CINCINNATI — Taylor Swift is topping the charts, infusing billions into the economy and now, getting students more interested in some academic subjects. Or at least, this is the hope of some local professors.
Both the University of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky University are offering new Taylor Swift-themed classes in the fall.
UC already has one class in the College Conservatory of Music, but in the fall, there will be a philosophy class and a writing studies class.
Katie Monthie will be teaching the writing studies class and to her, pitching it to her department was a no-brainer.
"I know a lot about her. I've been a fan since I was in middle school," she said.
Monthie isn't the only one.
Swift inspired a fan club at UC, and drew crowds that rival Reds Opening Day to The Banks when her Eras Tour came to town last summer.
According to the U.S. Travel Association, that leg of the tour generated an estimated $10 billion for the U.S. economy.
Now, Swift is making an impact in college classrooms, without even being on campus.
“I think it would be a mistake for us as teachers to not see the opening that Taylor has provided," said UC Philosophy Professor Tom Polger.
Because these courses go beyond studying the pop star.
Philosophy: Taylor's Version
“We want learning to be fun and for students to be enthusiastic about coming to our classes and learning about the things we do and learning for example, that Philosophy does engage with things that they’re interested in and already thinking about.”" Polger said.
Some of the themes Polger said the course will explore include love and revenge.
"Philosophers have written for eons about love, less about revenge. And so I think, thinking about revenge and the way that she uses revenge and talks about it," Polger said. "Is revenge okay? Should we be talking about revenge? Is that the right attitude to take to people who've spurned us? It's an interesting thing to explore and it applies to our lives."
Polger is co-teaching the class with another professor, Melissa Jacquart. They've assembled a group of graduate students, undergraduate students and teenagers to help them finalize the curriculum for the course.
Topics in Writing Studies: Taylor Swift
In Monthie's writing studies class, the focus is critical thinking.
“I want people to be able to look at what she does as both an artist and a brand critically as well as look at people’s responses to her critically," she said.
Monthie said this class will dive into Swift's music, public persona and online rhetoric.
"Obviously the students have fun with it, but I get to have fun with it. This is someone who I've spent most of my life looking at and having a lot of different kinds of feelings about and so it's fun for me to also get to kind of share that kind of experience with my students," Monthie said.
Poetry of Taylor Swift (and other Tortured Poets)
In the poetry class NKU will be offering, the professor, Donelle Dreese hopes interest in Swift's lyricism will inspire students.
"Taylor is creating a pathway for students to learn more about literature and poetry," she said.
Her latest album is called The Tortured Poet's Department after all.
Dreese said the class will compare Swift's work with well-known poets like Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti and Anne Sexton.
"She's doing so many things right that I think professors around the country are realizing that students can learn a lot from her," Dreese said.
If that's not convincing enough, those teaching the UC courses are putting as much effort into promoting their classes as Swift did with her latest album release, with Eras themed posters and friendship bracelets.
But if you talk to students, especially the Taylor Swift fans, these classes aren't exactly a hard sell.
"She's one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, I think it's incredible that they're appreciating her work," said Katie Solomon, a UC Sophomore and member of the Taylor Swift club, UC: Taylor's Version.
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