New music course explores Swift’s discography

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“There was a series of technological changes that happened in the ’90s in terms of popular chart tabulation, and a variety of laws that went into effect that changed how people accessed and listened to the radio, internet and television,” Hughes said. “This had a profound effect on the popular music industry as a whole, but on country music specifically that led to apparent gender discrepancies.”

The class will explore themes from other Swift eras as well. Hughes said that when discussing “Lover,” the class will discuss celebrity activism. When studying the sister albums “evermore” and “folklore,” the students will be focusing on the idea of collaboration and collaborative practices. This includes discussions about featured artists on the records, and also who Swift was working with during the creative process. The class will compare Swift’s discography to other artists during each time period, especially in the 2010s when Swift was at the top of the pop music charts.

“As she progresses through her career, the class will be listening to a lot of [Swift’s] music, and also comparative examples to get a handle on what everything sounded like at the time,” Hughes said. “There will be a fair bit of listening to have a grasp on where [Swift] falls. She is so often stylistically ahead of the curve, so it will be important to have a handle on everything.”

The comparing and contrasting does not stop there. The class will be looking at Swift’s documentaries, and at other pop icons’ documentaries as well, including Beyonce’s. The students will also be comparing Swift to her past self by discussing the re- recordings that have come out thus far, “Fearless” and “Red” — Taylor’s Version, of course — and will even get to spend a whole day listening to every version of “All Too Well,” though students might need to bring some tissues for that class.

With assignments like writing about their first Swift experience, there is no doubt that Swifties will enjoy taking the course. However, this class also explores many relevant themes and issues in today’s society, including race, gender, sexuality and more.

“The students are not writing as fans, journalists or critics, but really as scholars,” Hughes said. “We are engaging with the material on a different level. The class will be very fun for fans, but a very thorough and insightful class for everyone involved, even if they are not fans.”