A Saginaw Valley State University professor is tapping into the power of hip-hop legend Jay-Z to teach his students English.
English professor Roberto Garcia has created a 200-level English course called “Rethinking the Dominant Culture: Jay-Z and Modern America.”
Professor Garcia originally formed the concept for the course while he was a student at SVSU.
After he graduated and became a faculty member, Garcia decided to pitch the idea to other instructors, who decided to help him turn the idea into a full-fledged course.
During the semester students have to write three papers, give presentations and participate in lyric decoding exercises.
So far, the course has exceeded students’ expectations.
“I didn’t even think that I held a lot of stereotypes, but the stereotypes I held about hip-hop artists especially were totally shattered,” Gabriel Negranza, a junior in biochemistry. told The Valley Vanguard.