Rutgers Brings Beyoncé to the Classroom
By Harrison Golden
USA Today College
February 18, 2014
The term “academia” rarely provokes talk of pop stars with chart-topping songs. But this summer, one Rutgers University course will give Beyoncé, whose music and performances have become black feminist anthems, a collegiate spin.
The course, “Politicizing Beyoncé,” will examine the 32-year-old recording artist’s impact on race, gender and sexuality. Her songs and music videos have described drag queens, promiscuous dancers and diverse standards of beauty.
One recently released video, for her song “Pretty Hurts,” stars Beyoncé as a pageant contestant criticized for her weight. “You can’t fix what you can’t see,” the song’s lyrics state. ”It’s the soul that needs the surgery.”
Beyoncé is progressive in bringing black feminism into public view,” said Kevin Allred, a Ph.D candidate teaching the course through Rutgers’ gender studies department. “It might be easy to miss that at first glance, but that’s what the class is for.”
Allred, a white male raised in Utah, considers himself a longtime Beyoncé fan and student of race. He is writing his dissertation on black female vocalists.
“Of course, there are people who’ll say, ‘You’re not black. You’re not a woman,’” he told Rutgers Today. “It’s something I’m always questioning and staying aware of so as not to overstep any bounds or make any claims for a group that I don’t belong to.”
Lesson plans include discussions on body empowerment, creative agency and fighting prejudice through music. The syllabus features writings from Sojourner Truth and Alice Walker, as well as songs from Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Rihanna.
Starting Feb. 17, Rutgers undergraduates – regardless of major – can register for the class. While Allred expects the course’s slots to fill quickly, he worries that some students will underestimate the course’s academic rigor.
“I’m sure a few will sign up thinking the course is all about Beyoncé,” Allred says. “My ultimate goal is to help them analyze what attracted them to her in the first place.”
Many university courses have tackled popular culture in recent years, including Georgetown University’s “Sociology of Hip Hop: Jay Z,” the University of Southern California’s “Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame” and the University of Washington’s “The Textual Appeal of Tupac Shakur.” As for Rutgers, “Politicizing Beyoncé” is the second such course the university has offered this year; its theology department currently features a seminar on Bruce Springsteen.
(This article first appeared on USA Today College. Click here to read the original post.)
By Harrison Golden
USA Today College
February 18, 2014
The term “academia” rarely provokes talk of pop stars with chart-topping songs. But this summer, one Rutgers University course will give Beyoncé, whose music and performances have become black feminist anthems, a collegiate spin.
The course, “Politicizing Beyoncé,” will examine the 32-year-old recording artist’s impact on race, gender and sexuality. Her songs and music videos have described drag queens, promiscuous dancers and diverse standards of beauty.
One recently released video, for her song “Pretty Hurts,” stars Beyoncé as a pageant contestant criticized for her weight. “You can’t fix what you can’t see,” the song’s lyrics state. ”It’s the soul that needs the surgery.”
Beyoncé is progressive in bringing black feminism into public view,” said Kevin Allred, a Ph.D candidate teaching the course through Rutgers’ gender studies department. “It might be easy to miss that at first glance, but that’s what the class is for.”
Allred, a white male raised in Utah, considers himself a longtime Beyoncé fan and student of race. He is writing his dissertation on black female vocalists.
“Of course, there are people who’ll say, ‘You’re not black. You’re not a woman,’” he told Rutgers Today. “It’s something I’m always questioning and staying aware of so as not to overstep any bounds or make any claims for a group that I don’t belong to.”
Lesson plans include discussions on body empowerment, creative agency and fighting prejudice through music. The syllabus features writings from Sojourner Truth and Alice Walker, as well as songs from Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Rihanna.
Starting Feb. 17, Rutgers undergraduates – regardless of major – can register for the class. While Allred expects the course’s slots to fill quickly, he worries that some students will underestimate the course’s academic rigor.
“I’m sure a few will sign up thinking the course is all about Beyoncé,” Allred says. “My ultimate goal is to help them analyze what attracted them to her in the first place.”
Many university courses have tackled popular culture in recent years, including Georgetown University’s “Sociology of Hip Hop: Jay Z,” the University of Southern California’s “Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame” and the University of Washington’s “The Textual Appeal of Tupac Shakur.” As for Rutgers, “Politicizing Beyoncé” is the second such course the university has offered this year; its theology department currently features a seminar on Bruce Springsteen.
(This article first appeared on USA Today College. Click here to read the original post.)