Taylor Swift waves after the AFC Championship NFL football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Jan. 28 in Baltimore. Penn State Berks announced the campus is offering a new course that studies the cultural and musical impact Swift — a Berks County native — has had on the world
Nick Wass | AP photo
Course will look Berks County native’s influence on culture, music
WYOMISSING — Penn State Berks announced the campus is offering a new course that studies the cultural and musical impact Taylor Swift has had on the world, according to a report by our newsgathering partners at Eyewitness News WBRE/WYOU.
The course, named “Taylor Swift, Gender, and Communication,” is built to look at the Berks County native’s influence on culture and music, as well as how she has been portrayed as a woman in the media.
Developed and taught by associate professor Michele Ramsey, the course identifies the gendered expectations placed on Swift as she grew from adolescence to adulthood and how she navigated, what Ramsey calls, the media’s “tendency to pit successful women against each other.”
Ramsey said she hasn’t been a longtime Swiftie, but she said she was inspired to teach about Swift due to the amplified online criticism of Swift’s music, accusations of her lip-synching, and the adoration she has received from the Swifties.
“When you watch social media posts of the concerts or Eras Tour movie screenings, you see so many important things happening. You see legions of women — grandmothers, moms, young women, teens, tweens, younger girls, and those who don’t fit into our strict social constructions of gender and sex identity — daring to take up space to enjoy something they love together.”
Ramsey said Swift’s messaging has the ability to resonate with fans from Gen Alpha to Baby Boomers.
“Taylor Swift is not only loved by younger generations, and there’s a good reason for that. She shows vulnerability in her music by speaking honestly about her life and many of those tribulations are linked to how we treat most women in our society. Taylor’s songs speak to generations of people whose stories have not been the center of civilization, movies, TV shows, or music.”
Ramsey said she hopes students studying the importance of something they love leave with a better understanding of the expectations and pressures placed on women in culture.
Penn State said the class will hold 100 seats with 50 spots reserved for current Berks students and the other 50 spots available for incoming first-year students.
