Taylor Swift ‘invaded’ many universities and was chosen as a research topic

As Taylor Swift became more and more familiar with American popular culture, universities in this country began opening training and research classes on the female singer’s music.

New York University’s Clive Davis Institute is one of the first higher education institutions in the US to offer a research class on Taylor Swift in 2022. The class is taught by Ms. Brittany Spanos – famous writer for Rolling Stone. .

Since then, a series of universities have also planned to open similar classes. NBC News lists a number of Taylor Swift courses at other universities in the US, from Harvard to the University of Florida and the University of California, Berkeley.

The course about Taylor Swift at Harvard University is called Taylor Swift and Her World, led by English professor, poet, and literary critic Stephanie Burt. Professor Burt is also a Swiftie (the common name of Taylor Swift’s fan community).

Students participating in this course are tasked with analyzing the discography released by the female singer, and identifying the rhetorical and artistic devices that use words that Taylor Swift has included in her songs.

The curriculum also includes literary works selected by Professor Burt to connect to Taylor Swift’s music thematically, including poems about childhood nostalgia, novels about becoming a artists or critical works in the field of art.

Professor Stephanie Burt selected famous works such as The Song of the Lark by novelist Willa Cather, several poems by William Wordsworth and an academic essay about Taylor Swift by Margaret Rossman.

Course participants do not have to be Talor Swift fans. However, Professor Burt requires students to demonstrate skillful writing ability and have a certain understanding of Taylor Swift’s music as well as literary works.

The University of Texas, Austin teaches about the music of Taylor Swift

At the University of Texas, Austin, the course on Taylor Swift is called The Taylor Swift Songbook. The course leader is medievalist, professor Elizabeth Scala. She calls this course a contemporary turning point in her research career.

A course about Taylor Swift at the University of Texas, Austin will revolve around the singer’s use of literary devices to write music. The first part of the course focuses on analyzing some songs by country music singers and discussing the structure of those songs.

In addition, students were assigned the task of comparing two Taylor Swift songs and finding artistic devices in them.

Unlike professor Stephanie Burt, professor Elizabeth Scala expects those who come to her course to be fans of Taylor Swift. She also hopes that those who regularly listen to the female singer’s music will be able to point out what they like about that song and why they like it.

Using Taylor Swift’s music to tell the story at the University of Florida

The Taylor Swift course at the University of Florida is called Musical Storytelling With Taylor Swift and Other Iconic Female Artists.

The class leader is Linguistics professor Melina Jimenez. She herself is not a Swiftie, but she saw her students talking a lot about Taylor Swift so she decided to open the course to give students more opportunities to discuss.

During the 13-week course, students will research the albums that Taylor Swift has released, and learn more about topics such as double standards, exes, betrayal… while set in a modern context. The course will also cover the influence of Taylor Swift’s music on popular culture.

To complete the course, students will be assessed through written papers and class discussions. At the end of the course, students do exercises in small groups, choosing a certain topic from Taylor Swift’s discography and then discussing that topic.

Learned about Taylor Swift but related to entrepreneurship at the University of California, Berkeley

At the University of California, Berkeley, the course on Taylor Swift is called Artistry & Entrepreneurship: Taylor’s Version. This course is developed and taught directly by professor Crystal Haryanto.

Unlike courses studying Taylor Swift’s music, courses at the University of California, Berkeley go in-depth about economics, business and sociology, as well as the singer’s impact on society. as an artist.

In addition to learning about the lyricism of the 1989-born singer’s music, students will learn more about her marketing and business strategies, as well as the success of her recent Eras Tour.

According to information published on the website, students will be graded based on their ability to discuss Taylor Swift’s role in the media and in society. Learners do not have to be fans of Taylor, but the school highly encourages learners to become fans after this course.