MUS 53 — Taylor Swift and Millennial America
Quarter: Summer
Instructor(s): Theresa Michelle Iker
Date(s): Jul 10—Aug 28
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Thursdays
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Class Meeting Time: 5:30—7:00 pm (PT)
Tuition: $425
Refund Deadline: Jul 12
Unit(s): 1
Enrollment Limit: 85
Status: Open
Quarter: Summer
Day: Thursdays
Duration: 8 weeks
Time: 5:30—7:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jul 10—Aug 28
Unit(s): 1
Tuition: $425
Refund Deadline: Jul 12
Instructor(s): Theresa Michelle Iker
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Enrollment Limit: 85
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Open
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. Modeled on a course offered to Stanford undergraduates, this course will be an academic Eras Tour: we will take a historical approach to Swift’s career by placing her in the context of the 20th- and 21st-century United States. We will explore the forces that enabled her rise to superstardom as well as those that shape her loyal millennial fanbase.
Beginning, of course, in 1989, we will trace Swift and millennial America over the course of three and a half decades to the present day. Topics include the politics of country music; race and class dynamics in American suburbia; the roles of globalization and technology in the rapidly changing music industry; feminist readings and feminist critiques of Swift’s career; growing political polarization; and the attempts of various communities, including Gaylors and the alt-right, to claim Swift as their own. While history classes often study the more distant past, this course explores a living subject. As a result, we have the unique opportunity to study in real time the world that made Swift and the world that she is making with her growing influence.
Beginning, of course, in 1989, we will trace Swift and millennial America over the course of three and a half decades to the present day. Topics include the politics of country music; race and class dynamics in American suburbia; the roles of globalization and technology in the rapidly changing music industry; feminist readings and feminist critiques of Swift’s career; growing political polarization; and the attempts of various communities, including Gaylors and the alt-right, to claim Swift as their own. While history classes often study the more distant past, this course explores a living subject. As a result, we have the unique opportunity to study in real time the world that made Swift and the world that she is making with her growing influence.
This course welcomes Taylor Swift fans and nonfans alike, as our objective is to explore Swift at a critical distance.
THERESA MICHELLE IKER
Lecturer, Department of History, Stanford
Theresa Michelle Iker specializes in modern American politics, gender, and culture. She received a PhD in history and a minor in feminist, gender, and sexuality studies (FGSS) from Stanford, where she now serves as the Choi-Lam H&S Lecturer in Undergraduate Teaching. She offers courses in the Department of History and the Stanford Introductory Studies Program. She also offers courses exploring the intersections of popular culture and politics, most recently “Taylor Swift and Millennial America.” Her writing has been published in TIME, the Journal of Women’s History, the Clayman Institute’s Gender News, and The Huffington Post.Textbooks for this course:
There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.