It’s Beyoncé—Being The Subject Of A Whole College Course—For Us

Yale University has announced a new course, “Beyoncé Makes History: Black Radical Tradition History, Culture, Theory & Politics through Music.” 

The course was developed by Daphne Brooks, professor of African American Studies, who will examine Beyonce’s cultural and political contributions. Professor Brooks’s focus on the American Requiem singer is a byproduct of a previous course she taught at Princeton University. The focus of that curriculum: “Black Women in Popular Music Culture.”

“Those classes were always overenrolled,” Brooks said. “And there was so much energy around the focus on Beyoncé, even though it was a class that starts in the late 19th century and moves through the present day. I always thought I should come back to focusing on her and centering her work pedagogically at some point.” 

Beyonce’s most recent work, Cowboy Carter, examines the evolution of Black music throughout American history. The singer channels genre’s, like country and folk music, that originated in the black community but are now mainstream. The evolution from Pop music to her more focused and intentional latter albums, that are steeped in social commentary, allows Brooks to examine “American culture, popular culture and global culture for the past two decades.”

“I would hope that no matter what discipline you are pursuing in liberal arts at Yale,” Brooks said, “by looking at culture through Beyoncé, it can invite us to think about the extent to which art can articulate the world we live in and nourish our spirits and give us the space to imagine better worlds and the ethics of freedom.”

While the Yale course focuses on the global star’s evolution to enlightenment, feminism and liberation other Universities are tackling celebrities through a different lens. 

BLACK ENTERPRISE recently reported on Georgia State University’s course on, actor and producer, Issa Rae. The College of Law held the “Life of Issa Rae” course this semester focusing on the deals that helped shape her meteoric rise in entertainment. 

Rae’s ascension from producing and starring in You Tube’s Akward Black Girl to HBO’s Insecure necessitated negotiating multiple contracts, poured over with a keen eye. Analyzing the intersection of art, business and legalities is just as important as examining culture and political impact.

Establishing the proper foundation to control, direct and reap the benefit of one’s art is integral. Beyonce’s art may have added, exponentially, to shaping culture. Still, like Rae, she would not be so free to produce at her own discretion without making sure the legalities were in order. 

There is no right way to examine the lives and creations of brilliant Black women, but cheers to Georgia State University and Yale for starting the work.

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