‘Draw students in’: Local colleges adding classes that focus on Taylor Swift

BOSTON — A growing number of colleges are offering classes on Taylor Swift.

Last week a Harvard professor put out a plea for more teaching assistants to help manage a class that was crushed under the weight of its popularity.

Berklee College of Music professor Scarlett Keys teaches a class called The Music of Taylor Swift.

It focuses primarily on Swift as a songwriter.

Taylor Swift is “really a master of writing rhythmic hooks that just invite you in,” said Keys. “They’re simple, but they’re fun and they just instantly grab you and so we’re kind of figuring out how she is doing that.”

Keys added the students are “deceptively and deeply learning songwriting craft and technique.”

Her two classes for the spring semester are overpopulated.

Taylor Swift is much more than a pop star and provides a great role model for budding musicians, according to Keys.

“We wanted to look at an artist that is having a massive effect globally, a huge audience connecting with so many people, and break that down into what is the magic of this woman’s writing?”

Berklee student Benjamin Luong wants to pursue a career in recording production.

He says taking Professor Key’s class was a great opportunity to turn his hero worship of Taylor Swift into a real teachable moment.

“If I could learn more of what she used in her songs, then it would be really helpful for my songwriting later,” said the college junior. “She could talk about anything in a song and make it relatable to the audience.”

Northeastern University offered a class with a different objective.

Their class is called “Speak Now – Gender and Storytelling in Taylor Swift’s Eras”.

Catherine Fairfield, Ph.D., who created the course, said “Our objectives in the course are to understand how Taylor Swift uses heritage of women’s storytelling in her songs in order to connect with audiences all over the globe.”

She said the class develops skills in literary analysis.

This trend is just another example of Swift shattering a ceiling by making pop music a source of serious academic study.

“It was entertaining, and it was also very educational at the same time and that’s what I liked about the class,” said Luong.

Most people are also aware that Taylor Swift is a very shrewd businessperson.

The University of South Carolina is tapping into that aspect of Swift’s career by offering a business class looking into Swift’s economic impact, merchandising, use of sponsorships, and philanthropy.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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