Congratulations to Professor Jooyoung Lee who recently received the Charles Cooley Book Award from the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction for his book, Blowin’ Up: Rap Dreams in South Central. Professor Lee is an Associate Professor of Sociology with teaching responsibilities on the St. George campus. His research interests range from gun violence, health disparities, gangs, emotions, creativity, and Hip Hop culture.
Blowin' Up provides an account of aspiring rappers who attended Project Blowed workshops in LA. The book explores the training behind rappers' work to construct their style, as well as the meaning that rappers attach to their creative work. The committee described Professor Lee's book as "a superbly written and insightful five-year long ethnography of hip-hop artists in South Central Los Angeles." They also noted that his book "offer(s) new avenues to interpret hip-hop as a meaningful and transformative art form."