A case for inclusion of pop culture in university curricula

Given the huge influence the film industry exerts on various aspects of life in India — from fashion and music to social mores, not to mention the economy and politics — it is surprising that its leading lights are not the subject of university curricula here yet in any meaningful way.

We could take a leaf from the book of the University of Missouri, whose English department has recently started a course featuring Jay-Z and Kanye West, whose artistic collaboration is being seen in the mould of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, or further back to Ernest Hemingway and F Scott Fitzgerald.

Of course, the fact that Jay-Z enjoys a pre-eminence in the Obama White House may not matter that much in the US, but Indians could draw the necessary lessons from that when it comes to choosing whom to feature.

Undertaking such exercises in liberal arts courses in India would certainly allay students’ complaints about universities not reflecting the popular zeitgeist and syllabi lacking a youth connect.

Indeed, if the two American rappers’ poetic partnership becomes the stuff of term papers, there is no reason for India’s legendary lyricists not to be given academic approbation in a similar way. The added plus point is that attendance would definitely skyrocket, as the courses are sure to have considerable audio-visual content.