Upper School Curriculum

Grades: 12 (Grade 11 with departmental approval)
Fall

This course explores the artistry of Hip Hop as a poetic and cultural force that speaks truth to power, builds identity, and reshapes language. By reading and listening to a range of poems and rap lyrics, students will investigate how artists across genres use sound, storytelling, and symbolism to resist dominant narratives and imagine new possibilities for self-expression. While poetry has long been a part of the literary canon, Hip Hop is often dismissed as counterculture. This course challenges that divide, asking not only who gets to be a poet, but what counts as poetry in the first place. Students will examine how both poets and MCs craft language to protest injustice, celebrate community, and explore complex identities. Throughout the semester, students will engage in daily discussion, comparative analysis, personal responses, and creative projects, including lyric annotations, poetic imitations, and performances. This course honors Hip Hop as a deeply literary tradition, one that invites us to listen closely, speak truthfully, and think critically about voice, power, and art.