Book chapter
Рэп и феминизм: борьба с мизогинией и проблематика женского хип-хопа
The article analyses female hip-hop community within the context of masculine hip-hop culture, as well as the contribution of women to the development of hip-hop music and building a feminist movement in modern rap culture. Female history in the hip-hop music covers the period from the first influential female rap artists of the 1980s to the present. Based on the material of several female rap artists of the 1980s and 1990s the paper discovers how the «women questiom» was represented. The main themes were the follows – emancipation, sexuality, equality.
In book
Margaret Brent was the first woman lawyer in America, arriving in colonies in 1638. She was a master negotiator, an accomplished litigator, and a respect leader. Brent was involved in 124 court cases over 8 years and won every one. A powerful landowner, she was named as executor for Governor Calvert in 1647, when she restored calm and raised funds for mutinous soldiers by selling lands belonging to lord Baltimore, the Proprietor. In 1648 she demanded a "vote and voice" in the Maryland Assembly.
Soviet dissident feminists whose portraits were published in 1980 on the front cover of the American feminist magazine "Ms." now are almost forgotten by russian as well international feminist communities. The book "Feminist Samizdat. 40 years later" aims to bring them back to the field of actual reflection. Monography includes reprint of the original samizdat almanach "Woman and Russia" (1979) with commentaries of its two editors, Natalia Malakhovskaya and Tatyana Mamonova along with historical comments, biographical essays and several articles.
In the paper the works of Elsa Morante are analyzed. The analysis is based on four novels of the Italian authoress (“House of Liars”, “Arturo’s Island”, “History”, “Aracoeli”). Although Morante didn’t consider herself a feminist writer feministic features of novels are revealed.
The links between culture and communication are undeniable, complex, and ever-evolving. An emphasis of cultural discourse studies has been on bringing together the differing ways to study communication and culture, with a particular focus on how local and global cultures interact in the process of globalization (Shi-Xu 2016). It is the globalization of music, particularly rap and hip-hop, that Flew, Ryan, and Su (2019) analyzed in the Chinese context. Drawing on KraidyLs (2005) hybridity theory, Flew, Ryan, and Su (2019) addressed how rap and hip-hop have developed into a hybrid musical and cultural genre in China, using the Chinese television programme The Rap of China as a case study.
The paper discusses the place and role of historical subjects in British popular music culture of the 1970s on the example of London based rock band the Clash. Focusing on acute contemporary themes of racism, oppression of immigrants in England, and the British colonies struggle for independence, however, musicians often turned to historical subjects. Drawing primarily scenes of national history of the former colonies, and, more broadly, the different subjects of national wars, musicians presented a critical view on the British imperial past. The paper examines how and which historical subjects were “engaged” in British punk music culture of the 1970s, and how the very statement about the past was constructed.
Russia has been experiencing the results of an acute economic crisis since 2012. However, the government has not been explicit in its declarations regarding austerity policies. On the contrary, it tends to represent its measures as "normal" and generally justifies cuts to public expenditure and reduced spending as part of a new understanding of the welfare state and socio-economic relations. Nevertheless, there is a clear connection between the crisis and the introduction of conservative discourse and the "traditional values" concept that targets gender equality both in public and private domains.
The Russian case study is exemplary and didactic. As Russia is new to market economics and has never developed a consistent neoliberal agenda, the shift to conservative ideologies came unexpectedly easily. Gender has become a battleground for the government to fight over social problems and austerity measures. Unlike the EU countries, the Russian government does not hesitate to challenge human rights and gender equality, easily shifting the blame to leftist ideologies – primarily feminism – that are held responsible for family instability and the poor state of demography and health. Using the concept of "traditional values" as a cover for increasing austerity measures, the government relies on short-term strategies. However, this shift to conservative public discourse has not been readily accepted by the Russian population, least of all by women. There is clear resistance from various social groups, including women. This resistance is not just taking the familiar form of public protests (although they have been taking place as well), but rather in the form of withdrawal from public space to minimise dealings with the state, a strategy familiar from the Soviet experience of resistance. Therefore, on the surface, Russian public discourse seems to be dominated by officially promoted ideologies, but this does not mean that society just accepts or even implements those ideologies eagerly.
At the same time, there is a clear tendency to follow supranational austerity measures by cutting public spending, amending social security policies, privatising care, and forcing women to return to the double-burden situation in the Soviet-type social contract by openly attacking feminist ideologies, gender equality, and human rights. In this situation, Russian NGOs, especially those with a human rights and gender-sensitive agenda, need more subtle strategies to deal with public policies, starting at the local government level.
My research focuses on the analysis of transfer of violence trop from American hip-hop to Russian rap culture.
According to H.L. �ates concept, hip-hop culture in USA is rooted into Afroamerican literature and oral tradition. For this reason, tropes, which are used by American rappers, are a part of their signifying system. Shouldn’t be here without explanations that only people, who is are included in the tradition, can decipher statement in the correct form. The point of my work is that Russian rappers did not understand this folk tradition of Afroamerican people. The misunderstanding has raised new meanings of borrowed tropes.
M. Espagne suggests that the host culture gives meaning to the new element, building on the local problems and its own actual context. Thus, there is a metisation. It means that the form of borrowed elements are saved, but the original meaning is transformed.
Racial violence, which is a basis of American rap, was not actual in Russia. For this reason, Russian rappers found another form of institutio- nal harassment. Any authority became the greatest enemy in Russian hip- hop culture. This is the influence of Russian chanson, which focuses on the storytelling on behalf of a criminal. This part of chanson is mixed with classic form of rap (recitative and beats). Thus, Russian hop-hop culture is a product of metisation between American rap and Russian chanson.