Women and Language calls for submissions to a special issue dedicated to Hip Hop’s Languages of Love. The issue will focus on love in hip hop as it relates to language and gender. It will be published in the Fall of 2009.Critical examination of hip hop’s languages of love is important because despite its crude stereotypes, hip hop is an often-consulted source on the subject. We intend to expand the definition of love by embracing its complexities. We seek perspectives on love that are not singular and do not polarize. For instance,we welcome manuscripts that address diverse sexual identities and relationships. Moreover, our definition of hip hop extends beyond rap music to embrace an entire culture that includes other forms of music, dance, visual art, comedy, fashion, film, poetry, journalism,literature, scholarship, and politics. The culture’s influences are readily found in media, professional athletics,and religious and educational institutions, just to name a few of the major sites.Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:How is language used to portray intimacy among and between men and women in hip hop?What role does the language of passion play in hip hop’s heterosexual and homoerotic spaces?What relationships exist among language, love, and the pornographic in hip hop?What language patterns and definitions represent commitment (or the lack thereof) in hip hop among individuals, between individuals and the industry, and/ or between individuals and the art of performance? In what ways does self-love manifest in hip hop?What relationships exist between the love of the divine and the language of hip hop?What are the ramifications of conceptualizing hip hop as a love-filled or loveless space? We invite scholars from diverse disciplines, experiences, and backgrounds to consider such questions in a special issue devoted to hip hop and love. We seek pieces that take theoretical,critical, scientific or creative approaches to developing an understanding of the interactive dynamics of hip hop, love, language, and gender. Submissions can range from theoretical or critical analysis to personal experience, to reports of research, to book or film reviews, book notices, or poetry. Submissions should be sent as MS Word attachments to Ebony A. Utley at hiphoplove09@gmail.comno later than January 15, 2009. Author identifications should appear in the body of the email and not with the paper itself.Any material that includes references should be prepared following the Modern Language Association (MLA) Style Manual. Preferred maximum length of submissions is 15 pages or 3600 words, but longer articles will be considered. If you would like to discuss your ideas in advance with the editors, please e-mail Ebony A. Utley: hiphoplove09@gmail.com.Women and Language, an international,interdisciplinary research periodical publishing thought‑provoking essays and inquiries, book reviews, bibliographies, and more, on topics of interest to a wide range of scholars interested in communication, language and gender, will be edited for this special issue by Ebony A. Utley and Brenda J. Allen. Any questions related to other issues involving W& L should be directed to Ataylor@gmu.edu.
————————–
ebony a. utley, ph.d.
http://www.csulb.edu/~eutley