Thursday, May 10, 2012

Race and the Media Symposium in Metro DC

The Race and the Media Symposium will be help in Silver Spring, Maryland (Metro DC) on June 9, 2012.  Visit the symposium website for more details.  Presenters include Eddie Moore, Jr., Doreen Loury, William "Flip" Clay, Shane Kyla, Elgin Klugh, and Frederick Gooding (bios available here).  Register here.


-- Nick J. Sciullo

Lauricella and Alexander on Lil Wayne's Prison Blog

Sharon Lauricella (Faculty of Criminology, Justice and Policy Studies - University of Ontario Institute of Technology) and Matthew Alexander (University of Ontario Institute of Technology) have published Voice from Rikers: Spirituality in Hip Hop Artist Lil' Wayne's Prison Blog (Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, Vol. 24, No. 1, 2012, pp. 15-28).  Here is the abstract:


While incarcerated on Rikers Island, Grammy award-winning rapper Lil’ Wayne posted letters to a blog to maintain contact with fans.  The blog entries and comments from fans express gratitude, positivity, encouragement, and a pervasive sense of spirituality and religiousness.  This paper considers the content of Lil’ Wayne’s letters from Rikers, together with posted comments to the blog, in the context of spiritual communication and participatory media.


-- Nick J. Sciullo