Lady Gaga fanatics have created fan clubs, Facebook pages and blogs all dedicated to the pop star. Now the fanfare will move to the classroom.

The University of South Carolina at Columbia will be offering a course starting spring 2011 dedicated to the pop star and the associated fame. The course is titled ‘Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame’ and is being offered in USC’s College of Arts and Sciences.

This course is the only full-time, university-level course of its kind as far as the creator of the course, Mathieu Deflem, said he knows.

The central objective of the course will focus on the sociologically relevant aspects of Lady Gaga’s fame in relation to her music, according to the course website. The course will introduce students to analysis of social issues related to Lady Gaga from a sociological standpoint, according to the website.

According to the course objectives, the course is not about Lady Gaga as much as it is about the culture of fame as exemplified by the specific case of Lady Gaga. But Lady Gaga will be the most influential example for the course.

‘Initially, I thought I should call the course ‘The Sociology of Fame’ or ‘The Sociology of Celebrity,’ and then I was going to use Lady Gaga as an example,’ Deflem said. ‘Then I thought, ‘Oh, what the hell? Let’s make the whole course about Lady Gaga and her rise to fame.”

Deflem, who is 48 years old, first saw Lady Gaga on ‘The Tonight Show’ in January 2009, and his interest with Lady Gaga has not stopped since. Deflem has attended more than 25 concerts, owns more than 300 of Lady Gaga’s records on vinyl and CD, and has met Lady Gaga five times, he said.

Deflem also created a website called gagafrontrow.net dedicated to the pop star. The website originally began as a blog with pictures from Lady Gaga shows, but it has turned into a fan site with photos, downloads of rare Lady Gaga songs and news about her, according to the website.

To have the class implemented at USC, Deflem submitted a proposal that included a full syllabus to the department chair and the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at USC. The proposal was accepted, and the class will be implemented in the spring as a 300-level sociology course.

The course is designed for sociology majors and minors but is open for enrollment from other students at the university, according to the course website. It is not recommended for freshmen, according to the website. To enroll, students must have taken SOCY 101: ‘Introductory Sociology’ at USC or another 300-level sociology course. These are standard prerequisites for a 300-level sociology course, Deflem said.

‘It is theoretically too challenging for students that are not sufficiently advanced in the study of sociology, so the prerequisites were put in place,’ Deflem said.

Since the course is new, the spring semester will be limited to one section of the class with 50 students. The course will be opened up next fall with a class size of around 120 students, Deflem said.

Deflem said the reaction to this course has been positive so far. He said he has received hundreds of positive e-mails from students both within and outside of USC.

Lauren Veline, a freshman advertising major at USC, said she thinks it is wise for the university to use Lady Gaga as the focus of the course because of the pop star’s current popularity both nationally and worldwide.

‘Lady Gaga’s goal was always fame, and she accomplished that, and she accomplished it very, very well,’ Veline said. ‘She obviously knew what she was doing, so studying her could be beneficial for anyone who wants to get themselves in the public eye.’

Veline also said she thinks this will be a popular class for students at USC and is interested in taking it herself when she is eligible.

‘I’m personally a huge Gaga fan, but I’m also really interested in how she managed her incredible rise to fame,’ Veline said. ‘There is no one who doesn’t know Lady Gaga, and whether you love her or hate her, it’s hard not to be intrigued by her.’

medelane@syr.edu

Published on November 9, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Meghin: medelane@syr.edu | @meghinwithani