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Culture November 17,2024 | Nidhi

Yale’s Beyonce Course Highlights The Decline Of Higher Education

Yale University, once synonymous with academic excellence, is launching a new course focused on the cultural and political impact of pop star Beyonce. The class, titled “Beyonce Makes History: Black Radical Tradition History, Culture, Theory & Politics Through Music,” is the latest example of how America’s universities prioritize trendy topics over practical education, leaving students to pay thousands for courses with little career or societal value.

Instructor Daphne Brooks, co-founder of Yale’s Black Sound and the Archive Working Group, described the course as a deep dive into Beyonce’s work. “I’m looking forward to exploring her body of work and considering how, among other things, historical memory, Black feminist politics, Black liberation politics, and philosophies course through the last decade of her performance repertoire,” Brooks said.

According to the course description, students will examine Beyonce’s albums and performances, such as 2013’s “Beyonce” and 2024’s “Cowboy Carter,” as “portals” to study Black intellectual thought and activism. The description touts an “analysis of the dense, robust, and virtuosic aesthetics, socio-historical and political dimensions” of the pop star’s career.

Critics argue that courses like this exemplify the growing irrelevance of higher education for many students. While Ivy League schools were once lauded for producing critical thinkers prepared for meaningful careers, they are now increasingly associated with costly degrees that offer little return on investment. This course, which does not prepare students for practical challenges, only reinforces that trend.

Beyonce-themed classes have appeared at other schools, including Rutgers University, Arizona State University, and the University of Texas at San Antonio. Supporters argue these classes provide cultural insight, but critics point out that they reflect a shift toward academic pandering.

With students facing mounting debt and dwindling job prospects, courses like this raise serious questions about the priorities of America’s universities. Yale’s embrace of celebrity culture, at the expense of practical education, underscores why many now view college as an overpriced scam.

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