PROVO, Utah — Is BYU "...Ready For it?"
Pop superstar Taylor Swift will soon be part of the curriculum at the Provo school, according to the Daily Universe.
The idea for the course started when philosophy professor Ryan Davis heard Swift on the radio when she was just 17 years old and was instantly hooked.
Davis is quoted in the publication as saying, "Whatever this is, I’m here for it. Since then, I’ve been on the train.” Now, he'll be teaching a course entitled "Philoswifie," a course which he says will reflect the philosophy of the hugely popular singer.
Students wanting to get into the course, which will be offered at BYU in winter 2024, will have to wait as it's already filled to capacity.
Davis believes that Swift emphasizes human relationships in her songs, which in turn shows a certain philosophy.
“All these questions are questions about ethics, and she’s just interested in the ethics of all of those things … And so even though it’s pop music, it’s pop music that’s about the moral structure of relationships,” Davis said, according to the Daily Universe article.
It's also created a bond with his sister Breanne Lindner, a fellow Swiftie, who says her brother's concentration at the concerts they've attended together show his deep appreciation of the lyrics.
“There’s literally no one else on the planet who I would want, or anyone (I) would rather have a post-game (conversation) about a Taylor Swift concert with,” Lindner said, according to the article.
“Honestly, I feel like my brother understands Taylor Swift better than Taylor Swift understands Taylor Swift,” she said.
A colleague of Davis', Quinn Mechan, was surprised about his obsession with the singer, given analytical thinking, but says he took the songs more seriously after hearing Davis' review of a song during his daughter's birthday party.
“This is when I first really heard his more political philosophy of Taylor Swift … he made an argument at my daughter’s birthday party that Taylor Swift’s main contribution is being able to recollect particular moments that are frozen in time and to be able to highlight how the particular details of this moment have significance beyond that moment,” Mecham said, according to the article.
“He makes me believe that yes, in fact, there’s a possibility there that there are meaningful philosophical contributions, but I’m still on the quest,” Mecham said.
