NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Joining the chorus of courses based on the musical prowess of one of the world's biggest pop stars, Christopher Newport University will offer a Taylor Swift-themed class this spring, according to an article posted to CNU's news website.
Taught by an assistant professor in music theory, Dr. Chelsey Hamm, who is also director of Music Theory and Aural Skills, the course will allow students to examine Swift's lyrics, videos, and her impact on music.
“I think we have to meet students where they are,” Hamm, who is admittedly not a Swiftie, said in the CNU article.
Watch: What was the economic impact of Swift's Era's Tour?
The course comes at a time when Swift has appeared to reach the top of her game, having wrapped The Era's Tour in December — the highest-grossing musical tour ever — a year that began with her winning a fourth Grammy for Album of the Year, and culminated with her being named the most-streamed artist on both Spotify and Apple Music.
Colleges and universities across the U.S. have made similar course offerings to students in the past few years. According to BestColleges.com, about a dozen schools — including UCLA Berkeley, American University, Duke, and Penn State — offered courses about Swift in fall 2024.
Watch: Taylor Swift releases book based on Era's Tour
“Scholarship is sometimes slow to follow pop culture," said Hamm. "It will be fun to do a new class like this."
Students in the "Contextualizing Taylor Swift" honors seminar will examine how concepts like melody, rhythm, and mode appear in her music, in addition to "girlhood, nostalgia, queer theory, and innocence."
“We want to engage them,” Hamm said. “Music helps people to become better critical thinkers and helps improve analytical skills."
