University wants to unravel Taylor Swift’s secret

Pop phenomenon Taylor Swift enters the classroom. The Clive Davis Institute at New York University (NYU) is offering a series of seminars on her musical and social development starting January 26. The initiator of the comprehensive analysis session is NYU professor and musician Jason King, course instructor Brittany Spanos, editor at the American ROLLING STONE.

The program explores the Swift sound, beginning with her legacy and transformation in the country scene, through her remarkable journey into mega-successful music entrepreneurship. This also includes social discourses on images of women and “white” and “black” patterns in pop.

Is Taylor Swift coming to visit?

Whether Taylor Swift will personally help enlighten the students remains to be seen. The US institute, which is a kind of academic variant of the practical Liverpool Institute of Popmusic, also refers to the very long waiting list for the event.

NYU has described it as “deconstructing” both the attraction and dislike for Swift in her music and public perception. This includes the culture and politics of her teenage years, her immense fan base, but also the fact that she is white in her image and the power relations behind it. Those interested in business are served on copyright, ownership issues and social media strategies.

Learn artistic appreciation

A nice phrase from the description of the seminar objective goes like this: “Students will develop higher levels of artistic appreciation, critical thinking, research and writing skills”.

Britanny Spannos of ROLLING STONE told industry publication Variety: “I’ve been writing about Taylor Swift since I started professionally a decade ago and have been a huge fan of hers for even longer. So it is my great honor to share my Swiftie expertise with the students. I hope I can help them reconsider the sometimes ambivalent relationship with a global star.”