Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Rap Crap: University Offers "English" Course on Jay-Z-Kanye Relationship

Let's just say it isn't exactly on par with studying the likes of Shakespeare or Chaucer:
English students at the University of Missouri can now take a full course on all things Hova and Yeezy.

Entitled "English 2169: Jay-Z and Kanye West," the course will examine the power-duo's joint and respective careers from three different angles, according to the syllabus:

"1. Where do they fit within, and how do they change, the history of hip-hop music?
 2. How is what they do similar to and different from what poets do?
 3. How does their rise to both celebrity and corporate power alter what we understand as the  American dream?"

Course activities include "listening to music and watching videos," as well as reading critical works on rap music, poetry studies, and Jay Z's 2010 biography Decoded.
What, no Beyoncé? How sexist!

Update: Suggestion for a new course at the U of M: The Semiotics of Pharrell Williams' Hat.

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