Beyonce course offered in university

The Department of Women's and Gender Studies at Rutgers University is offering a class called Politicizing Beyonce.

Kevin Allred, who is teaching the class, said he was using the singer's career to explore American race, gender and sexual politics.

The class includes analysis of Beyonce's videos and lyrics as well as readings from black feminists.

Allred also said he wanted to help students at the university in New Jersey think more critically about media consumption.

"This isn't a course about Beyonce's political engagement or how many times she performed during President Obama's inauguration weekend," he said.

Rutgers also has a class about the theology of Bruce Springsteen's lyrics.

In the UK, a module in Harry Potter and the age of illusion is on offer at Durham University.

Georgetown University has a class called The Sociology of Hip-Hop: The Urban Theodicy of Jay-Z, focusing on Beyonce's rapper husband.

Earlier this month the couple was named the most powerful people in music by Billboard.

They have both founded their own companies; Beyonce's Parkwood Entertainment and Roc Nation, created by Jay Z.

The pair has been married since 2008 and has a daughter called Blue Ivy.