Mos Def and Talib
Kweli will deliver a joint keynote lecture at The Field Museum’s Center for
Cultural Understanding and Change (CCUC) international Hip Hop and Social Change
Conference.
The conference,
which is being held at the Museum on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 3,
4, and 5, will discuss the significance of artistic and cultural activity in
the hip hop community
in relation to social change.
It also serves
as a forum for representatives of hip hop’s primary geographical areas — the
United States, Europe, the Caribbean, and South Africa — to open a dialogue
that crosses cultural lines.
"In a wider
sense, hip hop is the quintessential American cultural product, incorporating
such ideals as innovation, competition and representation," says CCUC Boyd
Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Raymond Codrington.
The Hip Hop and
Social Change Conference at The Field Museum will investigate key issues directly
impacting members of the hip-hop community and young people everywhere.
While most discussions
of hip hop focus on musical and artistic content, the conference will be centered
on using hip hop as a tool to build awareness through political participation,
education and artistic activity.
Panels of hip hop
experts from around the world will discuss Formal and Informal Political Participation,
Globalization, Media, and Artistic Activity.
On Sunday, Oct.
5, there will be a discussion of how social change takes place, and the role
hip hop might play in generating those changes.
The Field Museum
is located at 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. For more information, the
public can call 312.665.7481 or visit www.fieldmuseum.org/hiphop.