Video: Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson's "Sociology of Hip-Hop" focuses on the life and work of superstar rapper Jay-Z.
“I didn’t have room in my schedule to take the class,” says senior Jackie Steves, who has been crashing lectures, with Dyson’s permission. “But I come whenever I can.”
After class, she swarms the podium alongside a dozen other students that help make up one of the most diverse gatherings at Georgetown, a university where minorities are 21 percent of the undergraduate student body.
“Just in this class existing, it shows me that there are unorthodox options in the most traditional universities and social structures in America,” says Tate Tucker, a sophomore also waiting to speak to the professor. “So, hopefully, I’ll be able to forge my own path, much like he has.”
Tucker isn’t talking about Jay-Z. He’s talking about Dyson, who has been star on campus since his arrival in 2007. “The word of mouth on Michael’s courses is huge,” says Timothy Wickham-Crowley, chairman of Georgetown’s sociology department. Wickham-Crowley argues that study of Jay-Z’s work is valuable from a sociological perspective because it resonates with a wide swath of humanity and sparks discussion. “When [Dyson] comes out of the classroom, he has students in tow and there are these animated, engaged conversations going on,” he says.
Georgetown’s Jay-Z course has also sparked conversations between students and the parents who sign their tuition checks — $40,920 for the 2011-2012 academic year. Ryan Zimmerman, a senior double-majoring in government and sociology, says his folks weren’t thrilled when he enrolled.
“Hip-hop didn’t exist when my parents were growing up with Billy Joel and Van Morrison and the Rolling Stones,” says Zimmerman. “My dad was like, ‘Excuse me? What?’ ”
Dyson understands. “I’m sure there’s a lot of push-back from some students’ parents,” he says. “But I tell them, ‘Bring your parents in here. Let them see what we’re doing. It might change their minds.’ ”
This is Dyson’s specialty — seeking out generation gaps in need of bridges. He’s an unabashed self-promoter who appears regularly on cable news, public radio and “Real Time With Bill Maher.” Part of his continuing mission has been to carry out the messy diplomacy between the hip-hop generation and its oft-dismissive elders.
“I’m a tweener, man! I couldn’t march with Dr. King and them. And I’m too old to be a hip-hopper,” the 53-year-old says during office hours. “But I’ve been granted honorary status in each generation. . . . I see my tongue as a bridge over which ideas can travel back and forth.”
Dyson offered his first university-level hip-hop course in 1995 at the University of North Carolina. Since then, he’s taught at Columbia, DePaul and the University of Pennsylvania, where he offered a course on Tupac Shakur using his 2002 book, “Holler if You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur,” as the primary textbook.
In recent years, Boston University has taught Bob Dylan and New York University has taught the Beatles, but college courses on rappers are rare. Courses on contemporary rappers are practically nonexistent.
The Post Most: LifestyleMost-viewed stories,videos, and galleries in the past two hours
Loading...
Comments