Yale University offers innovative course on Bad Bunny

Toglenn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In the fall of 2025, Yale University will present the course “Bad Bunny: Musical Aesthetics and Politics,” taught by Professor Albert Laguna of the Department of American Studies and Ethnicity, Race, and Migration.

Origin and motivation of the course

The proposal was born while Laguna was listening to the album I should have taken more photos by Bad Bunny, released in January 2025, and felt a deep cultural and emotional connection between its music and the New Orleans environment.

The teacher was especially impressed by the track “NUEVAYoL”, which samples “A Summer in New York” from El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, a symbol of the historic dialogue between Puerto Rico and New York.

Academic content

The course covers several key thematic areas:

Colonial History and Puerto Rican Migration: Connects the 19th century with the present day and the movement of people between Puerto Rico and New York.

Traditional musical genres: analysis of salsa, bomba, plena, and reggaeton as expressions of cultural and musical resistance.

Social and aesthetic critique: a study of how Bad Bunny's lyrics and rhythms address themes such as gentrification, policing, and Puerto Rican identity in dialogue with the diaspora.

Student lawsuit

The course has only 18 spots, but already has more than 100 applications and 44 students enrolled as of April 21, 2025.

Among the students, many have expressed enthusiasm: Juli Martínez, 27, wrote about Bad Bunny in her Yale application, while others highlight that the course broadens their understanding of Puerto Rico through its music.

Why does this course matter?

It represents the academic validation of popular music as an object of serious study, aligning itself with previous courses dedicated to Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, or Lady Gaga.

In an interview with the BBC in London, Professor Albert Laguna emphasizes that many students are unaware that Puerto Rico is part of a U.S. colony and that this course will not only offer a musical approach, but also an interdisciplinary approach that unites contemporary Caribbean history, politics, identity, and culture.

Yale University has launched an ambitious academic proposal: a course that uses Bad Bunny's musical universe as a tool to explore complex themes of identity, colonialism, and migration. Through I should have taken more photosProfessor Albert Laguna invites students to analyze how an album can become a critical cultural text. Highly sought-after and rigorously focused, “Bad Bunny: Musical Aesthetics and Politics” demonstrates how urban music can be studied seriously in the university classroom.

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