In fantastic news for Floridian Swifties — and we’re not talking about the track on The Tortured Poets Department named after us — a series of colleges are offering classes on Taylor Swift and the University of Miami is among them!
The elective course, titled “The Mastermind of the Taylor Swift Brand”, is being offered for the fall semester. More than a music class, it will look at the role social media played in building and growing the singer’s billion-dollar brand.
“Throughout the course, students will unravel the strategies Swift employed to captivate her global audience and foster strong brand loyalty for generations to come,” according to an article published on The Miami Hurricane, the school’s student-run newspaper.
Students will get to explore Miss Americana’s storytelling ability and highlight how her lyrics connect fans through relatable experiences, as well as analyze her own personal experiences, right to privacy for public figures and the increase of fake news.
Enrollment for the strategic communications class opened earlier this month and it is being taught by associate professor Dr. Alyse Renee Lancaster, who also happens to be the mastermind behind it. The idea came to her when she was listening to a playlist full of Swift’s songs while exercising. She told The Miami Hurricane that she’s “never been more excited” to teach a course in her career.
The class is open to all majors and certainly not limited to just Swifties — even those who aren’t fans can still learn from her ability to sell her brand.
But UM isn’t the only college schooling its students on the global star. There’s a growing trend in schools considering academic studies on a lasting career and impact like hers, including the University of South Florida and University of Florida.
This fall, USF’s course will be titled “Cultural Studies and Popular Art” and will highlight lectures comparing Swift’s music to Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson and Lord Byron. At UF, “Musical Storytelling with Taylor Swift and Other Iconic Female Artists” will discuss the themes in her and other songwriters’ discographies.
The University of Central Florida has recently followed suit, announcing that their “Rhetoric in Popular Culture” course will be offered again with a different focus. A Taylor’s Version, if you will.
“In August, the course will Begin Again with Ms. Swift as the focus. After all, we are in Florida!!!” UCF wrote in a social media post.