New York University's Clive Davis Institute launches new Taylor Swift course

The course started on 26 January and will run until 9 March, and marks the first-ever course on Taylor Swift at NYU's Clive Davis Institute.

According to Variety, the course is taught by Rolling Stone writer Brittany Spanos, and will give students an "understanding and appreciation for Taylor Swift as a creative music entrepreneur", as well as teaching them how to "deconstruct the way her creativity and songwriting have made her a durable presence in a quickly evolving music industry."

Students will also learn about "the legacy of pop and country songwriters that have influenced Swift as well as the discourses around "prodigies" in pop music history", as well as "how discourses of youth and girlhood are often exploited in the media and music industries", and "the politics of race in contemporary popular music."

Variety also reports that Swift has been invited to give a talk to the class. It's not been confirmed if Swift has accepted the invitation.

Music writer and musician Jason King told Variety, "To me, the class was a no-brainer when Brittany first suggested it. 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. 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."

Spanos added, "Teaching a course at Clive Davis has been a dream of mine since I attended NYU. I took several of the Topics in Recorded Music courses in the program while an undergrad and they were foundational to my work as a music journalist. I’ve been covering Taylor Swift since I began my writing career a decade ago and have been a super fan of hers for even longer. It’s such an honor to be able to share my Swiftie expertise with a sharp group of students. I hope to help them rethink how to engage with one of the things world’s biggest and sometimes divisive stars, in the same way Clive professors like Jason King, Vivien Goldman and Joe Levy did for me when I took their courses."

Last month Taylor Swift was announced as the global ambassador for Record Store Day 2022.