Role Call of Resources - Bad Scholarly Article

I've decided to do an ongoing series this semester about current real world examples I'm using in class to illustrate points. Let's begin with an article written in an extremely popular peer reviewed source...

Evaluating Sources

The Black Devil Beats Article
This is actually worse than blaming hip hop, it's actually blaming 'African Americans and their music' for juvenile delinquency. Yep. That bad.  But, it's from a Peer Reviewed source, so it must be credible, right kids? The below article is from the January issue of the American Academy of Pediatrics Journal. It couldn't be more inflammatory due to the terrible definition of African American music and the researchers need to narrowly define two genres of music entirely by race. There are so many negative and ill-informed implications from using these definitions. This just continues to support negative stereotypes that are not actually proved by this research. UGH! This from what is described as "among the top 2% most-cited scientific and medical journals." I'm so disappointed. There are way too many people that will be reading this and not thinking there's anything wrong with it.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2013/01/02/peds.2012-0708.full.pdf+html

Issues to discuss with students

1. What do you think about their definition of "African American music?"

2. African American music is the only genre defined by race. Is that okay? Why or why not?

3. Jazz, a musical genre with roots in African American culture was NOT identified by race, and yet is in the "high brow" category. What does that tell you about the perspective of these researchers? 

4. Can you think of any other reasons for correlations between music exposure and juvenile delinquency?

5. Why would you, or why would you not use this article?

6. THIS WAS PUBLISHED IN A PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL. What does that mean to you when you're evaluating sources? 

And now, students, please take the rest of this library session to discuss institutional racism, and I'll be in my office listening to hip hop,  AND R&B at the same time. Take that Netherlandic Researchers!

Award Tour* or, I Made You a Mix Tape

"People give your ears so I be sublime..."**
I can not get A Tribe Called Quest out of my head since I added two more conference presentations to my schedule this year. Posters aside, that puts me at a total of 4 presentations over the next 7 months. I think this is what happens when you throw a whole bunch of stuff at the wall and see what sticks. My schedule is something like, East Coast/ West Coast/ East Coast/ North Coast. (I call Cleveland, OH -my hometown- the north coast.)

"Going each and every place with the mic in my hand."
I'm doing a couple of presentations on the Cherry Hill Oral History Project -one here in Baltimore next week and the other as a panel member in Cleveland for OHA's (Oral History Association's) annual conference in the fall. I'll also be facilitating a panel on residencies at ALA in Anaheim this June and am teaming up with the members of the working group of my university committee to discuss our diversity award at an international education conference this July in NYC.

Photo via Flickr by NRK P3

"Do that, do that, do do that that that."
How in the world did you have time to do all of that proposing, you ask? Well, I'll be honest. I really didn't have time to put together all of these proposals on my own. Two out of four I am doing the bulk of the work preparing. But, the other two are due to the power of others hard at work that were kind enough to include me in their proposals.

"Buddy, buddy buddy all up in your face!"
I suppose this just speaks to the power of networking. I would never have the time to do all of this on my own so I'm so thankful for the connections and work I've done and talked about -and the work that others have done and talked to me about -that has lead to these collaborations and presentations and plenty of potential future endeavors.


*I always thought they were saying, "We're on a WORLD tour." (I'm sure I'm not the only one.)
**I love you Q-Tip!!

Speaking of hip hop....

It totally trips me out that hip hop, which was kind of sort of considered subversive when I was a kid, (and I'm sure in some super conservative circles, might still be considered so), is actually now a common area of study. My dad would actually storm into my room and pull the plug out of the wall if I had the volume up too loud. (Those devil beats!) So, since the advent and rise of hip hop is becoming an increasingly popular academic subject, I ordered this book earlier this year for our cultural studies department. It's set up like an actual "biblical" text.

The Gospel of Hip Hop by KRS ONE

 The Third Overstanding, "The Divine Performance," chapter 18, verse 16 says:  

"Therefore, let us perform Hip Hop on a higher level. Let us Hiphoppas strive to be better than we were yesterday. Everyday let's seek ways to be responsible toward one another and collectively mature with our handling of Hip Hop. We may start out criminal minded but indeed we shall all end up spiritual minded."

Whether you be a "hiphoppa" or a librarian, or both, the sentiment applies. Go and be responsible toward one another by sharing your awesome ideas and work and I will see you on the conference circuit! (I'm totally going to order a copy for my dad!)