R&B icon Beyoncé is the subject of a course at Rutgers University called “Politicizing Beyoncé,” which uses the pop star’s music and career to “explore American race, gender and sexual politics.”
A course titled “Politicizing Beyoncé” is being offered at the New Brunswick, New Jersey, college, but the class isn’t about the pop star’s political views.
Kevin Allred, a doctoral student and lecturer in the college’s Department of Women and Gender Studies, told college paper Rutgers Today that the class will explore race, gender and sexuality in America via Beyonce’s music.
“She certainly pushes boundaries,” Allred says. “While other artists are simply releasing music, she’s creating a grand narrative around her life, her career, and her persona.”
Allred added that the goal of his course was to “shift students away from simply being consumers of media toward thinking more critically about what they’re engaging on a regular basis.”
Those who take the class can expect to discuss topics such as the “Drunk in Love” singer’s brand, skin-baring outfits and risque performances as her alter ego Sasha Fierce.
And for those interested in Mrs. Carter’s spouse, Georgetown University has a class titled “The Sociology of Hip-Hop: The Theodicy of Jay-Z.”