The 2nd Annual Scholars of the Culture: The Wiley College Conference on the Hip-Hop Experience will be held at Wiley College in Marshall, TX, on March 20-21, 2015. This year’s theme will be “Women of Hip-Hop.” The conference is seeking proposals that address issues relevant to this theme. In addition to critical essays, SOTC also welcomes submissions for creative pieces that are relevant to this year’s theme.

Wiley College is the first Historically Black College to host an annual conference that addresses hip-hop culture from an academic perspective. The aim is to facilitate student and attendee exposure to the history, art, rhetoric, and industry of hip-hop, and to increase participant awareness of the transformative possibilities and academic value of hip-hop culture. As the Home of the Great Debaters, Wiley College is dedicated to educating and empowering its students, many of whom are the producers and consumers of hip-hop culture. The College, in fulfilling its basic purpose of providing a liberal arts education with a global focus, endeavors to provide an intellectually stimulating environment, promote student competencies in communication, and foster critical and analytical thinking. SOTC responds to the College’s mission by demonstrating to students the educational and global importance of hip-hop culture.

The conference will feature panel presentations on a variety of hip-hop topics, Show and Proves, roundtable discussions with invited speakers and students, creative performances, career workshops, and slam/freestyle cyphers. A Show and Prove is a format for discussion where all participants are interacting as equals. Participants stand or sit in a circle and the Show and Prove facilitators engage the participants in the discussion. If you would like your panel discussion held in the Show and Prove format, please let us know.

Submission Deadline
Jan. 23, 2015
All submission materials should be emailed to Andy Engel, Asst. Prof. / Lead Prof. of English, agengel@wileyc.edu

Critical & Creative Submission Requirements
300 word abstract/description of project (including title)
150 word bio (please include current academic affiliation, if applicable)
list of any technology requirements

Panel proposals are welcomed and encouraged. Panel proposals should include the following:
250 word abstract/description of the panel’s rationale
abstract/description for each panelist
bio for each panelist
list of any technology requirements