With a record 99 Grammy nominations and acclaimed as one of the most influential artists in Music history, pop superstar Beyoncé and her vast cultural legacy will be the subject of a new course at the Yale University next year.
Titled “Beyoncé Makes History: Black Radical Tradition, Culture, Theory & Politics Through Music,” this one-credit course will focus on the period from her 2013 self-titled album through this genre-defying “Cowboy Carter.” year, and how the world-renowned singer, songwriter and entrepreneur has sparked awareness and engagement in social and political ideologies.
Yale University African American studies professor Daphne Brooks intends to use the performer’s extensive repertoire, including footage of his live performances, as a “portal” for students to learn more about black intellectuals, from Frederick Douglass to Toni Morrison.
“We’re going to take seriously how the critical and intellectual work of some of our greatest thinkers in American culture resonates with Beyoncé’s music and think about ways we can apply their philosophies to her work” and how this has sometimes been at odds with the “black radical intellectual tradition,” Brooks said.
Beyoncé, whose full name is Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, is not the first artist to be the subject of a college-level course. Courses have been taught on singer and songwriter Bob Dylan over the years and several colleges and universities have recently offered courses on singer Taylor Swift, her lyrics and her pop culture legacy. That includes law professors who hope to engage a new generation of lawyers by using a famous celebrity like Swift to put complex real-world concepts into context.
Professors at other colleges and universities have also incorporated Beyoncé into their classes or offered courses on the superstar.
Brooks sees Beyoncé in a league of her own, crediting the singer for using her platform to “dramatically elevate awareness of and engagement with popular social and political ideologies and movements” in her music, including the Black movement Lives Matter and black feminist commentary.
“Can you think of another pop musician who has invited an array of grassroots activists to participate in these long-form multimedia album projects that she has given us since 2013,” Brooks asked. She noted how Beyoncé also tried to tell a story through her music about “race, gender and sexuality within the context of over 400 years of history of African-American subjugation.”
“She’s a fascinating artist because historical memory, as I often call it, and also the kind of impulse to be an archive of that historical memory, it’s everywhere in her work,” Brooks said. “And you just don’t see that in any other artist.” »
Brooks once taught a popular course on black women in popular music culture at Princeton University and found that her students were particularly excited about the section on Beyoncé. She expects her class at Yale to be particularly popular, but she tries to keep the group size relatively small.
For those who manage to secure a place next semester, they should have no illusions about the possibility of seeing Queen Bey in person.
“It’s a shame, because if she was on tour, I would definitely try to take the class to see her,” Brooks said.
