Tortured Poetry 101: Salem State To Offer Taylor Swift Course

SALEM, MA — Salem State University Swifties will soon be able to earn course credit studying all things Tay Tay through the "Eras" as part of a new special topics seminar course at the school.

SSU's media and communications department will offer "The Media Impact & Societal Influence of Taylor Alison Swift" this spring.

Adjunct professor Lauren Torlone — a journalist and self-proclaimed "Swiftie" — will teach the course that will "take a deep academic dive on Swift and her influence on American life and politics."

"It came together for me in terms of conceptualizing the course because she represents many parts of the human experience — at the same time there's no doubt that Swift is the figurehead to draw people in," Torlone said. "Pop culture influences society and culture, and the reverse is also true.

"Taylor Swift is emblematic of many things — she's a female voter in election season, she's a businesswoman, she's an entrepreneur and so much more. She's a person who represents many of
the things we're talking about in the media and with students in our department."

While some traditional academics may be seeing "Red" at the thought of a higher-education course dedicated to a pop culture icon, Torlone said it is an effort to make education accessible and to help future journalists "have your finger on the pulse of what's going on."

"We're using her as an example, albeit an incredibly huge and impactful one," she said. "There isn't a day where Taylor Swift isn't a headline."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)