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This article is about the construction of masculinity in the German rap scene. After giving a short overview over the history, structure, main narratives and economic relevance of German rap, the construction of rap masculinity will be mainly discussed in the context of a transformation of the (global) gender order. For example, what impact does the rise and success of female rappers have on the gendered power relations within the German rap scene? Does the inclusion of feminine-coded moves and sounds, aesthetics or topics indicate a shift towards more alternative forms of masculinity? And what does it mean, when male rap artists currently rap about the meaning of masculinity, as if it was something that has to be (re-?) defined all at once?

The field study works with different data material from the rap scene, lyrics, interviews, but also multimodal signs as album covers, photos, video material, etc. Through discourse analysis, major discursive lines and threads are pointed out to draw a picture of gender order in this distinctive social and artistic setting.

Art is a complex, multiform, fluid human activity that is subjugated to time-space-place contexts and dependent upon social representation and values. But what is it for? This introduction to the book Art in Diverse Social settings begins with a general characterization of Art as universal language. Unlike verbal language, art is primarily processed in the sensorial and emotional fields and only later rationally; unlike science, it does not aim at explaining or predicting the laws of the world's phenomena, instead it communicates by showing (in essence, it has an expressive meaning). In today's world, art became an accessible good and a valuable human creation because of this reappraisal of artistic practices; art is today expressive in domains such as politics, citizenship, economy, ethics, sustainability or public affairs.

The introduction to this edited book explains why it is focused on the role of art in today's diverse society. Art is part of the worldviews and mindsets from which it results and as a complex and ambiguous product of culture and perception, it must be understood from multiple perspectives. As such, this book includes in the first part seminal chapters with a theoretical scope, which highlight conceptual, contextual and cultural issues of contemporary art. The chapters in the second and third parts of the book are exemplary case studies, describing concrete intervention projects, which use some form of art or composed artistic expression as a medium for communication and intervention in the contexts of social and professional organizations, public spaces or the community. A summary of each chapter is provided and linked to the main goal of the book.