Beyond Genius: Teaching with Interactive Playlists in a History of Pop Music Course

Presenter:

Timothy Alborn, Professor, History, Lehman

Abstract:

Since it first appeared in 2009 as a rap-lyric “knowledge base,” the Genius website has expanded into higher education with the slogan “Annotate the World.” In my fully online course “Popular Music in Britain and North America since 1950,” I apply the model of the interactive annotated playlist to teach comparative history through the lyrics and contexts of popular songs.