Beyonce is going to be the next topic in some Canadian classrooms as the University of Victoria and the University of Waterloo have dedicated courses to explore the career of the famous diva, according to CTV NEWS.
Melissa Avdeeff, lecturer at the University of Victoria explained, "I just thought she would be an artist that a lot of the students -- especially in this young 20s age range -- would be able to identify with.... They've pretty much had Beyonce in their entire lives."
The course already debuted in January and will be returning by fall. It includes video analysis and gender studies. As well as Beyonce's career trajectory from her Destiny's Child days to her solo career.
Avdeeff said, "She's an artist that has stayed relevant culturally. She's had her hand in a lot of different cultural aspects -- not just her music."
"She's also done a bit of acting. She's very active on social media and she presented a really interesting case study, I thought."
Avdeeff actually devoted a section of her inaugural class to address criticisms concerning the course.
"Some of the comments I received were: 'I can understand having a course on someone like the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, but not Beyonce -- she hasn't been around long enough.'
"It's good to document culture as it's happening so we have this record, so we see what's happened, so we see how it's reflecting in our society as we're living it."
While Beyonce was extremely reticent about her personal life, the University of Waterloo will primarily focus on her music.
The course, being offered by the school's drama and speech communication department will center on Beyonce's work, including her videos and performance.
Naila Keleta-Mae, assistant professor and course instructor said, "She spoke about wanting all of these videos ... thought about as a movie of sorts. And so for me, as a performance studies scholar, it was interesting to think of an entire album as being a visual performance."
Naila said, Beyonce's digital media "speaks a lot to the moment that we're in," so it would be a good informational resource.
