Taylor Swift has officially entered her college era as prestigious universities including Harvard, UC Berkeley, Stanford and Rice have all announced plans to offer Taylor-themed classes.
Harvard is offering a course in the Spring 2024 semester titled “Taylor Swift and Her World,” according to the university’s website.
“We will move through Swift’s own catalogue, including hits, deep cuts, outtakes, re-recordings, considering songwriting as its own art, distinct from poems recited or silently read,” the course description reads. The class will study adolescence, adulthood and appropriation, celebrity culture and fan culture.
Next semester, Harvard University’s English Department will debut the course “Taylor Swift and Her World”.
Students will earn college credit for their deep dives into Swift’s lyrics, music, and influence. pic.twitter.com/ujmGcQ0SR9
— Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) November 29, 2023
The class is taught by English professor Stephanie Burt, a “diehard Swiftie,” according to Harvard’s newspaper, The Crimson. (RELATED: Taylor Swift Handles A Wardrobe Malfunction Like A Champ).
“We are lucky enough to be living in a time when one of our major artists is also one of the most famous people on the planet,” Burt told the outlet. “Why would you not have a course on that?”
UC Berkeley is offering a student-led, for-credit class offered for the spring semester called “Artistry & Entrepreneurship: Taylor’s Version,” according to the LA Times.
Stanford has also added a course focusing on Swift’s songwriting, per the outlet.
Rice University students will have the chance to take “Miss Americana: The Evolution and Lyrics of Taylor Swift,” according to the school’s website. The course is set to focus on each of the artist’s 10 albums with a focus on femininity, gender, social media and more.
“You don’t need to be a Swiftie to enroll, but don’t say I didn’t, say I didn’t warn ya,” the course syllabus reads, quoting her lyrics. “You just might become one!”
Other schools, including the University of Texas at Austin, New York University and Queen’s University in Canada, have added classes focusing on Swift, the LA Times noted. The University of Florida is also offering a musical storytelling class on the superstar, per The Gainsville Sun.