Beyonc�, Rihanna Courses To Be Offered In US University

The University of Austin at Texas is offering a course titled �Beyonc� Feminism, Rihanna Womanism� for it�s spring 2015 semester. According to the university website, students who enroll in the class should expect more than just an endless loop of �Crazy in Love� or �Umbrella.� The course will focus on �how the lyrics, music videos, and actions of these women express various aspects of black feminism such as violence, economic opportunity, sexuality, standards of beauty, and creative self-expression.� As associate professor Natasha Tinsely, who works in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Austin at Texas, sums it up: she hopes that the course will shed light on the role black feminism plays in popular culture as well as everyday life. In the wake of the current culture�s fixation on �girl power� � with Sheryl Sandberg�s Lean In, Sophia Amorouso�s #GirlBoss crusade, and celebrities like Lena Dunham at the forefront of the movement � it�s no surprise that celebrity figures are being used as models to examine the movement. According to Kevin Allred, the professor of �Feminist Perspectives: Politicizing Beyonc� at Rutgers University, featuring celebrities in course material, like Beyonc� and Rihanna in this case, is a strategic way to draw students in. �It�s a way to speak to the students in something they�re already familiar with,� Allred tells Yahoo Style. �So if professors use pop-culture figures, it makes it easier for students to engage with the material. And it may get them interested in the course while hopefully introducing them to a whole group of writers, history or something they weren�t already aware of.