US university offers course on popstar

New York University’s Clive Davis Institute is offering students a spring semester course on the subject of pop star Taylor Swift. The course was launched on January 26 and continues until March 9, according to a course representative.

The course, first reported by Variety magazine, is being taught by Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone magazine and will follow the evolution of Swift as a musician and entrepreneur, as well as discussing the legacy of pop and country songwriters. 

“I’ve been covering Taylor Swift since I began my writing career a decade ago and have been a super fan of hers for even longer. It’s such an honor to be able to share my Swiftie expertise with a sharp group of students,” Spanos told Variety. 

It will also include discourses on youth and girlhood, and the politics of race in contemporary popular music, a representative stated. The popstar herself has been invited to speak to the students but is yet to respond. 

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The course description on the school’s website describes the class as proposing “to deconstruct both the appeal and aversions to Taylor Swift through close readings of her music and public discourse as it relates to her own growth as an artist and a celebrity.”

Students will also be schooled on issues such as copyright and ownership, as well as American nationalism. 

The course has a sizable waiting list, according to a university rep. The Clive Davis Institute, named after the legendary record producer, claims it is cultivating the next generation of leaders and visionary creative entrepreneurs in music.