From Catullus to Kendrick: Teaching Roman Invective through Hip Hop Beef

Bev Back, School of Languages, Cutures and Societies, University of Leeds

This project investigates an innovative pedagogical approach to teaching Roman invective poetry by placing the works of first-century BC authors, particularly Catullus, in dialogue with contemporary Hip Hop and rap "beefs". Invective occupies a central place in Roman literary culture, yet students often struggle to interpret its rhetorical aggression, obscenity, performative hostility, and complex relationship to poetic persona. By drawing structured comparisons with diss tracks and rap rivalries, the project seeks to make these literary practices more accessible and culturally legible to modern learners.

Building on scholarship in Hip Hop pedagogy, rhetoric, and culturally sustaining teaching practices, the project positions Hip Hop as a rich site of rhetorical analysis rather than simply a form of entertainment. Students will examine ancient and modern texts through shared analytical frameworks, including audience, persona, intertextuality, insult strategies, performance, and power dynamics. The project aims to determine whether this comparative method improves student comprehension of Roman literary conventions, increases engagement with challenging material, and supports critical discussion of issues such as identity, social conflict, and representation.

Implemented within the undergraduate module CLAS1625: Roman Poets, the project will employ a three-year cycle of research, design, classroom implementation, evaluation, and refinement. Data will be gathered through pre- and post-module surveys, assessment analysis, and student reflective commentary, enabling both qualitative and quantitative evaluation of learning outcomes. Particular attention will be given to accessibility and inclusive teaching practices, exploring how familiar contemporary cultural forms can support diverse learners in engaging with complex ancient texts.

By reframing Catullan invective through the lens of Hip Hop culture, the project contributes to ongoing conversations about innovation in Classics pedagogy, comparative literary study, and the use of contemporary cultural frameworks in language and literature education. More broadly, it argues for understanding invective as a transhistorical rhetorical practice, demonstrating how ancient texts can become more meaningful when their social dynamics and communicative strategies are connected to forms students already recognise and understand.