By: Gemma Foxall
Mathieu Deflem, a Professor of Sociology at the University of South Carolina has announced the creation of a new “Lady Gaga and the Sociology of the Fame” course, to be taught in Spring 2011, the University’s Daily Gamecock reports
Accordingly, the Gamecock has described an online debate as to “where pop-culture and someone like Lady Gaga belong when it comes to an educational setting.” Apparently “The syllabus also recommends that first-year students should not take the course because the ‘scholarly approach adopted in the course might be too challenging’.”
It’s no wonder so many people have been choosing to attend university these days. With such an extensive selection of undergraduate courses, who wouldn’t? It was growing apparent in 2000, when Staffordshire university established a ‘David Beckham studies’ degree, that both British universities and those further afield had no apparent limit to their provision of education. However, these ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees are becoming much more widespread than one might have thought. If studying the sociology of football isn’t your cup of tea there’s always belly dancing at Edge Hill University or even swimming with basking sharks at University College Falmouth. It seems that people will go to any length to put off getting a job.
However it appears that in the current climate, the courses that will be most under threat are these ones. University funding cuts will mean the potential abolishment of courses like David Beckham studies or belly dancing.
Professor Cashmore from the University of Staffordshire has said of the ‘tragedy’, “I’d hate to think of all those kids out there wanting to know about the trends in mobile phone use among premier league footballers missing out, and how they will now be forced to study something really boring, like Maths or History.” I’m sure the taxpayer would also hate for students to be studying such boring subjects.