Adam Banks is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Comparative Studies interested in bringing critical theory to bear on the intersection of hip hop consumption and empire. Going beyond previous research which focused on hip hop artists, Adam's research critically explores how dynamics of gender, class, race, and history place constraints upon and/or create possibilities for enactments of resistive agency for black consumers of hip hop in the U.S. While engaging in doctoral studies, Adam serves as Pastor of First Baptist Church in Springfield, OH. Adam has earned an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary and a B.A. (Anthropology) from Washington University in St. Louis.