We can’t stop talking about Miley Cyrus and her crazy shenanigans, so why not study her? At least that’s what Skidmore College in New York has decided — no twerking required.
Skidmore, whose slogan is “creative thought matters,” will use Cyrus as a study subject in the course “The Sociology of Miley Cyrus: Race, Class, Gender and Media” this summer. The course will be taught by Carolyn Chernoff, Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology, who has used Cyrus as a lecture topic in the past.
“I was teaching a course called Youth Culture in and out of School, and the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) became the twerk heard ’round the world. I showed that video to my class, and the students had so much to say,” she said, The Saratogian reported.
Over the past couple of years, Cyrus has worked hard to shed her Disney good-girl image, and has done a great job remaining in the spotlight for it.
“From Disney tween to twerking machine, Miley Cyrus has grown up in the public eye, trying on and discarding very different identities on-screen and off,” the course description reads, according to The Daily Gazette. “She provides rich examples for analyzing aspects of intersectional identities and media representation.”
Last year at the AMA’s, Cyrus received criticism for her theatrical performance with a crying, levitating kitten, not long after her infamous, partially nude twerking on married man Robin Thicke at the VMA’s.
“You can study a lot of things based on Miley,” Chernoff said when discussing her course. “She represents how transient wealth and fame can be, and shows how possible it is to change your image.”
According to Chernoff, “Miley is a lens into cultural conflict.” An area that sociologists focus heavily on.
Using pop culture to relate to college students and test their knowledge has been done before — and recently. Earlier this year, Rutgers University announced their women’s studies class “Politicizing Beyoncé,” for example.
