A new course at University of Texas will examine the songwriting of Taylor Swift. The course, titled “The Taylor Swift Songbook,” opens this fall and will offer an analysis of Swift’s songwriting and storytelling craft.
According to University of Texas’ website, Swift’s work will be read and paired alongside that of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Keats and Sylvia Plath.
The course will be taught by Dr. Elizabeth Scala, who became fascinated with Swift’s craft after her daughter introduced her to her music. Scala spoke with Austin American-Statesman about the course, saying, “Swift is an intelligent and talented songwriter, and her writing skills are what made me focus on her,” Scala said. “For me, it’s all about form (not just or even primarily about content). We will study Swift’s songs as poems and literary structures.”
As for required course materials, students enrolled must acquire Swift’s albums, Folklore, Evermore, and Red (Taylor’s Version).
This is the second university course focusing on Swift’s songwriting. The first ran from January to March earlier this year at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute.
Over at Texas State University in San Marcos, a course called “Harry Styles and the Cult of Celebrity: Identity, the Internet, and European Pop Culture,” will be offered beginning next spring.