Hip Hop Interpellation: Senior Research Fellow in Computer Science and Cultural Data Analytics Wanted

Position Summary

University College Cork invites applications for an experienced Senior Research Fellow to lead a new high impact 5-year research project in the area of Hip Hop Studies. The position of Senior Research Fellow is in the area of Computer Science and Cultural Data Analytics and is available at the Department of Music in the School of Film, Music, and Theatre at University College Cork. The position is funded by the European Research Council and is associated with the research project CIPHER: Hip Hop Interpellation. This study of global hip hop knowledge flows will synergize computational and ethnographic methods to examine how hip hop “unlocks the global through the local.” The principal investigator of the project is Professor J. Griffith Rollefson.

The successful candidate will work on a research project in global hip hop studies that combines cultural data analytics (text and sound, crowdsourcing, NLP, machine learning, semantic web, stylometry) with ethnographic and cultural studies methods. The researcher will work closely with the PI and a team of ethnographic researchers. S/he will also manage a dedicated doctoral student and a computational support team at the Insight Centre for Data Analytics.

The successful candidate is expected to live in Cork, Ireland and become part of the research environment/network of the university and contribute to its development. The researcher is expected to publish independently and together with the CIPHER team, present research papers at workshops and international conferences, and contribute to popular dissemination of the research results.

For an information package including full details of the post, selection criteria and application process see www.ucc.ie/hr/vacancies. The University, at its discretion, may undertake to make an additional appointment(s) from this competition following the conclusion of the process.

Informal enquiries can be made in confidence to Prof Griffith Rollefson Email: cipher@ucc.ie Further information on the Department is available at https://www.ucc.ie/en/music-theatre/

Salary: Senior Research Fellow Salary Scale: €65,414 – €70,200 – Salary placement on appointment will be in accordance with public sector pay policy.

Applications must be submitted online via the University College Cork vacancy portal. Queries relating to the online application process should be referred to recruitment@ucc.ie, quoting the job-title.

The successful candidate will be familiar with and propose appropriate solutions to the computational challenges of the CIPHER project. See the full CIPHER details at: https://europeanhiphoporg.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/ercconsolidatorgrant-2018-rollefson-fullapp.pdf

Candidates should apply, in confidence, before 12 noon (Irish Local Time) on Thursday 22th August 2019. No late applications will be accepted.

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER

Please note that an appointment to posts advertised will be dependent on University approval, together with the terms of the employment control framework for the higher education sector

Contact Person : Prof. J. Griffith Rollefson Contact Email : cipher@ucc.ie
Job ID : 036431 Contact Number : +353-(0)21-490-4521

https://europeanhiphop.org/2019/05/13/cipher-jobs-posted/

Full Job Packet here: CIPHER-SRF-JobDetails

Apply Here (Job ID: 036431): 

• https://ore.ucc.ie
• https://ore.ucc.ie/pls/corerecruit

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Hip Hop Ecologies: A Workshop at the University of Konstanz (June 26-28, 2020)

Hip hop is one of the globally most successful forms of cultural production today. Since its emergence in the African American and Latino neighborhoods of 1970s New York City, it has spread around the world and exerted a considerable impact not only on pop culture, but on societal debates around race, class, public safety, nationality, gender, and a range of other issues. The rapidly expanding field of hip hop studies has examined its artistic development and cultural significance from a variety of angles. What has remained almost entirely absent from scholarly debate is the relationship between hip hop and the environment.

As a predominantly urban phenomenon, hip hop does not pursue an environ­mentalist agenda in any narrow sense. Its focus is on social rather than natural life, on the city rather than the country. Nevertheless, an environmental perspective on hip hop promises to enrich our understanding of the ways in which popular cultural forms shape and are shaped by environmental concerns. Such an approach can direct our attention to important dimensions of hip hop that have remained marginal to public and scholarly debate. Conversely, hip hop offers unconventional vistas that challenge narrow conceptions the environment and of the academic field of Environmental Studies.

The workshop wants to provide a form for critical discussion and open-ended exploration of these issues. Contributions might draw on various elements of hip hop culture in any local or national setting to address the following aspects or others:

• depictions and negotiations of nature in hip hop
• environmental approaches to (urban) space in hip hop
• hip hop and urban ecology
• rural hip hop and its environmental dimensions
• material environments of hip hop production and reception
• environmentally aware or embedded hip hop cultures
• hip hop in/and environmental activism
• environmental framings in debates around hip hop
• hip hop and the posthuman
• hip hop and the natural sciences

While the workshop will be held in English, contributions on non-anglophone hip hop are expressly invited. If you would like to participate, please send a 250-word proposal and a short biographical note as pdf files to the organizer by September 30, 2019.

