Piedmont Community College offering Taylor Swift course in 2024
Move over Stanford and NYU, North Carolina’s own Piedmont Community College will offer a Taylor Swift course beginning in January 2024.
Higher education institutions offering pop culture centric courses is nothing new. Music producer Patrick Douhit, also known as 9th Wonder, has taught “History of Hip-Hop” and lectured at Duke, NC Central and Wake Forest universities. UNC-Chapel Hill offered a music course centered on The Beatles for many years.
“I think we’re the first community college to teach a course on Taylor Swift,” said Dr. David Townsend, the Person County-based college’s dean of university transfer and general education. Townsend, a self-proclaimed “life-long Swiftie,” is looking forward to teaching the humanities course in addition to his administrative responsibilities.
The cultural impact of Taylor Swift
Most North Carolina community colleges offer a Cultural Studies course, with individual schools choosing which cultural phenomenon to analyze.
The timing to focus on Taylor Swift certainly makes sense. The 12-time Grammy Award winning Swift:
- Wrapped up the first leg of her sold-out The Eras Tour over the summer and continues the worldwide tour in November.
- Premieres "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" concert film in theaters Oct. 13.
- Is now halfway through the process of releasing rerecords of her first six studio albums. The fourth rerecord, "1989 (Taylor’s Version)," is being released October 27.
“Why NOT look at this pop culture phenomenon of Taylor Swift?” asked Townsend. “She’s absolutely massive.”
College aims to make popular course topic more accessible
Townsend said the inspiration for the course came from seeing larger universities with similar offerings across the country.
“I’m super passionate about community colleges,” said Townsend. “Maybe you can’t take Stanford’s class, but you can take it at Piedmont Community College.” Course credits are transferrable within the UNC system.
“We’re all about affordability,” shared Townsend. “We’ll be cheaper and more accessible.” The course will be offered online and in the evening, meeting weekly from 6-7:30 over 13 weeks. The aim is to reaching non-traditional students who may be working 9-5 jobs and/or don’t live near the school.
“We’ve had people reach out from as far away as Missouri since we announced this course,” Townsend said.
What to expect from the course
The Piedmont Community College course will take a two-pronged approach, examining Swift's discography from a literary standpoint and addressing her impact on the economy, politics, media and the music industry. Townsend anticipates a myriad of topics to be addressed throughout the course, including gender, race and identity.
Don’t expect the course to be easy, warned Townsend. He described the coursework as rigorous with weekly essays and critical analysis. This aligns with what the college is hearing back from local employers.
“Employers tell us they need workers with sharper critical thinking skills," said Townsend. "More than anything, this is what students will gain from the course.”
The course is not just for Swifties. “The course is also good for people who are skeptics and wonder ‘What’s the big fuss?’,” Townsend said.
There will be criticism in the course. Townsend said that the course will address Swift's image and how she has been portrayed as boy crazy, for example. Townsend pointed to Swift using her business savvy and storytelling skills to address those critics head on with her 2014 song and music video “Blank Space.” “She made fun of herself and took control of that narrative,” Townsend noted.
Students will lead discussions vs. a lecture style course. Townsend will tap into other members of the faculty to join classes and bring their domain expertise to the weekly classes as they move through the curriculum.
"Your hometown college"
Townsend shared that the college is aiming to provide learning opportunities for everyone. In the last year, the school added 19 electives. “It shows we’re willing to think outside the box and try something different. It shows our versatility. If Taylor works, the next will be Beyonce,” he said.
Townsend estimates that Piedmont Community College has about 1,200-1,300 curriculum students each semester. “Our slogan is we are your hometown college,” said Townsend. “You get a personalized experience at PCC.”
Many of the college’s students are high schoolers in dual enrollment programs in addition to adult learners. The college has two campuses, one in Roxboro (Person County) and the other in Yanceyville (Caswell County) and offers several degrees that can be earned entirely online as well as in-person learning.
Registration for the Taylor Swift course will start Nov. 8 and will be capped at 40 students. For more information on the course, contact David Townsend at david.townsend@piedmontcc.edu.
Here are some other Taylor Swift stories you might enjoy:
That time a 16-year-old Taylor Swift played at Athens Drive High School in Raleigh
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour movie hits a presale record for Cinemark
Taylor Swift watches Travis Kelce's Chiefs take on the Jets at MetLife Stadium
Travis Kelce’s mom had fun with that Taylor Swift viral moment
