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UA's Africana Studies Dept. has a "hip" new minor

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Posted 7:28 AM 9/27/2012 : UA's Africana Studies Dept. has a "hip" new minor

TUCSON- A new minor at the University of Arizona that is all about the art of turning tables is turning heads.

Students can now minor in Africana Studies with a concentration in hip hop cultures.

While they do get a dose of Grandmaster Flash, DJs, and hip hop dance, the classes aren't an easy "A".  "We look at many different issues and topics that affect all of us as human beings and as a society," says UA French Professor Alan-Philippe Durand.

Durand is one of the masterminds behind the new concentration.  "Since I came to the U of A three years ago, I have met a lot of professors and a lot of colleagues who were also interested in hip hop cultures and we started talking to each other," Durand says.  "We knew there would be a lot of interest from the students."

UA Sophomore Kyle Hendrie is one of about 340 students currently enrolled in Durand's online course called "Francophone Hip Hop Cultures".  It focuses on the history of hip hop in the United States and in France.  "Your assignment might be to analyze a song and relate it to what you read in the book," Hendrie says. 

To complete the minor, students must take a total of 18 classes, offered both online and in classrooms. So far only about six or seven students have declared the minor, but Durand hopes it gains popularity.

He says as far as he knows, The University of Arizona is one of only a few schools that offer the hip hop cultures minor.

For more information you can head to Durand's Facebook page called "Free Flow: Prof. A-P Durand's Hip-Hop Page".

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