Depending on the curriculum design, programs/depts, instructors, and how the donations/finances from Dr Dre et al are handled/invested institutionally (hopefully, as a partial endowment and scholarship fund), this could be a wise move, or a disaster. However, depending on which USC centers are the recipient(s) of such a cushy gift, the results may be academic business as usual.
Ethnic Studies units (programs/departments) have been strapped, since their inception half a century ago in U.S. higher education, for funding. The wiser units have broadened their scope, reinvented themselves intellectually, disciplinarily, globally, and pedagogically, and built partnerships with partners outside of academia. But those are few and far between. Many more are making themselves redundant. There is a trick to making the most of this level of donation for the future, despite whatever overhead the institution may charge. Internal partnerships, external "friends", and globalizing the potential impact of such an 'art, technology, and business innovation' center will
fail if it overlooks the gender and class disparities promoted by the more heavily marketed forms of rap culture which are one stream of the McWorld culture we export. It may produce a few first-rate game designers and music industry experts, but how many of these will be women and people of color? How will the philanthropy navigate the anti-Affirmative Action climate in the U.S.? What type of curriculum design, cultivated by new career pathways, will be represented in the ultimate impact of such a potentially lucrative program of learning and teaching? As a senior tenured faculty member and gender specialist who introduced HH into the curriculum at an eastern U.S. institution in 1990 and who has served on a multimillion dollar NSF grant focused on culture and technology, we'll see if USC makes smart decisions about sustainability, resilience, and good financial planning resulting from this donation. For original blog article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/05/30/rap-dre-iovine/2367559/ [Photo credit: Nuri Chandler-Smith]
Ethnic Studies units (programs/departments) have been strapped, since their inception half a century ago in U.S. higher education, for funding. The wiser units have broadened their scope, reinvented themselves intellectually, disciplinarily, globally, and pedagogically, and built partnerships with partners outside of academia. But those are few and far between. Many more are making themselves redundant. There is a trick to making the most of this level of donation for the future, despite whatever overhead the institution may charge. Internal partnerships, external "friends", and globalizing the potential impact of such an 'art, technology, and business innovation' center will
fail if it overlooks the gender and class disparities promoted by the more heavily marketed forms of rap culture which are one stream of the McWorld culture we export. It may produce a few first-rate game designers and music industry experts, but how many of these will be women and people of color? How will the philanthropy navigate the anti-Affirmative Action climate in the U.S.? What type of curriculum design, cultivated by new career pathways, will be represented in the ultimate impact of such a potentially lucrative program of learning and teaching? As a senior tenured faculty member and gender specialist who introduced HH into the curriculum at an eastern U.S. institution in 1990 and who has served on a multimillion dollar NSF grant focused on culture and technology, we'll see if USC makes smart decisions about sustainability, resilience, and good financial planning resulting from this donation. For original blog article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/05/30/rap-dre-iovine/2367559/ [Photo credit: Nuri Chandler-Smith]
