Are university courses that focus on celebrities a good idea?

Want to study the politics of Beyoncé, or the sociology of Miley Cyrus? What about exploring the American dream through Kanye West?

This month, Rutgers University, one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in America, has taken its first intake of students studying Feminist Perspectives: Politicising Beyoncé, as part of its women and gender studies course.

Meanwhile, Skidmore College, a liberal arts institution in New York state, has opened its doors for a summer course on the Sociology of Miley Cyrus.

In the UK, a leading professor said this week that students can learn about politics, morality and the economy from celebrity culture.

James Bennett, at Royal Holloway, University of London, said: "From Angelina Jolie's breast cancer surgery, to Madonna adopting children from Malawi, celebrities are constantly used to tell stories that spark important conversations and debates about moral, political, economic and cultural issues."

This was explored further this week at a University of London celebrity studies conference, on the role of celebrity in modern life.

But are university courses that focus on pop stars really a fresh way to dissect broader topics, or are they just a savvy marketing move?

As part of the Politicising Beyoncé course, students will learn about American race, gender and sexual politics. The class will include analysis of Beyoncé's videos and lyrics as well as readings from black feminists.

Kevin Allred, the lecturer at Rutgers running the course, has said: "When students don't respond to theory or dense readings, it's often easier to see things play out in the world around them."

In a similar way, the Sociology of Miley Cyrus classes aim to use the controversial pop star as a gateway to discuss core sociological theory.

Carolyn Chernoff, who wrote the syllabus, says: "Miley Cyrus is a rich example of how race, class and gender are performed in the media. She's a great case study.

Jonathan Baldwin, a director of teaching and learning in Cambridge, previously ran a course based on the Simpsons at the University of Brighton.

He points out that Dickens and Shakespeare were also celebrities. "Using current figures as a way to unpick our current way of life is entirely appropriate," he says. "How else would you do it?"

"Isn't Jane Austen studies the same thing but with a 19th century slant? Can you not use Shakespeare as a way of studying Elizabethan society? Or Dickens as an entry point into Victorian morals?"

"[Using current celebrities] can act as a 'hook' on which to hang discussion of other topics, but without substance it won't work."

Other courses that use celebrities as case studies include a course in Jay-Z and Kanye West at the University of Missouri, which looks at the rappers in relation to poets and the American dream, and a course in the sociology of Lady Gaga in South Carolina.

In the UK, you can take a master's that focuses on the Beatles, at Liverpool Hope University, and analyse "the significance of the music of the Beatles in the construction of identities, audiences, ethnicities and localities."

However, not everyone is convinced that university courses focused on celebrities are worth signing up for. Navraj Gata-aura, a third-year law student at Kingston University says: "Why Beyoncé? Why not someone iconic in the suffragette movement who's been influential in gender movements?

"Regardless of what it entails, employees discriminate constantly, and at the end of the day it's how you look on paper. If they see Miley Cyrus studies, they won't think about the depth and issues that have gone into the course, they'll just think 'next please'."

Lauren Van Schaik Smith is currently studying a master's in history at University College London. She says: "It's a symptom of a competitive commercialised education market.

"American universities treat students like customers – a change that's happening here too. They want to ensure their product has the most appealing packaging, including modules with cool names."

Joelle Owusu, a third-year geology student at the University of Aberdeen, says universities that use celebrities to attract students are taking the "easy way out".

"Universities do it to seem more current and to create a buzz. Perhaps mentioning celebrities as examples in topics is better suited than creating an entire course module on them."

However, Elizabeth Macauley, a year 13 sixth-form student, says that focusing on current pop stars doesn't have to lead to the neglect of other important figures.

"It's important to keep things current as it's more relatable," she says. "This doesn't mean the neglect of people from the past, but rather the amalgamation of those from the past and those of today."

Bethany Garry, a second-year history and theology student at the University of Glasgow, agrees. She says: "The dismissal of courses like this as 'useless' shows no understanding of what courses are useful in the first place. Not all of us are going to study engineering or medicine.

"Why not equip ourselves with the ability to speak intelligently about the world we live in currently? Which, you know, happens to include Beyoncé."

(Source: TheGuardian)