Ghent University in Belgium will soon start a special literature course that explores the creative aspects of American popstar Taylor Swift’s music. The course is called “Literature: Taylor’s Version,” inspired by her re-recorded albums.
It will begin this fall and will be taught by respected assistant professor Elly McCausland.
McCausland, famous for her blog “Swifterature,” where she analyzes Swift’s themes, imagery, and language intricacies by comparing them to famous writers like Sylvia Plath, Charles Dickens, and William Shakespeare, is now applying her knowledge to an academic investigation.
“Highly prolific and autobiographical in her songwriting, Swift makes frequent allusions to canonical literary texts in her music,” the class syllabus attests.
“Using Swift’s work as a springboard, we will explore, among other topics, literary feminism, ecocriticism, fan studies, and tropes such as the anti-hero. Swift’s enduring popularity stems, at least in part, from the heavily intertextual aspect of her work, and this course will dig deeper to explore its literary roots.”
McCausland’s course warmly welcomes everyone, even those unfamiliar with Swift’s music.
Taylor Swift
The course’s main focus is to uncover the complex layers of Swift’s artistry, using her music as a way to explore the world of literature that might have inspired her creativity.
McCausland is a respected scholar who earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Oxford University and a Ph.D. from the University of York.
AFP
The idea of studying Swift’s songwriting had been developing in her thoughts, becoming solidified when Swift’s most recent album, “Midnights,” was released.
Students will participate in a diverse assessment procedure.
This involves crafting a “reflection report,” potentially in the form of a song, along with composing a 4,000-word essay that examines the importance of a selected text from the course in relation to the wider literary tradition.
“I’ll be delighted with everything that happens during this course,” McCausland told CNN. “I’m really excited to see what the students come up with.”
Several prestigious institutions including Stanford, New York University, Arizona State University, Berklee College of Music, and Rice University have embraced the exploration of Swift’s lyrical progression, her influence on feminism, gender studies, and the concept of American nationalism.
Swift’s inclusion in college courses is not a first.
In 2016, the University of Texas led the way by offering an English Literature course that analyzed Beyoncé’s visual album “Lemonade” and its intricate connection to Black feminism.
This was followed by the University of Copenhagen introducing a course titled “Beyoncé, Gender, and Race” the following year. These instances underline the growing recognition of pop culture’s profound impact on academic discourse.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn