TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — A new course at Northeastern State University is so college.
The course is called "Taylor Swift, The Woman, the music, the industry" and it will serve as a humanities credit listed under General Education requirements.
It's a standard 16-week course and will start in the Spring 2025 semester. Classes are from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The course will also be cross-listed as a women and gender studies course.
“We are planning to split the course between the first half and second half of the semester, so I’ll teach for the first eight weeks, then Dr. Eversole will teach the remainder of the semester,” Dr. Alexandra Doyle, assistant professor of music (clarinet), said. “I’m planning to use a musicological perspective to consider how Western music history has impacted Taylor Swift’s output.”
Doyle said that Swift’s experience as a musician will be discussed within a historical context alongside women throughout various periods of Western music history, beginning with the Medieval era.
She added that she will visit Swift’s own ‘Eras’, exploring the trends and changes within the music industry.
In addition to looking at Swift’s influence as a singer-songwriter and her influences, the course will examine her meteoric rise to stardom and how she uses her platform.
According to Dr. Dana Eversole, professor and department chair of communication and media studies, her portion of the course will cover Swift’s social media presence, branding and image. She added that the class will study her rise to become one of or possibly the most, celebrated artists and examine her emergence as an influencer in several areas, including politics and philanthropy.
“We are excited to offer this timely course about the impact and cultural influence of a trailblazing public figure to our students,” NSU President Rodney Hanley, said. “The dynamic and interactive structure of the course, taught by our qualified faculty members, aims to keep students engaged. This addition to Northeastern’s course catalog further aligns us with our commitment to equip the next generation of thought leaders and media professionals with knowledge that will prepare them to exceed the demands of the modern workforce.”
For more information about courses and degree programs offered by NSU, click here.
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