Taylor Swift’s Songwriting Will Be Studied At Texas University

Taylor Swift's songwriting will be the subject of a new literature course at the University of Texas at Austin (UTA) this fall, joining literary giants like Shakespeare, Sylvia Plath and Robert Frost.

Titled "The Taylor Swift Songbook," the course will include coverage of the artist’s albums Red (Taylor’s Version), Folklore, Evermore and  Lover, according to the university's website.

Students will address topics such as gender, authenticity, and the authorship of a writer’s texts, as well as the ways in which readers and fans impact how artists and writers work and produce. Professor of English Elizabeth Scala, who will be teaching the course said, "I want to take what Swift fans can already do at a sophisticated level, tease it out for them a bit with a different vocabulary, and then show them how, in fact, Swift draws on richer literary traditions in her songwriting, both topically but also formally in terms of how she uses references, metaphors, and clever manipulations of words. I’ll be showing students that these operations and interpretive moves one makes when reading her songs are appropriate to all forms of writing."

Scala believes part of what makes Swift’s songs a good canvas for a literature course is that she is "such an autobiographical and topical songwriter," adding that many motifs that she deploys have counterparts in literary traditions. "Poetry and storytelling emerged as literary forms sung and accompanied by music," says Scala. "All of the interesting contexts for literature are alive in her work right now."

For Scala, a Taylor Swift course is a new way to keep formalist literary criticism alive and thriving. "I think it’s important to connect the curriculum to the present, but I’m not willing to cede the past. This is my way of sneaking the older material back in with relevance."

UTA’s course follows one offered by New York University, which developed a course based on Swift’s status as a creative music entrepreneur, along with the songwriters who have influenced her.

Swift received an honorary doctor of fine arts from NYU back in May and delivered a moving speech at its commencement ceremony. Swift was hailed as "one of the most prolific and celebrated artists of her generation."

She said during her speech, "Learn to live alongside cringe. No matter how hard you try to avoid being cringe, you will look back on your life and cringe retrospectively. Cringe is unavoidable over a lifetime. Even the term ‘cringe’ might someday be deemed ‘cringe.’ I promise you, you’re probably doing or wearing something right now that you will look back on later and find revolting and hilarious."

Damon Albarn, best known for being the co-founder, lead vocalist, instrumentalist and primary songwriter of the cartoon band Gorillaz, told the Los Angeles Times in a new interview his opinions on today's chart-topping artists.

Interviewer Mikael Wood asked Albarn, 53, if he thinks "a lot of modern musicians are relying on sound and attitude," to which he replied shortly, "Name me someone who’s not." In an attempt to give an example of "who's not," Wood offered Taylor Swift as an "excellent songwriter" even though she may not have been Albarn's "taste." Albarn incorrectly said, "She doesn’t write her own songs."

When told that Swift does write her own music and co-writes some of them, Albarn was quick to shut it down. "That doesn’t count. I know what co-writing is," the "Feel Good Inc." singer explained. "Co-writing is very different to writing. I’m not hating on anybody, I’m just saying there’s a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes. Doesn’t mean that the outcome can’t be really great. And some of the greatest singers — I mean, Ella Fitzgerald never wrote a song in her life. When I sing, I have to close my eyes and just be in there. I suppose I’m a traditionalist in that sense." Albarn is also in a band called Blur, whose most well-known song is "Song 2."

There is at least one modern pop star who Albarn really respects. "A really interesting songwriter is Billie Eilish and her brother," Albarn continued. "I’m more attracted to that than to Taylor Swift. It’s just darker — less endlessly upbeat. Way more minor and odd. I think she’s exceptional."

Swift, 32, caught wind of the interview on Twitter and called out the British musician. "@DamonAlbarn I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this. I write ALL of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging," Swift wrote. "You don’t have to like my songs but it’s really f---ed up to try and discredit my writing. WOW."

"PS I wrote this tweet all by myself in case you were wondering -_-," Swift added.

See what the Swifties had to say below.

Albarn took to Twitter to reply to Taylor's clapback, alleging his words were used for "clickbait."