Yale University offering course on Beyoncé next year
NEW HAVEN, Connect. - An African American Studies Professor at Yale University will turn her attention to Beyoncé next semester.
Titled "Beyoncé Makes History: Black Radical Tradition, Culture, Theory & Politics Through Music," Daphne Brooks said the one-credit class will focus on the period from her 2013 self-titled album through this year's album "Cowboy Carter" and how the famous singer, songwriter and entrepreneur has generated awareness and engagement in social and political ideologies.
Brooks said she intends to use the performer's wide-ranging repertoire, including footage of her live performances, as a "portal" for students to learn about Black intellectuals, from Frederick Douglass to Toni Morrison.
"We’re going to be taking seriously the ways in which the critical work, the intellectual work of some of our greatest thinkers in American culture resonates with Beyoncé's music and thinking about the ways in which we can apply their philosophies to her work" and how it has sometimes been at odds with the "Black radical intellectual tradition," Brooks told The Associated Press.
Beyoncé performs onstage during her world tour. (Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood)
Brooks previously taught a well-received class on Black women in popular music culture at Princeton University and discovered her students were most excited about the portion dedicated to Beyoncé.
The pop superstar has a record 99 Grammy nominations and is acclaimed as one of the most influential artists in music history.
But Beyoncé is not the first performer to be subject of a college-level course.
University courses on Taylor Swift, Rick Ross
South Dakota law professor Sean Kammer turned his attention to Taylor Swift for his legal writing course last year.
The self-described "Swiftie" said his course would draw on art and her music to help his students reconsider legal language and craft persuasive arguments.
RELATED: From Taylor Swift to Rick Ross, pop culture courses are engaging new swath of law students
"The reaction from students has been exciting," he said. "If we can have fun while we’re exploring some of these complex theoretical problems or issues, I believe students will be inspired to think deeper and to push themselves further."
Meanwhile, students at the Georgia State University College of Law were hustlin’ everyday to get to class — especially on Tuesday when they got to hear directly from Rick Ross for the final day of a course that chronicled the legal intricacies of the rapper, record executive and Wingstop franchise owner’s life.
Moraima "Mo" Ivory, director of the school’s entertainment, sports and media law program, wanted her students to see for themselves what goes into the albums, television shows and movies they enjoy. She chooses a star each year and invites guest speakers from their world, along with the title character themselves, to bring legal deals, defenses and drama to life.
"We’re talking about critical legal principles, but we’re watching them as they happen and as they happened," she said. "It really just turns that lightbulb on for law students."