(Maddi Driggs)
Andrew Dougherty, China economist and Asia researcher director for Capital Strategy Research, visited the David M. Kennedy Center to “rapture” or “rap lecture” about China’s current issues on February 3, 2016.
He started in the Capital Group in 2004 participating in the Associate’s program and has lived in Beijing since 2009 working in the Capital Beijing’s office.
Doughtery said although China has seen some improvement through its leaders, its economy is slowing down and have a lot of challenges ahead of them.
“All those challenges we have known about for over five years. The fundamentals, although they’re slowing, haven’t fallen off a cliff. The international markets are either catching up to China or have exceeded the realities,” Doughtery said.
He not only spoke about the political, geopolitical and macroeconomic issues currently being resolved in China, but he danced and sang along with the students that attended the lecture.
“I find that music is memorable and fun. In three or four minutes you can pack in a lot of concepts if you constrain yourself to a lyrical structure and you create your story line,” Doughtery said. “Within that story line you can really explain a major issue in China.”
Doughtery parody rapped to four different songs about various issues, using small lectures in between each song throughout the rapture. Students present participated by singing and asked questions after the presentation.
Collyn Mosquito, a sophomore in political science from Alaska, attended the presentation said it was a fun way for facts to be presented in an interacting method.
“I liked it because it was engaging to us and we could relate it in a very fun way,” Mosquito said.
Doughtery said he began writing raps as a missionary in the MTC and has continued to write them ever since. He has some of his rap videos about China on Youtube for the public to see.
“In a regular format it’s more boring and if you don’t know the issues you might doze off. Whereas here you can stay focused on the issue and go away with something you can remember,” Doughtery said.
