Interterm offers unique student learning opportunities

Published: January 28, 2025

Author: Dave Bell

For students who opted for Midwestern winter weather instead of beach time in Florida, two unique Interterm classes at Greenville University offered a way to log some academic hours and productively fill the time between the semesters.

This year’s offerings during the two-week Interterm were “Culture and Justice: Hip-Hop’s Lens” and “Music for Multicultural Worship.”

Interterm classes have been offered for decades at Greenville University as a way for students to focus intensively on a single class for a short time.

The Origins Of Hip-Hop

Shawn Foles, assistant professor of criminal justice, taught the hip-hop class, which attracted about a dozen students. In the course outline, he described it as “a unique exploration of the intersections between hip-hop culture, crime, and society.”

Though hip-hop began in the Bronx in New York City, it spread to other cities such as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Memphis, and New Orleans.

“The music and lyrics reflect real lived experiences of marginalized communities where people have experienced systemic racism, poverty, and police brutality,” said Foles (pictured above). “Analyzing the themes and lyrical content in hip-hop helps students understand the songs they are listening to and how those songs are shaped by the artist’s social and political realities. It’s an art form that has provided a voice for the voiceless.”

After studying the hip-hop culture and music for several days, class members presented reports on the artists and characteristics in a specific city. Talahiva Talanoa, a senior from Murietta, CA, focused on Los Angeles.

“I was raised on a rich variety of music – one of which was hip-hop,” said Talanoa (pictured above). “But in this class, we went into more depth. We studied hip-hop in several cities around the country, each with its unique sound and themes. It was a musical form that allowed artists to channel their anger about things happening around them.

“In Los Angeles,” she added, “the death of Rodney King, a black man who was beaten by police officers, sparked the 1992 riots. For many people in LA, hip-hop and rap were ways they processed and channeled their anger over that incident.”

Foles said he was pleased with the work students did to explore the origins and impact of hip-hop.

“It remains one of the most streamed and downloaded forms of music,” he said. “It encourages listeners to think critically, to challenge the power structures. And it reveals the ways that those in power – particularly the justice system – have wielded their power to negatively impact the lives of others.”

Multi-Cultural Worship Music

The second class offered during this year’s interterm session exposed 10 students to worship styles in multi-cultural settings.

The goal of the course, according to the course description, was to “raise awareness and equip students to value, plan, and lead worship for a diverse congregation.” African and Latino cultures were the primary styles studied in the course, but others also were addressed.

“I want the students to have an enlarged view into the heart of God,” said Paul Sunderland, assistant professor of music (pictured above). “Different types of music, liturgies, and practices touch people in different ways. I want our students to know more about worship in cultures beyond their own. One way we did that was to attend a worship service at a Spanish-speaking Free Methodist Church in Granite City.”

To get the conversations going, the class watched videos of different worship styles, discussed quotes about worship, and held small-group discussions on worship-related topics. The final for the one-credit course called for each student to write a paper on how the course impacted their vision of worship.”

Aaron Taflinger, an audio engineering and worship arts major (pictured above), took the class to learn more about worship styles. “This class helped me to understand that there are many ways to worship,” he said. “There isn’t just one right way, but each person should find an expression of worship that is most natural and meaningful to them.”

Likewise, Macy Shipman, a worship arts and theology major (pictured below, at right), said the class taught her to be more aware of the participants when serving as a worship leader. “I’ll be more sensitive about what worship styles reach different cultures,” she said. “Knowing what style is most meaningful to each group allows us to tailor the worship in a way that reaches them.”