Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Captives may be released as early as Saturday and by Monday at the latest: Source briefed on the details of the agreement.
Netanyahu set to convene security cabinet at 1500 (1200GMT) and government at 1600 (1300GMT) to approve the deal: Source briefed on the details of the agreement
Within the first 24 hours, the Israeli military will complete the first phase of partial withdrawal: Source briefed on the details of the agreement
Israeli military says it has begun operational preparations for the implementation of the Gaza agreement
Israeli media: The ceasefire will take effect today at 12 noon
Israeli media: Israeli military divisions have been ordered to prepare for a complete withdrawal or repositioning to the rear in the near future
Canada welcomes "Israel" and Hamas's agreement to implement the first phase of Trump's plan to end the war.
Al-Dali to Al Mayadeen: The presence of resistance leaders at the negotiations and the signing of the agreement, after "Israel" attempted to assassinate them in Qatar, is a humiliation for the occupation.
Al-Dali to Al Mayadeen: The agreement will be signed in the presence of Resistance leaders, led by Hamas, with senior official Khalil al-Hayya set to sign the agreement.
Trump to Fox News: I believe Iran is going to be involved in the peace situation.

Professor wants to launch class on Kanye West for sociology lessons

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 23 Oct 2022 15:07
5 Min Read

Despite criticism from social media, McCune is pushing to start his third class on Kanye West's controversial impact on both Black culture and social issues.

  • x
  • Professor Jeffrey McCune Jr (University of Rochester)
    Professor Jeffrey McCune Jr (University of Rochester)

Associate professor of African and African American studies at the University of Rochester, Jeffrey McCune Jr., is pushing to introduce his third class on rapper Kanye West's artistry, impact and political views to deliver complex topics to college students.

After teaching his first two Kanye-West-inspired courses - The Politics of Kanye West: Black Genius and Sonic Aesthetics - at Washington University in St. Louis in 2017, delving into themes from Black culture to mental health, McCune said the third course aims to tackle the rapper’s recent anti-Black rhetoric.

“As a cultural critic, as a public intellectual, as a steward of my community, I have to believe that it’s important for me as a professor to counter the messages that Kanye is now advancing, using Christianity as the bedrock for it,” McCune said, adding: “As an educator, as an intellectual, as a scholar, it will be irresponsible for me to just do away with him, knowing the kinds of impacts and effects his work and his weight could have.”

His class will comprise three sections: “the old Kanye, the new Kanye, and the who Kanye,” by analyzing Ye’s recent behavior, without excluding the rapper's past or present controversies, such as donning a “White Lives Matter” shirt during Paris Fashion Week, making antisemitic statements on social media, and ​​saying that George Floyd died of fentanyl use rather than the use of police burtality by a Minnesota police officer.

Kanye told "Drink Champs" podcast hosts N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN that Floyd died as a result of fentanyl consumption rather than officer Chauvin’s knee on his neck: “They hit (Floyd) with the fentanyl. If you look, the guy’s knee wasn’t even on his neck like that,” Ye said. “They said he screamed for his mama; mama was his girlfriend. It’s in the documentary.”

The documentary, “The Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of BLM" written by and starring conservative political commentator Candace Owens, contradicts Hennepin County medical examiner's office ruling that his death was a homicide caused by "cardiopulmonary arrest" by "restraint and neck compression" while being subdued by police.

Related News

Defense witness for George Floyd murderer appears in pro-Trump ad: WP

Derek Chauvin, convicted in George Floyd's death, stabbed in prison

Class is not really about Kanye

McCune actually regards Kanye's unstable behavior as a key point in explaining how white evangelical Christianity affects Black culture and how it can breed anti-Blackness, as he cited the rapper's evolution in music, he said: “Even though Kanye may not be conscious of how he’s dancing between these two worlds, it is clear in his move to Christianity … that he’s choosing a very ugly strain of white evangelical Christianity that continuously believes that Christ is a policing white man, who does not in fact revere Blackness,” 

“The course has never, ever been about Kanye,” McCune added. “He is the draw. But I, in this course, draw out the significance of Black celebrity to Black life, and for me, that continues with the person who is driving anti-Blackness into the public. I can’t ignore that.”

The course has drawn negative feedback from critics as McCune admitted to receiving hate and aggressive emails while users have been skeptical over social media of the purpose of needing such a course. McCune in turn responded that courses on celebrities like Kanye West, Nicki Minaj and Drake are crucial because they help make topics concerning history, political science, and sociology easier for students to relate to and enjoy learning about. 

In an interview with NBC News, McCune told the news channel that to make the picture clearer to students, “we have to use things that the students are listening to and are digesting every day,” he , before adding that by teaching this course, he’s going against the narrative that only certain Black figures are worthy of academic courses. 

“We can have a class about Dr. Martin Luther King, right, but we can’t have a class about Malcolm X?” McCune continued. “We can have a class about Jay Z, but we can’t have a class about Kanye West?”

Although the course does not have an official title like his previous two, the professor expressed that if the University of Rochester’s college curriculum committee approves it, he intends to launch it in the spring or fall semester of 2023. 

“I think that the catalog of Kanye is still an interesting catalog,” McCune said. “It’s an archive, quite frankly, of my life and the lives of so many other young people who have been entangled in the world of Kanye.”

  • George Floyd
  • college
  • Kanye West
  • university of rochester

Most Read

Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder revealed

Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder exposed

  • Politics
  • 5 Oct 2025
The Palestinian resistance and the people of Gaza showed that after combating Israeli aggression for two years, they remain victorious in the face of oppression (Mahdi Rteil/Al Mayadeen English)

Al-Aqsa Flood two years on, a tale of victory

  • Politics
  • 6 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
An Israeli armored vehicle moves on a street of a local market during a military raid in the West Bank refugee camp of Balata, Wednesday, October 8, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Israeli settlers kill Palestinian youth near Ramallah amid raids

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during the Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran interested in resuming nuclear talks: Lavrov

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during a news conference at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington, April 25, 2025 (AP)
Politics

IMF head flags US budget, Europe Defense spending challenges

Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at UN headquarters (AP)
Politics

Meloni faces ICC complaint over Gaza genocide complicity with Israelis

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS