Taylor Swift’s star power is something to be studied, and thanks to Harvard University, you can. Last year, the Ivy League institution announced that the “Karma” singer would be the central focus of one of their newest course, “Taylor Swift and Her World.” Despite the public’s mixed reviews of the news, students at the university have enrolled in droves.
According to the school’s official website, almost 300 students have enrolled. Now, due to the overwhelming demand, they are seeking teaching assistants. On January 3, the professor for the class, Stephanie Burt, put out the open call on X (formerly Twitter).
“Ok, I’m doing this. Our Taylor Swift course at Harvard is so popular that we need additional teaching assistants. If you live in the Boston/Providence metro, love Tay, & have *qualifications or experience to teach a writing-intensive college course,* my DMs are open,” wrote Burt.
Ok I’m doing this. Our Taylor Swift course at Harvard is so popular that we need additional teaching assistants. If you live in the Boston/Providence metro, love Tay, & have *qualifications or experience to teach a writing intensive college course,* my DMs are open.
— Stephanie Burt (also elsewhere) (@accommodatingly) January 3, 2024
Although the posting emphasized that Harvard’s graduate students will receive priority, Swifties with a teaching background are encouraged to apply. In a statement to WBZ-TV, Burt described the inspiration behind the course. “Today she’s the most recognizable country– or formerly country? or pop? — artist in North America, if not the world: her songwriting takes in half a dozen genres, and her economic impact changes cities,” said Burt. “[Students] will learn how to study fan culture, celebrity culture, adolescence, adulthood, and appropriation; how to think about white texts, Southern texts, transatlantic texts, and queer subtexts.”
Last year, Taylor Swift was named Time’s Person Of The Year; this year, she could do it again.
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