The pop icon becomes part of the syllabus at universities across the country
No female pop-music figure has ever infiltrated the halls of academia as Madonna has. Scholars like Susan McClary, E. Ann Kaplan and Camille Paglia have taken up the Material Girl as a postmodern icon, making her the subject of study at Harvard, Princeton and UCLA. Naturally, Madonna is at the center of the raging debate between high and pop culture. Those who teach her are often called upon to defend her place in their syllabuses.
Harvard University's Lynne Layton, whose course includes a day on Madonna, says: "Teaching students how to read popular culture critically is as important as teaching them to read high art. Madonna is dedicated to breaking down hierarchies of race, class and gender."
