About the Journal
Launched in Fall 2019, The Word is a fresh as hell student hiphop research journal that aims to embody the founding spirit and purpose of hiphop: providing a mode of creative expression and voice to marginalized communities, inspiring activism, and making a way outta no way. We define hiphop as encompassing the traditional "5 elements" of MCing, DJing/producing, graffiti writing, breakdancing, and dropping science/knowledge (what we're doing right here) as well as the elements of fashion and style; blogging and social media writing; and TV, films, plays, and novels.
We do this through the publication of student research on hiphop culture, reporting on happenings in the hiphop community, and providing access and mentorship to undergraduates, especially undergraduates marginalized by race, class, gender, and/or sexuality, as they participate in the academic practices of critical discussion, peer review, revision, and publication.
Through our activities, we pursue the mission of
- Supporting undergraduates, especially undergraduates marginalized by race, class, gender, and/or sexuality, in the writing, revising, research and publication process through a mentorship-based open peer review model that mentors both undergraduate writers and editors and graduate student reviewers in how academic publishing works;
- Forwarding a hiphop feminist agenda in hiphop studies that always recognizes and often centers the experiences and artistry of Black and Brown women, girls, trans people, queer people, and femmes and critiques misogyny and homophobia in hiphop by maintaining gender as a critical lens;
- Elevating evolving hiphop conversations through a hiphop studies perspective through published material and quarterly public events;
- Creating community between hiphop scholars (at the undergrad, grad, faculty, staff level) across multiple institutions, starting at Stanford; and
- Supporting critical writing and research practices through published materials on research, style(shifting), and citation practices with a hiphop point of view
The Word is continually soliciting research papers and blog content related to hiphop culture for its online-only publication. We are an open peer-refereed journal. We define a research paper as having limited scope and a clear argument that arises from recognizable research methods. On our blog we publish a wider range of articles about hiphop and hiphop studies as well as audiovisual content. We encourage you to visit our main site at theword.stanford.edu or follow us on Facebook or Instagram. Thank you for stopping by!
