The University of Guelph has entered its Taylor Swift era.
Beginning in January, the university is making a new course available, looking at the impact the global music megastar is having on the world from a variety of perspectives.
“Taylor Swift is not just a singer or a pop star,” Robert Edwards, one of the two masterminds behind the local course, along with Alyssa Woods, said in a news release.
“Popular music is such a pervasive element of our culture and so really any artist that rises to this level of popularity and success becomes a pervasive element of our culture.”
Icons of Popular Music is a 12-week course, and don’t worry about hopping in your Getaway Car to head to campus.
The course is entirely online and open to anyone and everyone, it seems. Students can sign up, regardless of their major, and it is also being made available to the general public.
It is also asynchronous, so you can take the course at your own pace, at your own time.
So yes, you can even spend Midnights completing the course, if that’s your Style.
Numerous institutions have launched courses related to Swift, many with their own twists.
Queen’s University launched a Swift law course in the fall, which takes a look at entertainment law issues.
There are English-specific courses dedicated to Swift, economy courses, history and literature courses offered at places like Harvard University, University of Miami, University of Tennessee and Duke University, just to name a few.
While those schools are taking a deep dive on one aspect, Edwards said the U of G course will look at all of it and how these elements intertwine.
From pop culture and where it intersects with art, literature, sexuality, race, religion and feminism, among other things. The topics on branding and copyright ownership will be explored, along with the impact her concerts have had on economies, how her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has left its mark on growing the NFL fan base, the list goes on.
“There is intrinsic value to the conversations we’ll be having,” Edwards said. “It’s not just talking about Taylor Swift. We’re talking about the current state of politics in the U.S., how Taylor engages with and affects the body image of teens, how The Eras Tour has shifted the way tickets sales now work for all concerts.”
"The fact that we’re seeing this with a female artist is not insignificant,” Woods added. "She writes her own music and controls a lot of the elements of her identity, her business and her brand.
"This is a mass cultural impact we are witnessing."
