Trans-identifying professor to teach Taylor Swift course at Harvard
A Course on Taylor Swift Offered at Harvard University
A for-credit course on pop singer Taylor Swift will be offered at Harvard University for the spring semester, per the class’s instructor.
Stephanie Burt, a biological male who identifies as transgender, discussed the course “Taylor Swift and Her World” with TMZ. Burt said the class will include some details about Swift’s current romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce plus other details about her life, the outlet noted.
Burt told TMZ the course is already generating a lot of interest, with “hundreds” of students signing up for it.
“It’s a literature course,” Burt told Boston-based news outlet WCVB Channel 5 in an interview. “And it has a lot of songs and songwriting.” The course will be focused on Swift’s “lyrics and creative composition and how they’re connected to other page-based poets and authors” the interviewer explained.
“You know, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who wrote some of their poems in the lake district, which Taylor has visited, and has a song about,” Burt said of making connections between Swift and literary figures from the past.
“I love that I’m able to do this in a way that both gives people the chance to study and write about things they love and maybe build some bridges to things they would not have otherwise encountered that they might also love,” Burt added.
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The course will also discuss how Swift uses social media, her stage presence, and fashion as “vehicles for her art.”
WCVB reported that an estimated 300 students have already signed up for the class.
“I think it’s really important to include popular music or culture into normal pedagogies to get students engaged, and I think that’d just be really fun,” graduate student Shayna Perates told the news station.
Another student said the Swift course sounded “really cool,” while a third person said, “At the end of the day, I mean, there’s a reason people want to have a course on it: to have a discussion.”
The news report mentioned that students will be required to write papers for the class but will also be encouraged to express themselves in other ways, including creating music videos.
This is not the first time a class on Taylor Swift and her music has been offered at the college level. Ghent University in Belgium, the University of Texas at Austin, Rice University, Berklee College of Music, the University of California at Berkeley, Arizona State, New York University, and Stanford have all offered Swift-focused courses.
How can Taylor Swift’s lyrics be analyzed and compared to the works of other poets and authors?
Shakespeare’s sonnets are poems, right? So are Robert Frost’s lyrics,” Burt added. “I think [Swift’s] lyrics and her genre of music is open to all sorts of interpretations, and her place within American music is something to be taken very seriously.”
The course will explore Swift’s impact on popular culture and examine her themes of love, heartbreak, and personal growth. It will also analyze her songwriting techniques and how they relate to the works of other poets and authors.
While some may argue that a course on Taylor Swift may seem frivolous or trivial, it is important to recognize that popular culture and music play a significant role in shaping society and reflecting the values, interests, and emotions of individuals. By studying Swift’s music, students can gain a deeper understanding of the cultural phenomenon she has become and the ways in which her music resonates with audiences.
Furthermore, Swift’s success as a songwriter and performer has made her an influential figure in the music industry. Her ability to craft powerful and relatable lyrics has earned her critical acclaim and a vast fan base. Analyzing her techniques and studying her artistic process can provide valuable insights into the art of songwriting and storytelling.
In addition to the academic aspects of the course, it is also worth considering the impact that a course on Taylor Swift can have on student engagement and enrollment. The fact that “hundreds” of students have already signed up for the class demonstrates a genuine interest and enthusiasm for studying Swift’s music. Incorporating popular culture into the curriculum can be a way to make education more relevant and engaging for students, fostering a deeper passion for learning.
Moreover, offering a course on Taylor Swift at a prestigious institution like Harvard University can help challenge traditional notions of what is considered worthy of scholarly study. It sends a message that popular culture is a valid and valuable subject of academic inquiry and that one does not need to conform to traditional areas of study to be considered intellectually rigorous.
It is important to note that this course is not being offered solely because Taylor Swift is a popular pop singer, but rather because her music and lyrics offer rich material for analysis and exploration. The focus of the course is on the literary and artistic merits of Swift’s work and its cultural significance.
Overall, the inclusion of a course on Taylor Swift at Harvard University represents a recognition of the power of music and popular culture to influence and shape society. It demonstrates the importance of studying diverse forms of artistic expression and highlights the relevance of contemporary music in academic discourse. By providing students with the opportunity to engage with Swift’s music in a scholarly context, Harvard University is fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of the cultural significance of popular music in today’s world.
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