College professors are using the careers and lives of celebrities in their teaching.
College courses based on celebrities This is not a new idea. In recent years, college professors have created their own unique courses revolving around a particular celebrity.
For example, Taylor Swift has taken multiple college classes focused on her songs, lyrics, fans, and overall fame.
From left: Miley Cyrus, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift are among the stars who have been the inspiration for college courses across the country. (Timothy Norris/FilmMagic | Dave J. Hogan/Getty Images | John Shearer/Getty Images for TAS24/TAS Rights Management)
Matthew McConaughey, Spike Lee and many more celebs who have taught college classes
Harry Styles There is another one that was studied by college students.
Take a look at 10 celebrities who were studied about in college.
- Taylor Swift
- Harry Styles
- Lana Del Rey
- nicki minaj
- jay z
- Beyonce
- Bruce Springsteen
- Miley Cyrus
- Lady Gaga
- Michael Jackson
1. Taylor Swift
Given Swift’s immense fame, it’s no surprise that over the past few years she’s been the topic of discussion in not one or two, but a handful of college courses across the country.
One example of this was a course called “The Psychology of Taylor Swift – Advanced Topics in Social Psychology”, which was taught at Arizona State University.
The course was taught by psychologist Alexandra Wormley and involved examining albums connected to psychology.
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According to the Arizona State University website, when the course was announced in 2023, Wormley said, “This course is basically using Taylor Swift as a semester-long example of various phenomena — gossip, relationships, revenge.” He also emphasized that “the class is not a seminar about how much we like or dislike her — we want to be able to learn about psychology.”
College students across the country have taken notes in classes on Taylor Swift’s career. (Marcello Andelli/Getty Images for TAS23/TAS Rights Management)
The University of Texas at Austin is offering a Swift-focused class in 2022 called “The Taylor Swift Songbook.” This course was taught by Elizabeth Scala.
“Students in the course will study Swift’s lyrics as well as the traditional canons of Western literature: Shakespeare, Keats, and Frost,” Scala said in a university release about the course. “They will be asked to analyze and contextualize common practices and problems that have persisted for centuries.”
Harvard University and New York University’s Clive Davis Institute have also offered courses on Swift.
2. Harry Styles
The former boyband member has continued to achieve global success during his career as a solo artist.
Styles’ career was extensively examined in a course called “Harry Styles and the Cult of Celebrity: Identity, the Internet and European Pop Culture”, which was published by Texas State University.
The class was announced for Spring 2023, and Dr. Louis Dean Valencia will be its professor.
3. Lana Del Rey
The students here of New York University The Clive Davis Institute had the opportunity to study Lana Del Rey.
The university announced a “Topics in Recorded Music: Lana Del Rey” class in September 2022.
On the heels of NYU’s Taylor Swift course, a Lana Del Rey class was introduced. (Christy Sparrow/Getty Images)
This class was based on the Swift course taught at the university earlier in the year.
4. Nicki Minaj
Students at the University of California, Berkeley had the opportunity to enroll in “Black Barbie Feminism and Hip-Hop Feminism.” About Nicki Minaj.
This course will be offered during the spring semester of 2023.
The class, which focused on the hip-hop star, was conducted through the African American Studies department.
5. Jay-Z
In 2011, Georgetown University offered a Jay-Z-focused course.
The class was titled “Sociology of Hip-Hop: Jay-Z.”
The course was taught by Michael Eric Dyson. The class was a mandatory reading for those enrolled Jay-Z’s book “Decoded.”
6. Beyoncé
Another Hollywood power couple, Beyoncé, has also been a focus of attention in college curriculum.
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Rutgers University offered a class for students called “The Politicization of Beyoncé”.
College courses have been taught about both Beyoncé and Jay-Z. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100)
Kevin Allred created a class on this topic. “Single Ladies” singer in 2010.
7. Bruce Springsteen
Another famous course taught at Rutgers University was “The Theology of Bruce Springsteen”.
Springsteen, who is a New Jersey native, The lyrics of his songs were examined during this course.
When the class was launched in 2013, its description emphasized that it would focus on “Springsteen’s reinterpretation of biblical motifs, the possibility of salvation through worldly means (women, cars, music), and his interrelationship between secular and sacred elements.”
8. Miley Cyrus
Skidmore College in New York offered a course in 2014 About Miley Cyrus.
The Special Topics course was titled “The Sociology of Miley Cyrus: Race, Class, Gender, and the Media” and was taught by Carolyn Chernoff.
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At the time the class was announced, Chernoff told TODAY.com that it would “give us a better understanding of how we view social problems through the mass media, how even small things like entertainment reflect larger cultural struggles over race, class and social inequality.”
9. Lady Gaga
In the year 2010, Course about Lady Gaga A thesis was presented at the University of South Carolina titled “Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame.”
According to The New York Times, the course description for this class states, “The main aim is to highlight some of the sociologically relevant dimensions of Lady Gaga’s fame.”
Lady Gaga was the subject of a college course offered at the University of South Carolina. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
The class was taught by sociology professor and longtime Gaga fan Matthew Deflemme.
10. Michael Jackson
Professors who teach courses about celebrities in college draw on all different aspects of stars’ lives for their teaching.
“Michael Jackson: The Business of Music” was an MBA-level class at Clark Atlanta University.
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The course focused on Jackson’s business practices rather than his music.
People reports the course covered topics ranging from “how he negotiated and managed his touring, record deals, merchandising, to how he revolutionized legal practices related to entertainment copyrights, trademarks, licensing and more.”
