A professor at the University of South Carolina at Columbia is offering an upper-level course this spring devoted to studying the societal factors that led to Lady Gaga's popularity.
SOCY 398D: "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of the Fame" will look at everything from the "life and times" of Lady Gaga to contemporary gay culture, according to a course introduction on the school's website.
The University of Virginia offered an English course this semester that used Lady Gaga as a framework for critical analysis of "Sex, Gender and Identity," the Cavalier Daily reported Sept. 8.
$80 million donated for Cornell sustainability research
Last week, a Cornell graduate and his wife donated $80 million to build a "research center focusing on challenges in the global energy, environmental and economic development arenas," according to a Cornell press release.
According to the release, the donation represents the largest gift ever to a university for sustainability research.
U.S. Education Dept. to take tougher stance on anti-Semitism
The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education sent a "Dear Colleague" letter to schools and colleges on Tuesday about harassment and bullying at schools. In the letter, she wrote that anti-Semitic discrimination could be characterized as "race, color or national origin harassment."
As the Chronicle of Higher Education reported on Thursday, that means reclassifying anti-Jewish behavior as ethnically based, and not just religious. Higher education officials are unsure whether anti-Zionist speech and behavior will be punishable under the stricter rules against anti-Semitism.
