The University of Texas is offering a Taylor Swift course this fall.
The college made the announcement in a Facebook postThis is Dr. Elizabeth Scala’s description of the course. “provides an introduction to literary studies and research methods that uses the songwriting of @taylorswift as the basis for teaching a wide range of skills.”
According to Austin American-Statesman: The course is called “Literary Contests and Contexts — The Taylor Swift Songbook,”Scala was inspired to start the venture after Swift’s release brought Swift to Scala’s attention. “Red (Taylor’s Version)”November 2021
“Let’s turn that Easter Egg hunting and reading in detail to academic purposes!”The post continues.
“Swift is an intelligent and talented songwriter, and her writing skills are what made me focus on her,” Scala said Send an emailTo the American-Statesman. “For me, it’s all about form (not just or even primarily about content). We will study Swift’s songs as poems and literary structures.”
It is not the first time that the singer-songwriter has been the subject of a college-level course. Through the Clive Davis Institute, New York University offered an earlier class on Taylor Swift. Rolling Stone journalist Brittany Spanos taught the course, taking students through Swift’s career with many different lenses, ranging from political to feminist to entrepreneurship.
Following Spanos’ course, Swift accepted an honorary doctorate at NYU’s graduation ceremony for the Class of 2022. She also gave a commencement address.
Swift isn’t the only celebrity to be studied in college. Texas State University will offer a course on British singer Harry Styles in the spring of 2023 for the school’s Honors College.
Louie Dean Valencia TweetThe news that he will be teaching the class is titled “Harry Styles and the Cult of Celebrity: Identity, the Internet, and European Pop Culture.”
“This is what tenure looks like,”Valencia ended his tweet. “Let’s gooooo!”
