Image Text: IMPACT: Beyoncé

A UNIVERSITY in America has introduced a new course to its curriculum, which looks at the cultural and political impact Beyoncé has had on the world, it has been reported.

The Department of Women's and Gender Studies at the renowned Rutgers University in New Jersey launched Politicising Beyoncé last year in a hope that people would begin looking at the star as more than just a musician.

"This isn't a course about Beyoncé's political engagement or how many times she performed during President Obama's inauguration weekend," Kevin Allred, the PhD student who will be teaching the course said.

He continued: "She certainly pushes boundaries. While other artists are simply releasing music, she's creating a grand narrative around her life, her career, and her persona."

Allred says the class will focus on how Beyoncé's public image, her videos, her lyrics and her alter ego, Sasha Fierce, are related to mainstream feminist figures, such as Alice Walker and Sojourner Truth.

Beyoncé is the founding member of one of the biggest selling girl groups of all time, Destiny's Child and has sold over 75 million records worldwide.