writing requirement. Freshmen and
sophomores preferred.
Course Description (Same as Asian American Studies M98T.) Seminar, three hours. Enforced
requisite: satisfaction of Entry-Level Writing requirement.
Freshmen/sophomores preferred. Examination of relationship between
hip hop dance and Asian America. Investigation of how hip hop artists
and authors employ choreography to negotiate issues of Asian American
culture, dance, racial formation, women's studies, community, and
globalization. Letter grading.
Justification Part of the series of seminars offered through the Collegium of University
Teaching Fellows.
Syllabus File WACAsian Am 98T syllabus.doc was previously uploaded. You may view the file by clicking on the file name.

Supplemental Information Professor Victor Bascara is the faculty mentor for this seminar.
Grading Structure participation - 10 points; written responses - 20 pts; 2 critical questions
based on reading - 10 pts; reports on dance - 20 pts; final research paper
- 40 pts.
Effective Date Spring 2012
Discontinue Summer 1 2012
Date
Instructor Name Title

Jeffrey Lorenzo Perillo Teaching Fellow

Quarters Taught Fall Winter Spring Summer

Department World Arts and Cultures/Dance

Contact Name E-mail

CATHERINE GENTILE [email protected]

Routing Help

ROUTING STATUS
Role: Registrar's Office
Status: Processing Completed

Role: Registrar's Publications Office - Hennig, Leann Jean ([email protected]) - 56704

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UCLA Course Inventory Management System - New Course Proposal https://web.registrar.ucla.edu/cims/courses/coursenewmodify.asp?CID=4...

Status: Added to SRS on 6/28/2011 11:58:21 AM

Changes: Subject Area, Description
Comments: Edited course description into official version; corrected dept and subject area.

Role: Registrar's Scheduling Office - Bartholomew, Janet Gosser ([email protected]) - 51441

Status: Added to SRS on 6/8/2011 9:56:16 AM
Changes: Title, Short Title, Effective Date
Comments: Effective term changed from winter 2011 to spring 2011.
Added a short title.

Role: FEC School Coordinator - Soh, Michael Young ([email protected]) - 65282

Status: Returned for Additional Info on 6/7/2011 11:38:58 AM
Changes: No Changes Made

Comments: Routing to Registrar's Office

Role: FEC Chair or Designee - Mcclendon, Muriel C ([email protected]) - 53918

Status: Approved on 6/7/2011 8:25:54 AM
Changes: No Changes Made

Comments: No Comments

Role: L&S FEC Coordinator - Soh, Michael Young ([email protected]) - 65282

Status: Returned for Additional Info on 6/6/2011 5:41:24 PM
Changes: No Changes Made

Comments: Routing to Vice Chair Muriel McClendon for FEC approval

Role: CUTF Coordinator - Gentile, Catherine ([email protected]) - 68998

Status: Approved on 6/3/2011 9:37:46 AM
Changes: No Changes Made

Comments: on behalf of Professor Kathleen Komar, chair, Collegium of University Teaching Fellows.

Role: Initiator/Submitter - Gentile, Catherine ([email protected]) - 68998

Status: Submitted on 6/3/2011 9:36:48 AM
Comments: Initiated a New Course Proposal

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