Fans have been digging deep into the song lyrics of Taylor Swift for most of her career, looking for hidden meanings and real-world relevancy. Now, a select group will be able to do so for college credit at one of the top-ranked schools in the country.
Stanford University, in its winter 2023 quarter, will offer a course called “All Too Well (Ten Week Version),” an “in-depth” analysis of Swift’s 2012 song, which the artist rereleased last year in a 10-minute-long version.
While skeptics might roll their eyes at such a pop-culture focused class, Swift’s music has become more and more common in college classrooms in recent years. Last year, for instance, the University of Texas, Austin offered “The Taylor Swift Songbook,” an honors undergraduate class that studied Swift’s lyrics in comparison to great literature. Canada’s Queen's University, meanwhile, offers "Taylor Swift's Literary Legacy" in its Cultural Studies program.
And last January, New York University's Clive Davis Institute launched a course on Swift’s evolution as an artist and entrepreneur.
The most recent offering at Stanford is part of the Italic 99 program, which sees new offerings each quarter.
“With each quarter offering unique courses, these student-led classes are focused on hands-on learning and have included topics such as travel sketching, watercolor, music composition, improv acting, animation, and digital art, among many others,” the website reads.
“All Too Well” first appeared on Swift’s “Red” album, with fans believing it detailed the singer’s breakup with actor Jake Gyllenhaal. More than a decade later, Swift rereleased an extended 10-minute version of the song with additional lyrics and performed it on Saturday Night Live.
Students hoping to get ahead in the class can travel the 13 miles over to Levi Stadium this July, where Swift’s Eras Tour will make a stop on July 28-29.
