--- title: Washington University Offering Kanye West College Course description: Washington University is teaching a class on 'The Politics of Kanye West' that will feature an entire segment on Taylor Swift and the VMAs. canonical: https://time.com/4639422/kanye-west-college-course/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-19T18:09:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:40:17.460Z og:title: You Can Now Take a College Class on 'The Politics of Kanye' og:description: The syllabus includes a full segment on the infamous Taylor Swift VMA moment og:url: https://time.com/4639422/kanye-west-college-course/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt156789ee452fe121/6988b62e0b72e32ab86ec505/kanye-west-college-course.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: The Meadows Music & Arts Festival - Day 2 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: You Can Now Take a College Class on 'The Politics of Kanye' twitter:description: The syllabus includes a full segment on the infamous Taylor Swift VMA moment twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt156789ee452fe121/6988b62e0b72e32ab86ec505/kanye-west-college-course.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Now There's a College Course on the 'Politics of Kanye West' Featuring a Special Taylor Swift Segment > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=a925924e-c97b-4e6e-a77d-017284774b09&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jan 19, 2017 6:09 PM UTC  QUEENS, NY - OCTOBER 02: Kanye West performs during The Meadows Music & Arts Festival at Citi Field on October 2, 2016 in Queens, New York. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images for The Meadows) QUEENS, NY - OCTOBER 02: Kanye West performs during The Meadows Music & Arts Festival at Citi Field on October 2, 2016 in Queens, New York. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images for The Meadows) Taylor Hill—Getty Images for The Meadows  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jan 19, 2017 6:09 PM UTC For those looking to discuss the cultural effects of musical artist and [Twitter enthusiast Kanye West](http://time.com/4204997/kanye-west-and-wiz-khalifa-twitter-battle/), Washington University is now teaching a class on the mercurial rapper. According to the [_St. Louis Post-Dispatch_](http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/music/kevin-johnson/washington-university-starts-course-on-cultural-icon-kanye-west/article%5Fa14e6a0b-2406-5ad2-b238-e9564c27d2b6.html), Dr. Jeffrey McCune, an associate professor in the African-American Studies and the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies departments at the university will teach the course (titled “Politics of Kanye West: Black Genius and Sonic Aesthetics”) and it will focus on how West’s influence in hip hop can be used as a vehicle to explore topics and interests beyond the genre. The course will tackle everything from the intersections of hip hop and sexuality to [the infamous Taylor Swift MTV Video Music Awards moment](http://time.com/4411055/kanye-west-taylor-swift-kim-kardashian-feud/); McCune also noted that the course is a “good way to get students to connect issues of politics, race, gender, sexuality, and culture.” He also thinks that the timing of the course couldn’t be more relevant given West’s current space in popular culture. “I knew my students had connections to Kanye,” he said. “They’re always referencing his music and performances and videos and fashion. What better time than now to take seriously Kanye West as a cultural icon? I’m always interested in how he’s pushing whatever boundaries.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4639422/kanye-west-college-course/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4639422/kanye-west-college-course/"},"headline":"Now There's a College Course on the 'Politics of Kanye West' Featuring a Special Taylor Swift Segment","datePublished":"2017-01-19T18:09:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:40:17.460Z","description":"The syllabus includes a full segment on the infamous Taylor Swift VMA moment","url":"https://time.com/4639422/kanye-west-college-course/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Entertainment","Education","Music","Kanye West","Taylor Swift","celebrity","Culture"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt156789ee452fe121/6988b62e0b72e32ab86ec505/kanye-west-college-course.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt156789ee452fe121/6988b62e0b72e32ab86ec505/kanye-west-college-course.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Meadows Music & Arts Festival - Day 2","caption":"The Meadows Music & Arts Festival - Day 2","creditText":"Taylor Hill—Getty Images for The Meadows","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4639422/kanye-west-college-course/","name":"Now There's a College Course on the 'Politics of Kanye West' Featuring a Special Taylor Swift Segment"}}]}] ```