Yale to offer 'Beyoncé 101' course, honouring pop icon’s cultural impact

One of the most celebrated artists in history, with record-breaking 32 Grammy wins, pop superstar Beyoncé has added the Ivy Badge of honour to her long list of acclaims.

The course titled “Beyoncé Makes History: Black Radical Tradition History, Culture, Theory & Politics through Music” will explore the pop icon's artistic work from her first album in 2013 to her latest “Cowboy Carter” released in 2024 from the perspective of studying Black history, intellectual thought and performance.

The Beyoncé 101 will be taught by Daphne Brooks, a Professor of African American Studies and music, beginning the upcoming spring semester.

The course draws from a previous class Brooks taught at Princeton, an Ivy League University like Yale, called “Black Women in Popular Music Culture”.

Much of the new course’s content will be based on the Princeton course but with a spotlight on Queen Bey’s cultural impact.

Universities have also provided courses on Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Lady Gaga.

“The number of breakthroughs and innovations she’s executed and the way she’s interwoven history and politics and really granular engagements with Black cultural life into her performance aesthetics and her utilisation of her voice as a portal to think about history and politics — there’s just no one like her,” Brooks told Yale Daily News.

When it comes to projects, students will participate in album screenings and be involved in projects designed to study the physical impact Beyoncé has had on the Black community. Moreover, students will be spurred to create playlists to connect the pop superstar’s music to those of her influencers, Yale Daily News said.

“(This class) seemed good to teach because (Beyoncé) is just so ripe for teaching at this moment in time,” Brooks added.