Taylor Swift: AUT to launch Australasia’s first university course studying Swift

Senior lecturer Rebecca Trelease said Swift’s prowess as a “communications professional” has become a backbone for maintaining her career in the media.

“Throughout her career Taylor Swift has demonstrated excellence in lyrics, music, and a curated image of pop culture phenomenon,” Trelease (Te Āti Haunui a Pāpārangi) said.

“What must also be examined, however, is Swift’s prowess as a communications professional, the backbone to curating and maintaining her career in the media.”

In February, the Herald’s Lifestyle and Travel deputy editor, Emma Gleason, told the Front Page podcast that Swift’s global domination is down to a winning formula: music that speaks to people, plus the growth of social media and online culture.

“She sort of taps into some past version of you that’s still living with you. You listen to a song and suddenly you’re 15 again, crying in your bedroom because your crush ignored you.”

Swift has also bucked the trend of powerful women “receding” from the limelight to avoid the backlash that can come with over-saturation. Instead, she continues to command space in the media; the T-Swift brand is omnipresent, and isn’t going anywhere.

“I think we grow tired of women in the media quicker than we do of men. Like no one’s sick of Ryan Gosling yet,” Gleason said in February. “[The] tall poppy grows too big and the tide turns on them.

“I think [she’s] in for the long haul, so yeah - there’s going to be a lot of Taylor Swift.”

The launch of the course follows significant interest in Swiftposium - an academic conference that critically examined Swift’s global impact - in February this year. The conference was held to coincide with the star’s concerts in Melbourne during the Australian leg of her Eras Tour, a musical event that has captured the zeitgeist of fandom and celebrity in 2024.

The Swiftposium was developed and funded by AUT, the University of Melbourne and Perth’s Curtin University, in collaboration with the University of Sydney and Melbourne’s RMIT and Monash universities.

“The Swiftposium brought together academics from around the world to critically examine Swift’s impact. We had huge demand from high-school aged students and fans to be involved, and the reality is Swifties are very adept at identifying and interpreting the meaning and intention of Swift’s body of work,” Trelease said.

Okay, so tell me more

According to the course synopsis on AUT’s website, Swiftie students will learn terminology and theoretical viewpoints to conduct critical media analysis of the star’s audio and visual content. Pupils will also carry out a case study critiquing how Swift applies the principles of a particular communication discipline to amplify her career.

“Even non-Swifties are aware of Swift’s cultural dominance. She’s undeniably an expert communicator, and by examining her success, summer school students will be able to learn and apply concepts from any of our majors in the Bachelor of Communication Studies: Advertising and Brand Creativity, Digital Communication, Journalism, Public Relations, Radio and Audio Media and Screen Production,” Trelease said.

“This course gives a chance [to] all sorts of people, from high school students looking to get an early intro to university study, to established professionals looking to add to their knowledge. We can’t wait to see you on campus.”

Taylor Swift: Communications Professional will run from November 18 to December 13, which will mark Swift’s 35th birthday.

Modules will be held three days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am to 12pm at AUT’s City Campus.

“If there is sufficient interest, the course could also be offered online, allowing people who can’t make it on to campus a chance to explore communication studies through Taylor Swift,” Trelease said.

If you’re yelling, “ME!” at the screen, here’s what you need to do to enrol.

Those interested in becoming a qualified Swiftie must apply by November 15, 2024. Applications can be submitted via the AUT website; current students can enrol via My AUT, while those who are not currently studying are required to complete an application form. There’s a blank space, baby, just write your name (sorry).

The domestic fee for the summer school course is $847.44, while the international fee is $4250. For all students, there is a student services levy of $143.27.

So the question is... are you ‘Ready for It?’

Why study celebrities?

Celebrity-focused courses are not a new phenomenon; the study of stars has long grasped attention in academic spheres due to celebrities’ ability to shape and impact communities, cultures, politics, and the broader zeitgeist.

It’s also not the first time Swift has been a subject at university: Rolling Stone senior writer Brittany Spanos previously created an untitled class on the singer, which was held at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute. According to a synopsis of the class from 2022, the modules aimed 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”.

Other Swift-related courses have included the Psychology of Taylor Swift - Advanced Topics of Social Psychology at Arizona State University and Taylor Swift and Her World at Harvard University.

In 2023, Texas State University launched a class focused around the music, fandom and persona of former One Direction member Harry Styles, titled, Harry Styles and the Cult of Celebrity: Identity, the Internet and European Pop Culture.

At the time of writing, other courses on celebrities across the US include: Black Barbie Femmecee & Hip Hop Feminisms at UC Berkeley (Nicki Minaj); Topics in Recorded Music: Lana Del Rey at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute; Kanye Versus Everybody at Georgia State University (Kanye West); and Politicizing Beyoncé Statements at Rutgers University.