BBC News interviewed a Canadian woman who received her Masters degree in The Beatles from Liverpool Hope University. Apparently Mary-Lu Zahalan-Kennedy is a music teacher by trade at Sheridan College in Ontario, so this was a natural progression. Some people study Medieval music. Others study mop-tops.
It sounds sexy at first--getting a Masters degree in The Beatles. It sounds modern and glitzy, like getting a PhD in Harry Potter. That is until you listen to her interview, where she goes full-blast on the professionalism of it all. She makes The Beatles sound as interesting as deciphering Sylvia Plath's poetry. (Daddy!)
The BBC presenter, Dotun Adebayo, tried to downplay this whole situation as not academic study (around the 1:00 mark), until Zahalan-Kennedy dives into the ins and outs of her research--including the fact that she never listened to much of The Beatles' music for her studies.
The rest of the BBC interview with Zahalan-Kennedy is quietly interrupted by what appears to be the sounds of John Lennon's body rolling over in his grave.
SHE EARNED A MASTERS DEGREE IN THE BEATLES, BUT SAID SHE NEVER LISTENED TO THEIR WORK.
And that, folks, is what's wrong with modern scholarship in a nutshell.
What's not wrong? This:
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