What Do Beyoncé and Mahatma Gandhi have in Common?

​It's official—Beyoncé is officially a historical figure to go down in the books—you can study her work at Rutgers University! For everyone who ever contested her importance as a feminist icon and important musical figure, this course is the quintessential slap in the face. The course catalogue describes the course—Politicizing Beyoncé —as "an attempt to think about our contemporary U.S. society and its current class, racial, gender, and sexual politics through the music and career of Beyoncé".

Taught by Professor Kevin Allred at Rutgers University of New Jersey, the course sees Beyoncé as a music icon that pushes societal norms and the boundaries of acceptability and normalcy through her work. To quote the course catalogue, "We will attempt to position Beyoncé as a progressive, feminist, and even queer figure through close examination of her music alongside readings on political issues, both contemporary and historical. We will juxtapose Beyoncé's music with writings on black feminism and the black female experience in the U.S. (and beyond), to attempt to answer: can Beyoncé's music be seen as a blueprint for progressive social change?"

For every Bey fan holding up a flag of support, it's good to know she'll be remembered on par with (okay maybe not, but still in the same history books as) a person of great cultural significance. Again, we take a grain of inspiration, remembering the anonymous (but fabulous) quote—"You have the same number of hours in a day as Beyoncé!"