My research spanned the both the English and History disciplines.  Connecting these disciplines came very naturally.  The lyrics of the songs touch upon language and the power of words.  Rappers use their hip-hop lyrics to convey their experiences and we have seen this language brought into the vocabulary of the audience.  As hip-hop becomes more prominent, new words and language styles emerge.  The stories and concepts of the lyrics are directly related to history, both past and present.  When rappers share their experiences, they include their views on historical events, how those events shape our world today, and what is happening as a result.  At its core, hip-hop is a rally cry to understand history and to affect positive change.

In my independent research, I have found it to be difficult and overwhelming at times.  Not only am I collecting relevant information on my topic, but I am also trying to determine the best questions to ask.  I found that it is easy to go off on tangents and lose focus.  However, I have learned a significant amount about hip-hop’s contributions and the history of the how it has emerged as a powerful voice for those affected by the current social issues.  I would like to do a presentation to demonstrate what I have learned and to inform my classmates of the positive impact hip-hop is making.  

Putting together the presentation is a concern to me, since I want to make sure it is organized and easy to understand.  But even though I am nervous, I am excited to share my knowledge with the class and to raise awareness of why hip-hop is so important in today’s environment.

Feedback is a very useful tool during my projects.  I like hearing what my peers have to say and how they have interpreted my project.  Getting these different perspectives makes me see things in ways I hadn’t thought of previously.  The more eyes on the project, and receiving the feedback, let’s me know the strengths of my project and the weaknesses.  For example, when selecting the attributes of my end user, the feedback I received was to be more descriptive.  This led me to think more about the end user and give a richer description.  I also received feedback on my discipline connections, letting me know that I needed to explain more fully how they are connected.

Using the feedback I received, I modified the description of my end user to have more attributes, such as being American, a Hip-Hop fan, a teenanger, and socially aware.  I also modified my discipline connections by adding how they are connected, such as the English connection being analysis of song lyrics and the History connection being how Hip-Hop has influenced policing both in the past and currently.

When giving feedback to my peers, I chose to write down clarifying questions for them so that they would be able to see where more explanation is needed.  I believe this helped them, since sometimes you may understand your subject material very well and it is hard to step away and realize that others don’t have the same understanding.  Making things clear will help keep the audience engaged.  For example, I asked Emi for more information and explanation on what the riots were and to name the important figures in this event.  I think it is our responsibility to provide feedback to our peers so we can all improve our analytical and presentation skills.  We just need to ensure that our feedback is beneficial and that it is actionable.