Michael Jackson’s Place in Academic Sciences
The fact that Michael Jackson changed music and pop culture is not hidden from anyone. But what about the way universities study? Apparently, it’s like that too. Not only has he dominated music charts for decades, but according to a guide list of academic citations, his name has been referenced in legal journals, psychology, medicine, chemistry, mass communications, and even engineering. This guide list was compiled by two university librarians from Texas, Susan Hidalgo and Rob Weiner. The two searched through more than 100 academic research databases and specialized articles to prepare this guide list, published in the Pan African Studies Journal.
The title of this guide list is:
“Wanna Be Startin Somethin: MJ in Academic Writings: A Selected Guide List”
Hidalgo and Weiner say their guide list was able to cover only part of the studies in which Michael Jackson is referenced. They called the breadth of Michael Jackson’s impact astonishing.
Hidalgo says:
“I was amazed by all these articles. I really felt like the more I read, the more I knew Michael Jackson.”
Hidalgo and Weiner avoided articles with an emotional angle because they believed these kinds of articles would undermine the main goal, which is a sincere review. They focused on academic studies and research articles that can reveal how the general public perceives geniuses. The studies and articles they compiled have a wide range, as diverse as Michael Jackson’s songs.
For example, in one article, Michael Jackson is used to show the impact of media treatment on criminal cases, and in an article related to a fire engineering journal, it mentions the 911 emergency call that was made from his home on the day of Michael’s death.
In an article from a medical journal written after Michael’s death last year, medical ethics and the problem of a doctor’s bias toward his patient are examined, and in an article about protecting the privacy of jury members, Michael’s 2005 court case is presented as an example.
A chemistry article also discusses how songs like “Billie Jean,” a Michael Jackson song that has a chorus (translation lines that connect independent parts of a song and have a repeatable quality), can help students understand difficult chemistry concepts.
Weiner says:
“I knew Michael had infiltrated pop culture, but academics have a narrow-minded view of the tools they choose for their studies. The fact that someone takes a Michael Jackson song and recognizes it as an influential element in understanding chemistry issues shows the power of Jackson’s influence.”
Source: eMJey / washingtonpost.com / newswise.com