Taylor Swift is the focus of a new course offered at New York University's Clive Davis Institute in the Spring 2022 semester.
Rolling Stone journalist and NYU alumna Brittany Spanos teaches the course, which began on Jan. 26 and continues until March 9, and which analyzes Swift's evolution as a musician, businesswoman, entrepreneur, country singer and pop sensation, according to Variety.
"I've been covering Taylor Swift since I began my writing career a decade ago and have been a superfan of hers for even longer. It's such an honor to be able to share my Swiftie expertise with a sharp group of students," Spanos said, according to the outlet.
The course description reads in part, "This course proposes to deconstruct both the appeal and aversions to Taylor Swift through close readings of her music and public discourse as it relates to her own growth as an artist and a celebrity."
Through readings, lectures and more, the class "delves into analyses of the culture and politics of teen girlhood in pop music, fandom, media studies, whiteness and power as it relates to her image and the images of those who have both preceded and succeeded her."
The course will also "consider topics like copyright and ownership, American nationalism and the ongoing impact of social media on the pop music industry," the description adds.
The Davis Institute chair Jason King told Variety that the class was a "no brainer" when it was first suggested by Spanos.
"She's a Taylor fan but she also understands how to contextualize her culturally, and get students to think more deeply about her and her music through the lens of gender, feminism, race, and class, and other categories related to identity, and that deeper thinking is what this program is all about," King said. "She's also an NYU alum and a former student of mine, and I've watched her rise as a journalist and as a person and I'm so excited to bring her in."
Commenting on the course on Twitter, Spanos offered a glimpse into her classes when she provided an update on how it was going.
"for all those waiting on updates on how the taylor class is going, i played dear john more than once and went on a too long tangent about gaga's 2009 vma performance (i promise i had a point)," she wrote.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.