Ivy League Era: Harvard to offer class on Taylor Swift
Harvard's Taylor Era FILE PHOTO: Students who walk the hallowed halls of Harvard will soon be able to take a class on all things Taylor Swift for college credit. (Getty Images/iStock)
By Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard may not be the first university that springs to mind when thinking of schools that offer courses on Taylor Swift.
The Harvard English Department will offer “Taylor Swift and Her World,” with Burt teaching the class next semester, and will give students a chance to do “deep dives into Swift’s lyrics, music, and influence, dissecting her catalog and reading a host of authors Burt finds relevant to understanding Swift’s artistry.”
It’s all for college credit.
Burt said that not only will Swift’s music be studied but Travis Kelce is bound to come up in conversation too, TMZ reported. And it won’t just be a surface discussion about the Swift-Kelce romance. It’s because typically, whoever Swift is dating ends up inspiring her music. But keep in mind, the Kansas City Chief may not be featured that much because she has yet to write that song about him.
Students, though, won’t be only reading or listening to Swift’s lyrics. they will also have required readings that date back way before 1989 such as Willa Cather’s “The Song of the Lark” and James Weldon Johnson’s “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man,” the Harvard Crimson reported. Burt will use Swift’s music to “track broader shifts in American Culture,” showing how the singer/songwriter transitioned from country to pop genres.
Harvard is joining the ranks of other schools that are using Swift as a teachable moment. The University of Florida is also launching a class while Arizona State already has one, Entertainment Weekly reported.
They join Ghent University in Belgium, the University of Texas at Austin, Rice University, Berklee College of Music, the University of California at Berkeley, New York University and Stanford University.
The University of Florida will examine not only Swift’s catalog but also other artists such as Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday and Dolly Parton, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Harvard is offering the Swift class under the lecture courses category alongside classes on Beowulf, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton and Toni Morrison.
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years Here are some memorable photos of Taylor Swift through the years. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for MTV)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2006: Country singer Taylor Swift arrives at the 41st annual Academy of Country Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 23, 2006, in Las Vegas. (Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2007: Music artist Taylor Swift performs during the Academy of Country Music New Artists' Party for a Cause show at the MGM Grand Conference Center on May 14, 2007, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2008: Singer Taylor Swift arrives at the 50th annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center on February 10, 2008, in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2009: Kanye West (left) jumps onstage after Taylor Swift (center) won the "Best Female Video" award during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on September 13, 2009, in New York City. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2010: Musicians Kary Perry and Taylor Swift during the 52nd annual Grammy Awards Salute to Icons Honoring Doug Morris held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 30, 2010, in Beverly Hills, California. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2011: Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez perform onstage during the "Speak Now World Tour" at Madison Square Garden on November 22, 2011, in New York City. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2012: Taylor Swift performs onstage during the MTV EMA's 2012 at Festhalle Frankfurt on November 11, 2012, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for MTV)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2013: Taylor Swift arrives at the 55th annual Grammy Awards on February 10, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2014: Musician Taylor Swift attends the "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2014, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2015: Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend the 57th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on February 8, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2016: Recording artist Taylor Swift attends the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 28, 2016, in Beverly Hills, California. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2017: Musician Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Super Saturday Night Concert at Club Nomadic on February 4, 2017, in Houston. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for DIRECTV)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2018: Taylor Swift attends the 2018 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on October 9, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2019: Taylor Swift performs during the TIME 100 Gala 2019 Dinner at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2019, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for TIME)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2020: Taylor Swift attends the 2020 Sundance Film Festival "Miss Americana" Premiere at Eccles Center Theatre on January 23, 2020, in Park City, Utah. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2021: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, and Aaron Dessner accept the Album of the Year award for "Folklore" onstage during the 63rd annual Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center on March 14, 2021, in Los Angeles. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2021: Taylor Swift attends the "All Too Well" New York Premiere on November 12, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images) (DIMITRIOS.KAMBOURIS@GETTYIMAGES.COM/Getty Images)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2021: Writer-director Taylor Swift attends a premiere for the short film "All Too Well" at AMC Lincoln Square 13 on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) (Evan Agostini/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2022: Taylor Swift speaks during a graduation ceremony for New York University at Yankee Stadium in New York, Wednesday, May 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (Seth Wenig/AP)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years 2022: Taylor Swift waves to graduates as she participates in a graduation ceremony for New York University at Yankee Stadium in New York, Wednesday, May 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (Seth Wenig/AP)
Photos: Taylor Swift through the years Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Lumen Field on July 22, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Mat Hayward/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management) (Mat Hayward/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Mana)