Listen up Barbz, you may soon be able to take a deep dive into the messages behind Nicki Minaj’s music in one of America’s most prestigious universities.
“I will be first in line, I will camp near the building wherever it is held,” said student Steve Escobar. “I’m a Barb always.”
It appears the University of California, Berkeley will offer a course on the superstar.
The professor who is rumored to be teaching the course took to Twitter to reveal the title “Nicki Minaj: The Black Barbie, Femmecee & Hip-Hop Feminisms”
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Emewodesh Eshete, UC Berkeley student said, “The first thing I thought of was like ‘what requirement could this fulfill? this would be so fun.’”
But not everyone is cheering the idea as the singer has come under fire before for some themes and lyrics.
But many students believe her music offers a new take on feminism from a female artist at the top of a male-dominated rap scene.
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“I think she had broadened the definition of what it means to be a feminist and how we are reciprocal to music that portrays our bodies in different ways,” said Escobar. “She comes from different backgrounds. I think she speaks on all different types of voices and I think she really is an image and a role model for a lot of different people.”
Cal students are practicing their own rap skills, hoping the 10-time Grammy nominee will make a guest appearance after she tweeted about the course saying she would love to stop by.
It's not the first time pop culture has entered the classroom. UC Berkeley studied Frank Ocean in the past and San Diego State and NYU have hosted courses highlighting Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift.
A deep dive into music culture students believe is more about society than the artist themselves.
“I think it is important for us to look at celebrities who hold so much power in society in such a critical way, although they may not be making laws they are influencing a broad generation of people,” said student Isabel Alvarez.
UC Berkeley released a statement Monday afternoon thanking everyone for their interest, but noting the course is still in the idea stage and under review.
"We appreciated the interest in this topic. The instructor’s course proposal is in the idea stage and is in the early process of departmental planning and review. Once developed and approved, the course would be part of an African American Studies Special Topics in Cultural Studies course the instructor is scheduled to teach this spring. It is too soon to offer much more information at this point. Thanks again for your interest,” the university said.
