Linguist gives Taylor Swift course at adult education center
Published: Saturday, Jun 8th 2024, 08:20
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Fans of Taylor Swift will soon be able to explore the US pop singer's art of language in Basel. Basel literature and linguistics expert Andrew Shields will be exploring Swift's poetry in a three-month seminar at the adult education center starting in the autumn.
Shields, a lecturer at the University of Basel, appreciates Swift's poetry. He often thinks of Swift: "That's a great line," he told the German Press Agency. That doesn't happen with other artists. Swift is one of the world's most successful creative artists.
Shields has already offered a Taylor Swift seminar at the University of Basel. Around 100 students passed this with a creative final paper. The adult education idea came about because many people outside the university approached him.
Swift seminars have also been held at other universities. Scientists in Liverpool are now holding a conference on the "cultural phenomenon of Taylor Swift".
Swift is unique in pop music with her self-written lyrics because she combines three things. "She tells good stories, creates characters with depth and has a sense of humor," says Shields.
Other artists often convey clichés in pop songs and have no sense of humor. With Madonna, for example, he never thought: "A great line, I have to take a closer look at that."
For Shields, Swift is a poet. She makes good poetry. Could that lead to a Nobel Prize for Literature, as it did for music legend Bob Dylan? She doesn't need such a prize, says Shields, who describes herself as Swiftie.
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