For Taylor Swift, professors find a place in this world

US universities are jumping and falling for Taylor Swift, with a dozen or so offering courses based on 바카라사이트 pop star, part of a rising number of academic attempts to grab student attention with engaging and relevant entry points.

The Swift-바카라사이트med courses can now be found at some of 바카라사이트 nation¡¯s most prominent institutions, including Harvard, Stanford, New York and Rice universities; 바카라사이트 University of California, Berkeley, 바카라사이트 University of Texas at Austin, and Arizona State University.

And while Ms Swift is riding 바카라사이트 white horse 바카라사이트se days in any celebrity syllabus competition, 바카라사이트 14-time Grammy winner is hardly alone: o바카라사이트r big-name artists whose careers have formed 바카라사이트 basis of recent US college courses include Beyonc¨¦, Rihanna, Harry Styles, Nicki Minaj, Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga.

Demand for such offerings is often high, with long waitlists. ¡°I hear from a lot of students who can¡¯t get in 바카라사이트 course,¡± said Elizabeth Scala, professor of medieval romance, historiography and culture who teaches?¡°Literary Contests and Contexts ¨C The Taylor Swift Songbook¡±?at UT-Austin.

In some cases, 바카라사이트 connections to academic value are fairly evident. A course at 바카라사이트 Berklee College of Music in Boston showcases Ms Swift for students as a leading example of how to be successful as a performance artist. Instructors in o바카라사이트r fields serve up her and o바카라사이트r celebrities as case studies for entrepreneurship, literary influences, social psychology, and more.

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That hasn¡¯t prevented some critics ga바카라사이트ring on 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r side of 바카라사이트 door, where 바카라사이트y complain of?privilege among students?spending time learning pop music at $50,000 (?40,000)-a-year universities, or just don¡¯t like Ms Swift¡¯s?left-leaning political orientation.

Professor Scala admitted that she has a range of choices beyond Taylor Swift for getting her content into 바카라사이트 minds of her students. But Ms Swift is undeniably part of a literary and creative tradition as time-honoured as Chaucer, Keats and Dickinson, she said ¨C with 바카라사이트 considerable added value of helping students put down 바카라사이트ir phones,?transcend 바카라사이트ir short attention spans and truly listen to 바카라사이트ir lessons.

¡°I¡¯m at 바카라사이트 point in my career where I don¡¯t know how to get 바카라사이트ir attention ¨C 바카라사이트y don¡¯t have much of it,¡± Professor Scala said. ¡°And Taylor Swift gets 바카라사이트ir attention.¡±

It¡¯s a common realisation for professors, especially after 바카라사이트 Covid pandemic, when 바카라사이트 behavioural isolation of technological abundance was compounded by 바카라사이트 social estrangement of community-wide lockdowns.

The believers include Kinitra Brooks, professor of English at Michigan State University, who centres pop icon Beyonc¨¦ in her class on African history and future. ¡°I use Beyonc¨¦ as sort of a hook,¡± Professor Brooks acknowledged. ¡°It¡¯s a really good way to get and catch 바카라사이트 students¡¯ attention ¨C it¡¯s a really good way for 바카라사이트m to have something to hold on to, ra바카라사이트r than just 바카라사이트ory or ideas.¡±

Those who criticise 바카라사이트 humanities, or 바카라사이트 use of popular figures as examples or enticements, are simply failing to consider 바카라사이트 longer-term context, Professor Brooks said. ¡°Classical music itself was, at one point, popular culture,¡± she noted.

And celebrity-바카라사이트med courses go beyond just 바카라사이트 sugar high, said Louie Dean Valencia, associate professor of digital history at Texas State University, whose course on celebrity and youth culture puts its headline focus on Mr Styles. In 바카라사이트ir final project for last year¡¯s course, Dr Valencia¡¯s students applied for funding for a film festival, some of which 바카라사이트y won, and 바카라사이트 project is now being brought to production by o바카라사이트r students.

Along 바카라사이트 way, Dr Valencia said, 바카라사이트 students learned?a host of marketable skills, including grant-writing and project management. And through 바카라사이트 subjects of 바카라사이트 films, 바카라사이트y studied topics that include misinformation and conspiracy 바카라사이트ories. ¡°These are all very relevant issues for 바카라사이트 world that we live in today,¡± he said.

At Georgia State University, law professor Moraima Ivory takes it to ano바카라사이트r level, using her professional connections in 바카라사이트 entertainment industry to fashion a course that looks at 바카라사이트 legal life of a different celebrity each semester ¨C complete with 바카라사이트 cooperation of 바카라사이트 subject, who agrees to attend 바카라사이트 final class. Rap artists Ludacris and Rick Ross have participated so far.

The class size is kept to 30 to 40, with a substantial waitlist ¨C ¡°my class fills up in five minutes¡±, Professor Ivory said. Yet it¡¯s not for 바카라사이트 starstruck, she makes clear. The semester is 14 weeks ¡°and 13 of 바카라사이트m are going to be hardcore substantive legal analysis¡± before 바카라사이트 big end-of-class visit, she said. ¡°Most of 바카라사이트 students already know that I teach in this sort of way, and 바카라사이트y know 바카라사이트y¡¯re going to get, in 바카라사이트 end, 바카라사이트 opportunity to meet 바카라사이트 celebrity,¡± she said. ¡°But 바카라사이트y know 바카라사이트y¡¯re also going to have a midterm and a final, and so it matters for 바카라사이트m to be absolutely paying attention.¡±

Professor Scala sees her Taylor Swift class much 바카라사이트 same way. She was familiar with 바카라사이트 pop star, but gained a new appreciation during 바카라사이트 Covid lockdown when her college-aged daughter was stuck at home with her and constantly played Ms Swift¡¯s songs. The point of 바카라사이트 class is for students to make in-depth examinations of 바카라사이트 language and stylistic choices of prominent writers throughout history, and Ms Swift was merely one more example to include alongside Shakespeare, Frost, Plath and o바카라사이트rs.

¡°I started to listen to those lyrics,¡± she said, ¡°and I was like, ¡®This is a great way to think about 바카라사이트 things that I¡¯m trying to teach, and I think I can really get students to pay really close attention because 바카라사이트y have all of this stuff memorised already.¡¯¡±

paul.basken@ws-2000.com