The UNC-Greensboro’s Carolinian reports on a “history” class there: the “history” of music up to (jeepers!) 30 years old! The paper discusses the “The History of Country Music After Elvis” class:
A class where it is not uncommon to hear the names Randy Travis, Big & Rich and Garth Brooks. This class, facilitated by the Agriculture Department, looks not only at the history, but also the economics and politics of “new country” (country music after Elvis died).
Instructor Cory Larry originally came to UNCG to study socio-historical aspects of NASCAR but later had a mind to teach, too. His course on “new country” started in 2002.
“It was created out of my personal interest,” Dr. Larry said. The class covers three main areas associated with country music: culture, economics and politics.
“There is something for everybody and everyone does well in at least one aspect of the class. My business majors do well in the economic portion, my political science majors do well in the politics portion. I’m basically here to be the guide,” Larry said. “I’ve got a diverse bunch of students; heck, a third of ’em don’t even listen to country music.”
It gets better. Here’s the instructor:
Now, I’m sure you’re thinking that I’m making this all up. Well, as Dave Barry wouldn’t say, I am making this up ? but in my defense, I’m merely providing a slight variation on a theme provided by UNCG with its very real “History of Hip-Hop” class.
Give the article a read; I think the best part is the notion of growing and diversifying the African-American Studies Dept. by offering classes on the subject of hip-hop music. To my ears that little provincialism sounds like a corollary (*kaff!kaff!*) to the country barmaid in “The Blues Brothers” praising her establishment’s diversity of musical styles: “Oh, we got both kinds. We got country and Western!”
