The University Of Missouri will offer its students a pop culture-themed course, English 2169, in which music’s brightest superstars Jay Z and Kanye West are its primary focus. The course, taught by Andrew Hoberek, whose background includes 20th century literature, quickly filled to capacity in the fall 2013 semester, and he’s gearing up to teach the class again for fall 2014.
The course required materials include Jay Z’s book, Decoded, and “Histories of and critical works on rap music” by Jeff Chang. The course will detail the vast similarities between the rap stars and recognized poets, infused with the history of hip-hop, and how their fame and career success changed the American dream.
Hoberek said, ”I really do think that these guys are warming up to the level of major poets, and not many people think of it in those terms … They’re very much like painters and novelists in the 20th century, moving beyond the confines of the art form’s boundaries.”