The English department at Harvard University, in the United States, announced this month that it will launch a course on Taylor Swift next semester, called “Taylor Swift and Her World” (Taylor Swift and Her World, in Portuguese).
According to Harvard, students will be able to earn university credits by taking a deep dive into Swift’s lyrics, music and influences, analyzing her works and reading a series of authors that the professor considers relevant to understanding the singer’s art.
The class will be taught by Stephanie Burt who has been a Swiftie since 2009. She plans to track changes in American culture through the singer’s career.
“Swift is known for her well-documented shift from the country genre to pop music, which coincided with her move from Nashville to Manhattan. Burt intends to explore this movement in the context of the South’s changing relationship with the rest of the United States,” the university explained.
“Taylor Swift is someone who enters into complicated and shifting relationships with the idea of Americanness and with the idea of white and Middle American Americanness,” Burt added.
Burt stated that the singer’s influence on politics and culture is worthy of study and analysis. Throughout the course, students must do at least one assignment investigating “the compositions, singing, performance or life and career of Taylor Swift”.
“We are fortunate to live in a time when one of our greatest artists is also one of the most famous people on the planet,” Burt said. “Why wouldn’t you have a course on this?”
Above all, the professor hopes that the course reaches Harvard students personally.
“Taylor Swift is a good way to think about what it’s like to have a lot of eyes on you and wonder what you do with your privilege,” says Burt.
“Looking around and asking, ‘I’m very ambitious and I got to this place when I was very young. What do I do next? What do I do with all this attention?’”
“I think this is very Harvard,” he added.
Taylor Swift is one of the greatest artists of the 21st century. She is the most listened to singer on Spotify, has won 12 Grammys and “The Eras Tour” is becoming the biggest tour in music history.
See also: Taylor Swift welcomes family of fan who died at concert in RJ
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
