Next spring, Yale University will introduce a unique course titled Beyonce Makes History: Black Radical Tradition History, Culture, Theory & Politics Through Music, aimed at examining the “artistic genius” of Beyonce. This course, part of the humanities and arts department, will explore her work from her 2013 self-titled album to her most recent release, Cowboy Carter. With Beyonce’s recent Grammy nominations making her the most-nominated artist in history, the course will delve into the significance of her influence and artistry.
The Yale course will analyze Beyonce’s performance politics and concert films as a window into Black intellectual thought, activism, and history. Through a study of her midcareer works, students will engage with fields like Black feminist theory, anthropology, art history, performance studies, and musicology. This academic approach will examine Beyonce’s role in representing and advancing Black cultural perspectives and radical thought.
Esteemed Black studies scholar Daphne Brooks will lead the course, marking her first opportunity to dedicate an entire lecture series to Beyonce. Brooks, who co-founded Yale’s Black Sound & the Archive Working Group, has previously taught related courses at Princeton. She views Beyonce’s decade-spanning repertoire as a rich foundation for exploring Black feminist politics, liberation themes, and her groundbreaking approach to the album as a format for cultural expression.
This new course places Yale among several prestigious universities offering academic studies on Beyonce’s impact. Since the early 2010s, institutions like Rutgers, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Cornell University have introduced courses exploring her influence on feminism, Black womanhood, and political activism, reflecting an academic interest in her evolving legacy.
Such courses are part of a growing trend in academia, with universities increasingly recognizing the cultural significance of pop icons. Beyonce-themed courses join other pop culture studies, such as those on Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and other figures whose careers have intersected with social, political, and cultural shifts. In 2010, for instance, the University of South Carolina introduced a course on Lady Gaga’s rise to fame as part of its sociology curriculum.
Taylor Swift’s recent achievements, including her re-recorded albums and highly successful Eras Tour, have also inspired academic interest. Universities like Harvard, UC Berkeley, and the University of Florida have introduced courses examining her lyricism and her influence on pop culture. The University of Ghent in Belgium has even introduced a Swift course, showcasing her global academic impact.
This cultural movement underscores how pop icons like Beyonce, Swift, and Gaga transcend entertainment, shaping fields like feminist thought, social justice, and musicology. Through courses like Yale’s, academia is increasingly embracing pop culture as a serious field of study, providing a deeper understanding of how these figures impact global social narratives.
