COLUMBIA, S.C. — Are you ready for it?
The University of South Carolina (USC) will provide a Taylor Swift Eras class in the spring of 2024.
"USC is really ahead of the curve in offering courses at those levels that allow our students to really get into a niche area that they may be interested in looking for a potential career or job for the future," said course teacher Kate Blanton.
The class will incorporate Taylor Swift's impact on communities worldwide and teach students the importance of branding, sales, sponsorships, and more.
"As a lifelong educator I recognize the importance of connecting students' learning to their everyday lives and things they care about and are interested in," said Blanton.
For the first time this spring, USC will offer a class that looks into the life of music icon Taylor Swift: "Life is Just a Classroom: Taylor's Version."
The class will feature the tourism and economic impact she has had worldwide.
"We jump into her career and start looking at corporate sponsorships and branding, get into concert experience and ticket sales, merchandising, economics and tourism," Blanton said.
Students will get a chance to see how Taylor built her empire.
"I feel like she's been pretty popular for a while now. I have known her since I was eight and I don't know how I found out about her, so that would be pretty cool to find out," USC junior Julia Raykovicz said.
Aside from bonding with fellow Swifties and making friendship bracelets, there's more Professor Blanton wants students to get out of the class.
"We're really going to get into the career of Taylor Swift and the business side of it, and they will use those principals to plan their own event here in Columbia," Blanton said.
If all goes well, Blanton wants to expand the curriculum to include other well-known artists and athletes, "I think it's a great way to allow students to connect their learning with things they care about in their everyday lives."
Blanton said she thinks some people may be concerned about the content of coursework students focus on.
"In this case, this course directly aligns with the objectives and mission of our students' majors, and it gives them an opportunity to use the knowledge they have from the original and foundational courses from their major and apply it to someone who is actually doing the work," she said.
The class has already caught many students' attention and is full, with an additional waitlist for the spring semester.