Beyoncé, a pop superstar with 99 Grammy nominations, is set to be the subject of a new course at Yale University next semester. The one-credit class, titled “Beyoncé Makes History,” will explore her music and cultural legacy from 2013 to this year, analyzing how she has generated awareness and engagement in social and political ideologies.
African American Studies Professor Daphne Brooks will lead the course, using Beyoncé’s repertoire, including live performances, as a portal for students to learn about Black intellectuals such as Frederick Douglass and Toni Morrison. Brooks aims to connect Beyoncé’s music with critical work from influential thinkers in American culture, highlighting both its resonance and sometimes-contradictory relationship to the “Black radical intellectual tradition.”
Beyoncé is not the first performer to be the subject of a college-level course; courses have previously been offered on artists like Bob Dylan and Taylor Swift. However, Brooks sees Beyoncé as unique, crediting her with using her platform to elevate awareness of grassroots movements, such as Black Lives Matter.
The course will focus on Beyoncé’s ability to tell stories about race, gender, and sexuality through music, reflecting on the historical context of African-American subjugation. With a background in teaching courses on Black women in popular music culture, Brooks expects her Yale class to be highly sought after, but she aims to keep enrollment relatively small.
Unfortunately for students hoping to attend the course, seeing Beyoncé live is not possible, according to Brooks.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/beyonce-yale-college-class-music-politics-60ed2a72ea8975b95586119337607f9c