I almost jumped outta my seat and did a shout after running across this Washington Post article announcing a new college course on Jay-Z.
Yes, you read that right. Next Fall, Georgetown University will be offering a course on the Sociology of Jay-Z. And what’s doubly cool is that the course will be taught by none other than critically acclaimed scholar Dr. Michael Eric Dyson.
If you haven’t heard of him, you’re seriously missing out. He’s written a bunch of amazing books on hip hop, politics, religion, and even public figures of interest such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Tupac Shakur.
What To Expect From A Hip Hop College Course
I’ll quote the words of Dr. Michael Eric Dyson: “We look at his incredible body of work, we look at his own understanding of his work, we look at others who reflect upon him, and then we ask the students to engage in critical analysis of Jay-Z himself.”
I’ve witnessed a lot of talk debating the merits of a college course like this, especially nowadays where an ongoing dialogue centers around the usefulness of college degrees, assuming student loan debt, and gaining viable employment in a down economy. I’ve seen a few people wryly remark that they *wish* they would send their child to college and spend hundreds of dollars in registration fees to take a “useless” course on Jay-Z.
Useless Course? I Think Not!
I can think of quite a few educational skills that can be developed from taking a course like this. Namely, critical thinking and analytical skills, which are absolutely on the MUST USE list when it comes to graduate school.
As a matter of fact, it’s KIND OF expected that you have these skills pretty well developed before you even apply. I seriously cannot think of a cooler way to develop the very skills that LITERALLY separate the strong, weak, and the obsolete in the grad school admissions process.
Yes, I know that I just borrowed and remixed part of that last phrase from the Notorious B.I.G. It may be a tad bit corny, but it’s definitely appropriate.
