Dear Chancellor Yang,
Can I ask you a question?
It recently came to my attention that the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley will be offering a spring semester course titled “Artistry and Entrepreneurship: Taylor’s Version.” Upon learning this information, I immediately became a very mad woman.
Chancellor Yang, you may think the Gaucho student body is perfectly fine without a course about Taylor Swift. With multiple preexisting classes covering a wide variety of subjects, it may seem absurd to add another one. But there’s a blank space on the course list.
So, in the name of being honest, this is me trying to tell you that UC Santa Barbara should follow UC Berkeley’s example and offer a class about Taylor Swift in the near future.
Ever since I was a little girl, it has been my dream to earn a degree in Swiftology. At this rate, if being a Swiftie were equivalent to being an academic, I would be a Dean’s list student, have multiple PhD degrees and be published in scientific journals. 19 may be too young for a lot of things, but being a Swiftie Scholar knows no age — I’m sure countless other students on UCSB’s campus are the same! In the first two months of school, I have seen countless Taylor Swift hoodies, walked past houses blaring “You Belong With Me (Taylor’s Version)” and overheard many Taylor-coded conversations.
Taylor Swift has taken over the world. She is a businesswoman, poet, artist, entrepreneur and role model. Call it what you want, but there’s no denying that Taylor Swift is the music industry.
UC Berkeley is on the right track. The course website states that the goal is to analyze “what has led to Taylor Swift’s prolific success as a songwriter, businesswoman, and creative influence.” Lectures will focus on Swift’s lyricism and brand to further understand her role in society. The syllabus splits the course into four parts: her emergence as a superstar, the success of the Eras Tour, Swift’s brand persona, and her influence on others.
UC Santa Barbara’s version could follow a similar structure. The course could take a poetic route, analyzing her lyricism and incredible songwriting ability. Albums like “folklore” and “evermore” are easy picks, with the folk-inspired tracks offering some of Swift’s strongest songwriting to date. Yet, even her pop albums offer profound concepts and a simply phenomenal command of the English language. “Bejeweled,” an upbeat post-breakup anthem, is home to “Familiarity breeds contempt / Don’t put me in the basement / When I want the penthouse of your heart.” Those lines could easily be the sole topic of an entire lecture!
UCSB’s Swiftie course could be more public relations-focused, looking at the image she has curated and maintained. Swift’s business model would also make for an interesting course as students could learn what goes into developing a successful brand. Like Berkeley’s course, Santa Barbara students could analyze the impact of the Eras Tour in terms of cultural significance and future influence.
Long story short, I believe the Gaucho community would strongly benefit from having a course centered around Taylor Swift. She’s an all-encompassing artist, an almost inhumane feat.
Chancellor Yang, I obviously do not want there to be any bad blood between us. I know it must be exhausting running an entire school, trying to best cater to each student’s needs. But I can guarantee that it will be a cruel school year with no courses about Taylor Swift.
Berkeley did it. Now it’s time for UC Santa Barbara to become UC Santa Barbara (Taylor’s Version).
Hope you receive this message in a bottle,
Lauren Chiou