University of Arizona Introduces Nation’s First Hip Hop Minor

The cultural of hip hop continues to grow, enlighten, and elevate to positive levels of everyday life.

According to a recent press  release December 2011 on t he University of Arizona (UA) website:  The UA will be the first college in the nation  launch the country’s first degree designation around the movement incorporated into their institution and curriculum.

Many may wonder, is the art  worthy of a serious study? Director of Africana Studies  Alain-Philippe Durand , as he stated in the press release …he believes so”,since  for decades, scholars have trained their academic eyes on the music, fashion, street art and dance that express a now global cultural phenomenon. They don’t study hip-hop for its catchy beats. They study it because it’s a river that roars through societies, shaping their cultural and political landscapes as it goes”…For students, that powerful force translates into serious questions. They may analyze the visual symbols in a graffiti mural, but they’re also challenged to think about graffiti in the context of German sociologist Jurgen Habermas’ ideas of public space as a social construct, Durand explains. They may unpack the lyrics of a familiar Jay-Z song, but they also have to consider how religious, ethnic and national identity overlap in the multi-lingual rap “Hamdulillah” (roughly translated from Arabic as “Praise to God”). Click here to read full press release:

Sounds interesting I wonder if its available for an online course.

Related articles

• University of Arizona Introduces First Ever Hip-Hop Minor (allhiphop.com)
• University of Arizona introduces first hip-hop minor ()
• “Old-School Three Times Over”: Meet Afrika Bambaataa, Cornell Professor (blogs.villagevoice.com)

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