Taylor Swift: New York university introduces pop icon as subject

Taught by Rolling Stones staff writer and huge Swiftie, Brittany Spanos, the course will examine Swift's career through political and cultural lenses. Photo / Getty Images

Grab your pens, "Swifties", because Taylor Swift is now a university subject and I'm ready to sign the hell up.

Love her or hate her, you can't deny this pop star's fame journey is fascinating. So fascinating that New York University's Clive Davis Institute launched the first ever course on her career and cultural impact on January 26 this year.

Taught by Rolling Stones staff writer and huge Swiftie Brittany Spanos, the course will examine Swift's career through political and cultural lenses.

According to the class description, "this course proposes 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".

And there's a lot to deconstruct. There's her rise to fame as an innocent young country singer, to something of a man-eating pop star with her famous A-list girl gang, and being hailed as a feminist hero.

From that, to her sharp descent into being hated after tales of her being difficult and sneaky started taking over headlines, culminating in "that" Kim Kardashian tweet involving a snake emoji.

To take that chaos and turn it into one of the most successful comebacks of all time is a pretty impressive feat.

Speaking to Variety, veteran music writer, musician and Clive Davis Institute chair Jason King explained that introducing the class was "a no-brainer".

"[Spanos is] a Taylor fan but she also understands how to contextualise 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," King said.

And yes, Swift has been asked to speak to the class, but apparently the request is still pending.