A leading peer-reviewed journal of Environmental Studies has expressed interest in publishing the results of the workshop as a special issue. Submissions are invited from both workshop participants and outside contributors; the deadline will be in the fall of 2020. There will be travel bursaries for workshop participants who submit an essay for the special issue. Feel free to inquire if you are interested in this option.

Organizer:

Prof. Dr. Timo Müller
American Studies
University of Konstanz, Germany
timo.mueller@uni-konstanz.de

Russian Hiphop Studies Conference, 19 June 2019

Hip hop studies conference – this is one of the opened trials of the interdisciplinary investigation of the issue of Russian Hiphop culture that is increasingly appearing as a subject among journalists, critics, and even political elites. Hiphop, considered to be a youth couture not long ago, has been celebrating its 45 anniversary and is sometimes compared to classical art forms while critics still see the manifestations of the youth protest, hooliganizm, and deviations. Despite the public resonance, only a few scholars approach hiphop as a serious subject of investigation in Russia and that performing is one of the important fields of modern culture.

This conference will be also create a space for the presentation and discussion of the innovative Russian Hiphop history timeline which connects historical nodal points, elements, celebrities and movements. It presents materials by representatives of the Russian hip hop culture not only dealing with each other but also how they are all involved in different economic, political, state, cultural, and academic events. Different events are included in the timeline: those which were considered to be important from the mass media perspective and those were probably less visible but not less important for the hip hop culture.

We  welcome academic proposals and all type of presentations connected with Slavic Hiphop’s elements (those based both in Russia and outside of it). The proposal should include a title, a 200 word abstract, and a short biographical sketch. Please submit it to Sergey Ivanov no later by 14 June 2019.

Organizing Committee:

• DA EXIT RUSSIA
• Russian State University for the Humanities: http://rggu.com/,
• European Hiphop Studies Network

2 Post-Doctoral Researchers in Global Hip Hop Studies Wanted

Position Summary

Two Post-Doctoral Researcher posts in Hip Hop Studies, are available at the Department of Music in the School of Film, Music, and Theatre at University College Cork. The positions are funded by the European Research Council and are associated with the research project CIPHER: Hip Hop Interpellation. This study of global hip hop knowledge flows will synergize ethnographic and computational methods to examine how hip hop “unlocks the global through the local.” The principal investigator of the project is Professor J. Griffith Rollefson.

We look to hire two Post-Doctoral Researchers with specialization in the hip hop cultures of any world culture region(s) outside of Europe and North America. Especially welcome (but not necessary) will be hip hop scholars with specialisms in two or more cultural/musical/linguistic areas (e.g. Japanese and Mandarin; Wolof, French, and Arabic; Spanish, Tagalog, and English).

This study of global hip hop knowledge flows will synergize ethnographic and computational methods to examine how we might conceive of hip hop as a form of “bottom-up globalization.” The successful candidates may have a disciplinary background rooted in any of the four traditional “elements” of hip hop (DJing/turntablism, MCing/rapping, graffiti/street art, bboy/bgirl dance) or any university discipline, but must demonstrate a deep knowledge of and commitment to hip hop’s “fifth element”: knowledge (of self). The postdoctoral scholars will also demonstrate knowledge of the theory and methods of ethnographic fieldwork and/or community engaged scholarship and have an established track record in such work. The successful candidates will have linguistic, musical, and cultural specializations in one or more geographic communities and an ability to do community-engaged work across various cultural sites and scenes. In their project proposal, the candidates are expected to outline how their research record, interests, and skills align with the CIPHER project – namely, how they might explore hip hop’s localizations in their field(s) of cultural specialization. Citing specific “gems” of local hip hop knowledge in the context of the proposal will be particularly advantageous.

The Post-Doctoral Researchers will work closely with J. Griffith Rollefson, as well as doctoral student researchers, a team of Computational Analysts with specializations in social media, big data, stylometry, and sonic analysis, an Advisory Board of established global hip hop scholars, and an Artistic Council of global hip hop artists.

The successful candidates will have access to dedicated funds for research and conference travel, and assist with the organization of CIPHER’s international conferences and publications.

