Specifically, this thesis is a look into rap lyrics, subculture, policy, reflexivity and the formation of the social self. In a broader vision, this thesis attempts to mold a theoretical pathway that illuminates where our cultural products \"come from,\" not historically, but socially. Through the vehicle of rap lyrics I attempt to show that there is a historical and social structure that molds, limits and contains the very possibility of what music and lyrics can come to be. I try to show that the decisions we make on a national scale effects groups which have little political power, effectively recreating their realities, cultures and their value systems. Policy becomes a mechanism, which I call rejection, that forces people to live certain ways consequently reforming their social mapping, and by extension, their social selves. I then utilize auto-ethnography to show that, perhaps, rejection is a part of all us, and that it never quite escapes our cultural products, our work and those things we create.
","abstract_html":"<p>Specifically, this thesis is a look into rap lyrics, subculture, policy, reflexivity and the formation of the social self. In a broader vision, this thesis attempts to mold a theoretical pathway that illuminates where our cultural products "come from," not historically, but socially. Through the vehicle of rap lyrics I attempt to show that there is a historical and social structure that molds, limits and contains the very possibility of what music and lyrics can come to be. I try to show that the decisions we make on a national scale effects groups which have little political power, effectively recreating their realities, cultures and their value systems. Policy becomes a mechanism, which I call rejection, that forces people to live certain ways consequently reforming their social mapping, and by extension, their social selves. I then utilize auto-ethnography to show that, perhaps, rejection is a part of all us, and that it never quite escapes our cultural products, our work and those things we create. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Higgins, Ethan Maxwell"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Justice Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:19Z","subjects":["Criminal Justice","Culture","Policy","Rap","Society","Sociology","Criminology","Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration","Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2013 Ethan Maxwell Higgins"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/179","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Higgins, Ethan Maxwell"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Justice Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Criminal Justice","Culture","Policy","Rap","Society","Sociology","Criminology","Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration","Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2013 Ethan Maxwell Higgins"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/179"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Specifically, this thesis is a look into rap lyrics, subculture, policy, reflexivity and the formation of the social self. In a broader vision, this thesis attempts to mold a theoretical pathway that illuminates where our cultural products \"come from,\" not historically, but socially. Through the vehicle of rap lyrics I attempt to show that there is a historical and social structure that molds, limits and contains the very possibility of what music and lyrics can come to be. I try to show that the decisions we make on a national scale effects groups which have little political power, effectively recreating their realities, cultures and their value systems. Policy becomes a mechanism, which I call rejection, that forces people to live certain ways consequently reforming their social mapping, and by extension, their social selves. I then utilize auto-ethnography to show that, perhaps, rejection is a part of all us, and that it never quite escapes our cultural products, our work and those things we create.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Rejecting the rejecters: The latent effect of policy on subculture"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Higgins, Ethan Maxwell"],"dc:description.abstract":["Specifically, this thesis is a look into rap lyrics, subculture, policy, reflexivity and the formation of the social self. In a broader vision, this thesis attempts to mold a theoretical pathway that illuminates where our cultural products \"come from,\" not historically, but socially. Through the vehicle of rap lyrics I attempt to show that there is a historical and social structure that molds, limits and contains the very possibility of what music and lyrics can come to be. I try to show that the decisions we make on a national scale effects groups which have little political power, effectively recreating their realities, cultures and their value systems. Policy becomes a mechanism, which I call rejection, that forces people to live certain ways consequently reforming their social mapping, and by extension, their social selves. I then utilize auto-ethnography to show that, perhaps, rejection is a part of all us, and that it never quite escapes our cultural products, our work and those things we create.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/179"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2013 Ethan Maxwell Higgins"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Criminal Justice","Culture","Policy","Rap","Society","Sociology","Criminology","Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration","Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance"],"dc:title":["Rejecting the rejecters: The latent effect of policy on subculture"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Justice Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:19Z"}