American University Unveils Taylor Swift Economics Course Studying ‘Swiftonomics’
Written by djfrosty on April 17, 2024
Much like the musician herself, the Taylor Swift academic canon is only continuing to expand. As announced Monday (April 15), American University will offer an economics course studying the pop star’s financial impact this fall, following in the footsteps of schools such as Harvard, Stanford and more.
Dubbed “Swiftonomics,” the course was proposed by econ students Megan Wysocki and Mackenzie Shultz, both of whom are proud fans of Swift. Department chair Kara Reynolds will oversee the class as scholars explore the “Anti-Hero” singer’s business footprint, earnings from her near billion-dollar Eras Tour, her impact on the Ticketmaster monopoly debate and more.
Interested students can sign up online, so long as they’ve completed a Principles of Microeconomics prerequisite.
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“Many other universities are creating Taylor Swift classes, but mostly in subjects such as sociology or literature,” Wysocki said in a statement. “I figured that this was a unique topic and an opportunity to capitalize on an academic trend. My hope was to get people more interested in an economics course by focusing on someone as popular as Taylor Swift.”
“I think as faculty we get tied up with the issues that we think are important and sometimes forget that these might not be the same issues that students really care about,” added Reynolds. “Economics impacts so much of society, and the competition was designed to help the department discover what students want to know about economics.”
As referenced by Wysocki, AU joins an ever-growing number of colleges who have introduced Swiftian studies into their curriculums in recent years. New York University, UT Austin, Arizona State, UC Berkeley and the University of Florida have all unveiled courses inspired by the 14-time Grammy winner, examining everything from her songwriting prowess to her impact on world culture.
Swift is currently nearing the end of a two-month break from touring as she gears up to release her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department. A follow-up to her 2022 Billboard 200-topping record Midnights, the 16-track LP features collaborations with Post Malone and Florence + the Machine.