Rutgers Professor Kevin Allred had been teaching his Beyoncé college class since long before her self-titled surprise album dropped. Back in December of 2013, Allred scrapped his original syllabus and incorporated many of Beyoncé’s new songs and videos. Inspired by a piece by Daphne Brooks looking at Beyoncé as a protest singer in “B’Day,” Allred curated a list of theoretical readings to overlay with Beyoncé’s songs and videos for a course he started back in 2010.
There are two obstacles which Allred faced in building “Politicizing Beyoncé: Black Feminism, US Politics & Queen Bey.” For one, he doesn’t run a TMZ office or pretend to have insight into Beyoncé’s personal life. His goal is to apply critical lens to her artistry and public persona. The other issue is that of privilege. As a white man, Allred understands that he does not have all the necessary access points for analyzing Beyoncé’s work. To combat that he crafted a syllabus pulling from only black, female writers.
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She actively rails against the “Angry Black Woman” stereotype.
Allred notes that he sees this on two levels. He points to the scene in her documentary where she tries to give lighting instructions. No one is listening to her, and a man has to come in to have the team get it right. This idea, that we often ignore women or characterize them as shrill when trying to make a point is echoed by the way she lets other rally in her favor. Note her nod to the Beyhive at the Grammys. Or just Kanye. “You know she could just tell Kanye to stop if she wanted,” Allred said. “But she lets him go off for her and just sits back and nods.”
