I came across an article yesterday that left me wondering about the decisions that are sometimes made at LSU. I read a story about how a six-credit section combining the courses “The African American in Sport” and “History of African American Popular Culture: Rap, Race, and Identity Reality” will be available to students in spring.
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t exactly feel comfortable with LSU’s decision to teach students about the history of rap. I think there are some decent reasons why we might want to put this course on hold for now.
First of all, the University has other needs to take care of before hosting this class. LSU sometimes lacks teachers for important courses. Sometimes people are left waiting another semester to graduate because a class is full.
This new black culture course is not a priority. How can LSU add a cutting-edge class to its course catalog, yet fail to take care of the students’ real needs by getting more teachers and adding sections for more important classes?
I’m not saying the class is the only one that wouldn’t best serve students, because there are others. History professor and author Leonard Moore will teach the class. It seems as though he’s a worthy teacher. However, I have to question what’s being taught.
When I think of rap, I don’t exactly think of a bachelor’s degree. I’m more likely to think of going to parties with a lack of women, lack of beer and an abundance of good music with lots of bass.
Also, let’s face it, rap hasn’t had the best history in the world. It has undoubtedly impacted our culture, but are some of rap’s contributors worth studying in a classroom at a prestigious University? Where’s the credibility?
Tupac Shakur may have made some great music, but he decided to live the gangster lifestyle even though he could have easily left it behind. The same goes for The Notorious B.I.G. Other rappers such as Dr. Dre have dedicated half their lives to making up rhymes about smoking weed. Sounds like some heavy learning material, huh? Imagine if there’s ever an honors version of this class.
Beyond rap music’s past, I can’t see how this class would offer a lot more new information. If you watched VH1 on the right weekend, you could probably learn most of rap’s history.
If LSU wants to offer classes like this when students have other needs, there’s no telling what is next. LSU might offer “Hammernomics:” The study of M.C. Hammer’s financial woes and how to manage your millions. LSU might also offer “Macology:” The study of pimps and how to become a world-famous mac daddy.
For rock-oriented areas, we could have “Kid Rockology:” The study of how to make millions being white trash. Also, a much easier course would be “ZZ Topology.” This course would teach you how to look like a total freaking bum.
Maybe LSU wouldn’t offer these classes, but the information would be just as useless as the rap portion of the class in question. This leads me to my next point. How could you use any of this information to better your career after school? Sure, the class also will look at the economic impact of rap, etc., but what’s that going to do for someone once they graduate?
I seriously doubt anyone will gain an advantage over another interviewee because they know more about rap. The only way that’s going to happen is if someone is going into the music business, and that’s a miniscule percentage.
In the end, I don’t blame the teacher for wanting to teach this class and the students who want to take the class. Who wouldn’t want to take something that basically has nothing to do with regular schoolwork? It’s LSU officials’ job to take care of students’ most important needs. Chancellor Emmert is aiming to make LSU one of the great schools. LSU officials need to join the crusade and lay down the hammer on issues like this. Like MC Hammer said, it’s “Hammertime.”
Contact Jeff Kurtz at [email protected]