Ever wondered why universities spend money on teaching obscure courses in gender studies, relativism and sexuality amongst a host of seemingly useless topics? Well, wonder no more because it really is all justified as a university is now offering a Master’s Degree in the subject are of The Beatles. Liverpool’s (where else??) Hope University began offering a Master of Arts course entitled The Beatles – Popular Music and Society in 2009, and they have just graduated their first student.
Mary-Lu Zahalan-Kennedy, who is a professor of popular music in her native Ontario, Canada, has also hit out at claims that The Beatles are not a serious subject for academic research. She says “It’s absolutely academic. It was an examination of how The Beatles came to be. What the political and social climate was and the cultural aspects that helped to facilitate an environment where The Beatles’ could happen. It was a lot of history. It was very much having to understand all of the history of British music, British politics and the economic state of the country at the time and what people where doing to stay positive and how music impacted on everyday life.”
Despite having to leave her husband and daughters behind in Canada for the duration of the course, she found Liverpool to be very welcoming. She says “It was a very difficult decision to leave my family and come and live here and it has been a wonderful place to live. I couldn’t make out a word anyone was saying at first and then every time I’d just start to get used to an accent I’d meet someone with a different Liverpudlian accent! But the people were so generous and kind. I made some great friends while I was here and learned that I could do something that had seemed impossible.”