The successful candidates are expected to live in Cork, Ireland and become part of the research environment/network of the university and contribute to its development. The Post-Doctoral Researchers are expected to publish independently and together with the CIPHER team, present research papers at workshops and international conferences, and contribute to popular dissemination of the research results.

In the evaluation of the applications, emphasis will be placed on:

• the candidate’s scholarly merit, research-related relevance, and innovation
• demonstrated knowledge of hip hop music and culture in local and global perspective
• demonstrated experience in ethnographic and/or community-engaged research in one or more cultural, geographic, or linguistic field sites
• the applicant’s estimated academic and personal ability to carry out the project within the allotted time frame and contribute to the research project CIPHER
• good co-operative skills, and the ability to successfully join in academic collaboration within and across disciplines.

Post Duration: 2 years

Salary: €37,221 – €44,266 p.a. (IUA Salary Scale)

Project: CIPHER: Hip Hop Interpellation

Key Duties and Responsibilities

This title will apply to newly qualified Post-Doctoral Researchers and will be considered as a period of training as the researcher will have dual goals in terms of the research project and their own career development. The researcher will be mentored by a Principal Investigator (PI). It is expected that a researcher would spend not more than 3 years at the Post Doctoral level, subject to the term of the project and would then be eligible to compete for a Senior Post Doctoral post advertised by the University.

The primary focus of the Postdoctoral Researcher will be research however a particular emphasis during this stage should include;

• To conduct a specified programme of research under the supervision and direction of a Principal Investigator/Project Leader.
• To engage in appropriate training and professional development opportunities as required by the Principal Investigator, School or College in order to develop research skills and competencies.
• To gain experience in grant writing.
• To engage in the dissemination of the results of the research in which they are engaged, as directed by, with the support of and under the supervision of a Principal Investigator.
• To become familiar with the publication process.
• To acquire generic and transferable skills (including project management, business skills and postgraduate mentoring/supervision).
• To engage in the wider research and scholarly activities of the research group, School or College.
• To interact closely with postgraduate research students who are studying for a Masters or a PhD and possibly have an agreed role in supporting these students in their day to day research in conjunction with an academic supervisor.
• To carry out administrative work to support the programme of research.
• To carry out additional duties as may reasonably be required within the general scope and level of the post.
• To contribute to costing research grant proposals and assist in the financial management of a research project.

CRITERIA

• PhD in relevant humanities and social science field that offer a solid foundation for research in hip hop studies (e.g. ethno/musicology, ethnic/area studies, cultural studies, anthropology, education, media studies, African American studies, sociology, art history, etc.). The doctoral dissertation must have been submitted for evaluation before the application deadline.
• Experience in ethnographic and/or community-engaged research.
• The candidate’s research must be closely engaged with the field of hip hop studies and/or aligned with the CIPHER initiative’s methods, aims, an ethos.
• Appropriate technical competence and accomplishment.
• A capability of working within a project team to achieve results.
• Good communication, organisation and interpersonal skills.
• A commitment to gaining practical experience working on a research project.
• Ability to work well within a team.
• Personal suitability and motivation for the position.
• Please note that Garda vetting and international police clearance check may form part of the selection process.

For Informal Enquiries on the post candidates should contact:

Name: J. Griffith Rollefson

Title: Professor of Music

Email Address: cipher@ucc.ie

Telephone: +353 (0)21 490 4530

 

To Apply:

Applicants must submit the following attachments in pdf format, to J. Griffith Rollefson, Professor of Music, cipher@ucc.ie, +353 (0)21 490 4530, on or before the closing date 9 September 2019.

• Application Letter (max 2 pages) describing the applicant’s qualifications and motivation for the position
• Curriculum Vitae (complete list of education, positions, teaching experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activities, including a complete list of publications)
• Project description (max 3 pages). The project description should address the following questions: (1) How will your work synergize with and/or augment CIPHER’s theory and methods? Please use a specific example or examples of hip hop knowledge from the music, lyrics, dance, imagery, or performance from your region(s) of specialization. How do these examples align with or complicate the theory of Hip Hop Interpellation outlined in the CIPHER proposal; (2) How will you draw upon your disciplinary, artistic, and theoretical background and previous research or practical experience when working on the project? How will that background benefit the project?; and (3) what will be the details of your methodological approach, and how will you deal with potential practical and ethical challenges.

Please note that all documents must be in English.

