Georgia Tech Introduces Hip Hop And Trap Music Course
Georgia Tech’s students will be able to truthfully say they “be trappin, trappin, trappin, trappin’ all d*** night” with a new course offering. Made available two weeks ago (Jan. 13), the humanities elective and requirement for Social Justice minors, “Exploring the Lyrics of OutKast and Trap Music to Explore Politics of Social Justice” will dissect the influence of trap music and legendary hip-hop artists along the same caliber of OutKast, connecting the analyzation back to social justice, HipHopDX reports.
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The course’s professor and Emmy-nominated documentary producer, Dr. Joycelyn Wilson’s hip-hop prowess attests to her capability in leading the course. With projects in Harvard’s Hip Hop Archives, a Tedx Lecture surrounding her renowned “The OutKast Imagination,” a producing stint under her belt with Walking With Guns, and earning a spot in VH1’s documentary, The Untold Story of Atlanta’s Rise In The Rap Game, the PhD scholar is more than qualified to teach the course.
A main goal for the course is to “broaden and deepen [the students’] understandings of music within a larger tradition of cultural expression.” All of which Dr. Wilson believes will be possibly due in part by the popularity of hip-hop music, stating, “The class is popular because hip-hop culture is popular, but also because we are in Atlanta and offering the course at an institute of technology committed to intersecting the humanities with technology.”
Just like the diverse crowd of people who participate and enjoy the stylings of hip-hop culture, there’s a variety in educational pursuits within the makeup of the class. Dr. Wilson explains, “My students are majors in engineering, economics, public policy, media and communications, and biomedical sciences. They all have a sensibility towards hip hop and a special affinity for trap music.” Obtaining a similar educational background to most of her students with her math degree, the hip-hop professor believes she “can understand and relate to their undergraduate experiences at Georgia Tech while attempting to make sense of what’s happening around them culturally.”
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Dr. Wilson’s overall goal is to educate the “next generation of STEM leaders” using the 40-year-old metaphor (hip-hop) in its contemporary form (trap) and provide the “basic principles and fundamental truths” to her students so they may apply them to their post-graduation work lives.
Georgia Tech’s STEM students can expect to research and analyze the sounds and social impact of artists like Goodie Mob, UGK, Jeezy, 2 Chainz, 2Pac, N.W.A., Lauryn Hill, and more.
