The Fifth Element is Knowledge

The Fifth Element is Knowledge: Readings on Education, Hip-Hop, and Sport helps students critically examine issues related to race, gender, identity, inequality, politics, and economics through the lenses of education, hip-hop culture, and sport. The featured readings facilitate the development of students' critical academic and psychosocial talents while connecting them to relevant issues in different social contexts.

The articles are organized into seven sections. Sections I and II describe the foundations and overarching structures and conditions that shape education, hip-hop, and sport. The next three sections address the ways that athletes experience hip-hop culture. Students read articles that examine the prominent, global cultural phenomenon of hip-hop and sport and how it will continue to influence the world, now and in the future. Each section includes discussion questions to encourage further exploration of the material and spark critical conversations.

Underscoring the political significance and social influence of the nexus of education, hip-hop, and sport, The Fifth Element is Knowledge is an ideal resource for courses that examine sociology, contemporary social issues, and culture.

Eddie Comeaux is an associate professor of higher education in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Riverside. He holds a Ph.D. in education, with emphasis on social science and comparative education, from the University of California, Los Angeles.

C. Keith Harrison is the associate unit head/chief academic officer and professor for the DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program and founding director of The Minor that's Major Sport Business Management Undergraduate Program.

Reggie Saunders is the senior director of entertainment marketing for Jordan Brand at Nike.