London: After a rare fly was recently named after Beyonce Knowles by Australian researchers, the singer’s life has become a new course at US’ Rutgers University.
Lecturer Kevin Allred has signed up to teach ‘Politicising Beyonce’ as part of the school’s women’s and gender studies curriculum.
The class offers New Jersey students the chance to watch the pop star’s music videos and explore how her image and music has impacted the world.
An overview of the course on the university’s website reads: “The performer’s music and career are used as lenses to explore American race, gender, and sexual politics… Course topics include the extent of Beyonce’s control over her own aesthetic, whether her often half-naked body is empowered or stereotypical, and her more racy performances as her alter ego, Sasha Fierce.”
The course includes class discussions, which “often lead to other vocalists, including Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Lady Gaga, and contemporary musicians who embrace the soul singing tradition like Adele and the late Amy Winehouse.”
Beyonce’s husband, rapper Jay Z is also the subject of his own higher education course – Georgetown University is currently offering students the chance to take the ‘Sociology of Hip-Hop: Jay Z’. (IANS)