From love stories to life lessons
As the lyrics of Taylor Swift’s song, “Ready for It,” filled the walls of Manning Hall, Room 220 students waited anxiously for their class to begin.
In an attempt to encourage students to enroll in more sociology courses, Department Chair Dr. Timothy Oblad took it upon himself to brainstorm an approach to structure a modern, yet fun course.
Oblad knew TAMUK had the ability to offer students a refreshing class and took inspiration from Ivy League Universities and other campuses such as Washington State University.
“Taylor Swift has just cracked the NFL and has brought a great flow of new people, new interests and new eyes…the internet loves it. I thought it was a weird thing happening social media wise; you can see the impact,” Oblad said. “So, I asked myself why wouldn’t we study that?”
After pitching the idea, Melissa Diaz, lecturer of psychology and sociology, excitedly raised her hand to volunteer to teach “Swifties and Pop Influence.”
“I am a huge Taylor Swift fan and have been for a very long time I’ve been to every concert of hers with my daughter,” Diaz said.
The course quickly drew in attention from students of all majors and grasped the interest of men as well.
Diaz decided it was “time to teach some lessons” and started crafting her syllabus for Sociology 4308, a special topics course.
“I wanted to go through all of her albums, but I also needed to incorporate pop culture. I decided to cover more of her as an individual than just an artist,” Diaz added. “Taylor Swift is an activist, so we are diving into her lawsuits with the sexual harassment lawsuit, the re-recorded albums, how she stands up for all artists fighting for the right to their own music while also tying all of this back to psychology.”
Despite Taylor Swift’s level of fame, many students who enrolled were unaware of the impact she has had on pop culture.
“I knew from the NFL that Taylor Swift existed, but I didn’t know how famous she actually was and never dug deep into her as an artist,” student Joseph Maldonado said.
Maldonado said he is a junior high coach and plans to apply the knowledge and perspectives he gains from the course with his athletes.
Diaz also said she plans to focus on the psychological effects music can have on individuals, focusing on how every person interprets heartbreak and happy moments differently.
Since the spring semester has started the department has received a large amount of interest and positive feedback from students enjoying the course, such as Jordan Puckett.
“I wanted to be in this class simply because of how much Taylor Swift has been on people’s minds, the internet and overall pop culture. [Melissa Diaz] has such a vibrant energy. That’s rare to find in professors, because you can tell that they love what they do,” Puckett said.
