The course with the anything but smooth title "Beyoncé makes history: Black radical tradition, culture, theory & politics through music" will focus on the period from her self-titled album from 2013 to this year's genre-crossing "Cowboy Carter" and her engagement in social and political issues.
According to Daphne Brooks, professor of African American studies at Yale, Beyoncé's extensive repertoire and clips from her live performances will be used as a gateway to get students to learn more about black intellectuals, such as civil rights activist Frederick Douglass and author Toni Morrison.
Beyoncé is not the first American artist to become the subject of a university course. Several educational institutions have over the years offered courses on singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and recently, superstar Taylor Swift became the subject of a course in social psychology at a university in Arizona.