The short-listed candidates will be invited to an interview by Skype or at UCC. Details of interview will be finalised at a later date. It is envisaged that the posts will start between January and May 2020 and run for two years. It is also envisaged that a further 1-2 postdoctoral posts will be advertised in years 2-3 of the five-year CIPHER study.

Official Details: https://www.ucc.ie/en/hr/vacancies/research/full-details-1006048-en.html

Stay Informed: @GlobalCipher and http://www.ucc.ie/cipher (we’ll go live soon!)

“Elements Bristol”: Registration Now Open!

I’m excited to announce that the website for the European Hip-hop Network conference is now live! Go to: https://eurohiphop2019.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/ for information about registration, schedule, places to stay and eat and other bits of information. Note that the different tabs are at the top of the site in black if you are having trouble finding it.

In addition to talks and workshops we will also have a screening of Girl Power about women graffiti artists at the Cube cinema on the Fri and a performance by Kid Be Kid on Saturday evening. There will also be social events and performances on the Thurs and Sat so quite the packed schedule! I look forward to welcoming you to Bristol.

Justin Williams

The Hip Hop Dance Almanac Vol. 1 Out Now!

The Hip Hop Dance Almanac was initiated by Ian Abbott and aims to collect and preserve knowledge about dance culture. It

presents primary accounts of people who are both active and an integral part of the broad diaspora of the Hip Hop dance community in the UK.

Volume 1 features inteviews by the following artists:

• Botis Seva
• Ella Mesma
• Nathan Geering
• Shanelle Clemenson
• Gemma Connell
• Wilkie Branson
• Duwane Taylor
• Kendra Horsburgh
• Victoria Shulungu
• Kloe Dean and
• Frankie J.

Volumes 2-5 will be released until 2023.

If you would like to be interviewed or wish to nominate someone else within the Hip Hop dance community please contact Ian Abott via itabbott(@)gmail.com

Call for Membership: TRANS-RURAL HIP-HOP

Hip-Hop Obscura: Revealing Histories Through Ethnomusicology and Cultural Theory

Adam de Paor-Evans, University of Central Lancashire, UK

Developing Social Change and Connectivity
in Rural Areas Through Hip-Hop Culture

In Western and Eastern Europe, areas remote from major cities and/or of a rural nature are commonly perceived by those dwelling in large town, cities and areas of high urban density as of less value economically, but also socio-culturally. This perception is based on the bias that rural/remote dwellers live in a context which is too traditional, old-fashioned or outdated to hold any relevance to the globalised world (i.e. the global network of major/capital cities), that their rituals and cultural practices are also outdated, and that rural folk are disinterested in urban issues.

However, large numbers of rural/remote dwellers draw upon much contemporary culture which is commonly perceived to be solely urban. There is no more distinct portrayal of urban distinction than in global music cultures such as hip-hop, and what is significant to this project is that in rural and regional areas, music cultures like hip-hop- represented as urban in the media- thrive, and feeds off transglobal as well as national and regional music productions. Furthermore, in many cases these areas develop their own praxes, relating directly to their cultural-geographic context locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Here, the music is sympathetic to its urban counterparts but also develops through processes distinct to the rural/regional realms.

It is the intention of this project to initiate significant social change in attitudes held by city-dwellers towards rural/regional people. Additionally, the project will initiate understanding and increased visibility of rural/regional hip-hop culture firstly in Western and Eastern Europe and then globally, and concurrently facilitate the development of a mutual understanding between city and country within the context of hip-hop. This mutual understanding will form the basis for a progressive trans-urban and trans-rural approach to music processes and production which will speak to the changing needs of the global community.

Who and Where?
We are seeking 14 academics with an interest in rural/remote European hip-hop culture.

When and What?
Phase One of the project will start with a meeting in Preston, UK scheduled for early July 2019 entitled: Social Change and Hip-Hop Culture: Towards and Rural-Urban Mutual Understanding where members will be invited to informally discuss ideas surrounding rural/remote hip-hop. Phases Two and Three will take place between 2019 and 2021.

Why and How?
This project is significant as the social problem it will address is non-obvious, and largely invisible, yet it affects rural and regional areas in many countries across the globe. Through this new Project Membership, publications, reading rooms and discussion groups, it is believed that real social change can be fostered developing a mutual understanding between rural/remote and urban/city communities.

Further Information and Contact
If this project is of interest to you, please email Adam de Paor-Evans, University of Central Lancashire, UK.