On the day before the Liverpool leg of Taylor Swift's Eras tour, more than a hundred people will attend "Tay Day", a now sold-out academic symposium on her work. Academic conferences and symposia on Taylor Swift are – to quote a song title from Red (Taylor’s Version) – nothing new; they are now being offered worldwide, from the United States to Australia.
In fact, only last week I was just one of many academics asked to present at a conference on Swift and feminism organised by Dr Claire Hurley at the University of Kent’s Canterbury campus. Like many people studying Swift, I came to this field through a somewhat circuitous route. I have a PhD in English and Renaissance studies from Yale and currently work as a lecturer in early modern literature at Queen Mary University of London.
But in 2021, I started a podcast that used critical theory and has now grown into the book I am working on, Dear Reader: Taylor Swift and the Idea of English Literature in which I argue for the serious literary study of Swift.
The way fans read and discuss her work is often very similar to how we ask students to engage with the texts we teach in literature classrooms. Fans track Swift’s references to older literature such as the poetry of William Wordsworth and Emily Dickinson, analyse the way she self-consciously positions herself as an author, and closely read her work to find in it a dense network of allusions, revisions, and slowly changing metaphors.
These discussions often lead to classic questions of literary theory: whether there is an essential “canon” of literature; is there such a thing as literary value, and to what extent our knowledge of an author’s biography should influence the reading of their work.
Denne historien er fra June 07, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June 07, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Nepotism debate behind NBA's first father-son act
LeBron and Bronny James are set to become the first father and son to play on the same team in tonight's season opener
The moment Verstappen ended Norris's title hopes
So often a figure of joviality in the Formula One paddock, Lando Norris did not muck around at the end of the US Grand Prix.
Klopp can thrive at Red Bull despite the betrayal taunts
Not everyone is thrilled by Jurgen Klopp's new global role
Clubs seek answers to fresh Newcastle takeover claims
Leaked WhatsApp messages appear to contradict the 'legally binding assurances' of the separation between the Public Investment Fund and the Saudi state
Airlines at Gatwick fight for pilots in recruitment push
EasyJet offers captains a salary of up to 170k to attract staff
'I've lost friends and family members - but right's right'
Andrew Feinberg speaks to the former Trump voters who are now planning to pull the lever for Kamala Harris - and the campaign politicos who came up with an unusual strategy
Blinken heads to Israel in hopes of ceasefire progress
US secretary of state Antony Blinken is heading to the Middle East, making his 11th trip to the region since the war in Gaza erupted last year and as Israel steps up attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon and operations in the Gaza Strip.
South Korea recalls envoy over claims North Korean forces helping Putin's war
South Korea yesterday demanded the immediate pullout of North Korean troops allegedly deployed in Russia as it summoned the Russian ambassador to protest deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
Moldova commits to join EU after narrowest of votes
Incumbent president Maia Sandu claims that foreign forces with links to Russia tried to influence referendum's outcome
Woman admits assault after milkshake attack on Farage
A woman has admitted throwing a milkshake over Nigel Farage while he was campaigning in Essex ahead of this summer's general election.