Universities across the globe have embraced celebrity-themed classes as a way to study academic topics, the latest being a Skidmore College course on Miley Cyrus [1]. The Summer 2014 class will use Miley's career as a way to study race, class, gender, and identity, echoing some of the same themes examined in a Beyoncé course taught at Rutgers University. Just for fun, we're rounding up a range of schools that have offered celebrity-related courses over the years, highlighting what the students learned and what we'd like to add to each syllabus.
Source: RCA Records [2]
English 2169: Jay Z and Kanye West
- College: University of Missouri
- What students learn(ed): How Jay Z and Kanye's careers fit into hip-hop [3] and how their music incorporates the American dream.
- What we'd also like to learn: Everything they talk about during their double dates with Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian [4].
Source: Def Jam [5]
Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame
- College: University of South Carolina
- What students learn(ed): How Lady Gaga's rise to fame [6] fit into our culture on a social and global scale.
- What we'd also like to learn: If there's anything, anything at all, that she wouldn't wear.
Source: Interscope Records [7]
Politicizing Beyoncé
- College: Rutgers University
- What students learn(ed): How Beyoncé's music and career work as a lens to study sexual politics [8], gender, and race.
- What we'd also like to learn: How to run the world and stay so flawless.
Source: Columbia Records [9]
Bruce Springsteen's Theology
- College: Rutgers University
- What students learn(ed): How Bruce Springsteen's lyrics interpret biblical motifs [10], redemption, and the cross between the sacred and the secular.
- What we'd also like to learn: Whether Bruce kept in touch with Courteney Cox [11].
Source: Columbia Records [12]
Michael Jackson: The Business of Music
- College: Clark Atlanta University
- What students learn(ed): How Michael Jackson built an empire [13] as the "King of Pop."
- What we'd also like to learn: Which sorcerer he paid to defy all laws of physics with his dance moves.
Source: Epic Records [14]
Sociology of Hip Hop: Jay Z
- College: Georgetown University
- What students learn(ed): How Jay Z's body of work deals with race [15], gender, ethnicity, class, economic equality, and social injustice.
- What we'd also like to learn: When Jay knew that Bey was the one.
Source: Columbia Records [16]
Spirituality and Politics of U2
- College: Saint Mary's College
- What students learn(ed): How U2 is politically involved [17], using its platform to convey social and spiritual messages.
- What we'd also like to learn: The number of sunglasses Bono owns.
Source: Island Records [18]
The Music of Radiohead
- College: Syracuse University
- What students learn(ed): How Radiohead fits into music history [19] and which themes can be found in the band's music.
- What we'd also like to learn: Which "Creep" cover the band likes best.
Source: Parlophone [20]
Madonna the Phenomenon
- College: University of Amsterdam
- What students learn(ed): How Madonna's media presence grew [21], plus the impact of her role as a sex symbol.
- What we'd also like to learn: How to reign as queen for more than 30 years.
Source: Warner Bros. Records [22]
American Popular Arts: Elvis as Anthology
- College: University of Iowa
- What students learn(ed): How Elvis influenced American culture [23] through his music and movie roles.
- What we'd also like to learn: How to leave the building and an eternal legacy.
Source: MGM [24]
The Sociology of Miley Cyrus: Race, Class, Gender, and Media
- College: Skidmore College
- What students learn(ed): How Miley Cyrus's career serves as an example [25] for themes of gender, race, and identity in the media.
- What we'd also like to learn: What that sledgehammer tasted like.
Source: RCA Records [26]