Whether you identify as a Swiftie or "grumble on about how she can't sing," it is impossible to deny that Taylor Swift has become a cultural, economic, and political powerhouse. This course will place Swift in historical context within the modern United States, exploring the forces that enabled her rise to superstardom as well as those that shape her loyal millennial and Gen-Z fanbase. Topics include the politics of country music; the roles of globalization and technology in the rapidly changing music industry; feminist readings, and feminist critiques, of Swift's career; and the attempts of various communities to claim Swift as their own, including Gaylors and the alt-right. Fans and non-fans alike are welcome, as our historical objective is to explore Swift, the world that made her, and the world that she is creating at a critical distance.
5 units · Letter (ABCD/NP) · GER: WAY-SI
Whether you identify as a Swiftie or "grumble on about how she can't sing," it is impossible to deny that Taylor Swift has become a cultural, economic, and political powerhouse. This course will place Swift in historical context within the modern United States, exploring the forces that enabled her rise to superstardom as well as those that shape her loyal millennial and Gen-Z fanbase. Topics include the politics of country music; the roles of globalization and technology in the rapidly changing music industry; feminist readings, and feminist critiques, of Swift's career; and the attempts of various communities to claim Swift as their own, including Gaylors and the alt-right. Fans and non-fans alike are welcome, as our historical objective is to explore Swift, the world that made her, and the world that she is creating at a critical distance.
Offered in Spring 2026 at Stanford University.