SDSU to offer new class on Bad Bunny’s cultural and political impact

In spring 2026, San Diego State University students will have the chance to study one of the world’s most streamed artists, not just for his music, but for the cultural and political conversations his work inspires.

SDSU is introducing a new class titled “Bad Bunny: Perreo, Performance and Pop Culture Politics,” a course that will examine the Puerto Rican superstar’s impact on media, identity, and global culture.

The class will be taught by Dr. Nathian Rodriguez, a media scholar and identity researcher who has spent the past decade using pop culture to teach complex academic concepts.

“The class is about investigating his lived identity, the media that comes out of Puerto Rico, and how his work reflects and subverts global systems of power.”

The course is built around what Rodriguez calls “pop culture pedagogy,” a teaching approach that uses artists and celebrities as cultural anchors to help students connect theory to real-world media.

He’s previously taught courses on Selena and Cardi B, both of which gained national attention for their innovative mix of pop culture and academic study.

“Students already know who these artists are,” he said. “When they see the same concepts we read about in class reflected in music videos, performances or lyrics, it suddenly clicks. It becomes more relevant, more engaging and more applicable to the media world they’ll be working in.”

Unlike traditional lecture-heavy courses, the Bad Bunny class will include lyrical and visual analyses, written reflections, assignments where students observe Latinx and LGBTQ+ spaces across San Diego.

“I’m not a test-taker kind of guy,” he said. “What I want is for students to engage critically, think critically, and create critically.”

The class will analyze songs like “Yo Perreo Sola” and “Caro,” both known for challenging traditional ideas of gender, masculinity and sexuality within Latin music. Students will also look at Bad Bunny’s rise from performing on a bus during the pandemic to headlining Coachella and now, the Super Bowl.

For Rodriguez, Bad Bunny’s career offers a case study in how media power is shifting.

“Traditionally, media flowed from the north to the south, from the U.S. to the rest of the world,” he explained. “But artists like Bad Bunny have reversed that. Now, cultural influence is moving from the south to the north.” 

The course will also explore the colonial history of Puerto Rico, and how that history shapes media representation and political identity today.

Students will study how Bad Bunny uses his platform to address topics like misogyny, homophobia and colonialism, while also navigating how his image is marketed to global audiences.

Rodriguez has long advocated for more representation in SDSU’s media curriculum. When he first joined the university, he noticed a lack of courses centered on Latinx, Black and queer identities,  despite SDSU being a Hispanic-Serving Institution.

After the success of his Selena and Cardi B courses, he pushed for more pop culture-centered classes that reflect the diversity of SDSU’s student body.

“When students see themselves represented in what they’re learning, it validates their experiences,” he said. “It also pushes others to understand perspectives beyond their own.”

Rodriguez hopes students who enroll in the Bad Bunny course walk away not just as fans, but as more informed and compassionate thinkers.

“Pop culture isn’t separate from politics,” he said. “It is politics. It’s identity. It’s representation. It’s who we are.”