Modern Moves postdoctoral researcher Madison Moore delivered a standing-room only lecture titled “How To Be Beyoncé: An Interpretation of an Icon” on the pop star and her cultural relevance. The lecture was part of the Turl Street Art Festival, a week-long cultural extravaganza organized by Exeter College, Lincoln College and Jesus College on Turl Street in Oxford.

Moore’s unique brand of public scholarship regularly pushes the boundaries of traditional academia by taking seemingly insignificant topics (i.e. items from pop culture) and unraveling their multiple layers of complexity. Focusing on the intense fervor surrounding Beyoncé and her red-hot, nearly religious fan base, and moving to discussions of the black body and the pop music industry, the lecture approached Beyoncé as just one cultural text to explore issues of race, sexuality, media, stardom, and long-running depictions of the black female body.

On Monday, March 16th, Moore will do a repeat of the lecture at University College London. Stay tuned for further details!