The Fame Monster herself, Lady Gaga, has gone from viral video sensation to one of the biggest pop music stars in the world.  Now, Lady Gaga finds herself crossing over again, from pop culture phenomenon to pop culture study.  At the University of South Carolina, professor Mathieu Deflem has launched the world’s only full-time course on the study of Lady Gaga.

Called Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame, the course is intended more as a study of celebrity as a phenomenon using Lady Gaga as the centerpiece, rather than an exhaustive study of all things Gaga.  Then again, if it was an exhaustive study in Gaga-ology, Professor Deflem would be the perfect teacher–he’s seen Lady Gaga in concert nearly 30 times and has met her on 5 occasions since discovering her in 2009.

“If you really don’t like her, you probably shouldn’t take the course.  But you don’t have to be an expert,’ said Professor Deflem, a huge Lady Gaga fan.  “We’re going to look at Lady Gaga as a social event.  Other people say that Gaga’s the new Madonna.  I see it more like there’s people who have this very individual thing.  Frank Zappa had it.  Prince had it.  Miles Davis had it.  Jimi Hendrix had it.  And Lady Gaga has it.”

Tags:  University of South Carolina, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame, college course in Lady Gaga, crazy college courses, Mathieu Deflem, South Carolina offers course in Lady Gaga studies, unusual studies, pop culture, weird college classes

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