How can Swift's music and her life as a celebrity make us look at contemporary issues in new ways? This is a question for Melanie Schiller, whose research includes the role of popular music in society. What can we learn from Swift? ‘You can reason that she contributes to democracy because, after all, she brings together people who totally disagree politically, but can find each other in the love of her music. Swift is therefore a unifying factor in a polarised landscape.'
Taylor Swift penetrates education
Taylor Swift is a living legend. Her huge success in the music industry worldwide inspires not only Swifties, as the millions of fans are affectionately called. Meanwhile, lectures about her are also being given. Media scholar Melanie Schiller reflects on the success of the phenomenon. ‘Swift is a unifying factor in a polarised landscape.’
Swift in education
As social media and public figures increasingly influence our daily lives and values, Taylor Swift offers a lens through which to examine the world. With this in mind, teaching materials have been developed for secondary schools in Arts Faculty, suitable for Dutch, Social Studies, English or History. In the lessons, students can find, interpret and analyse a source about a pop star.
‘This way, they become aware of the fact that (social) media plays an important role in the construction of the image of pop stars like Taylor Swift,’ says Schiller. The idea is that in this way students can develop a critical attitude towards the media and other sources of information.
At the end of 2024, Melanie Schiller was one of the guests at an evening of Radboud Reflects about Swiftology. The evening (in Dutch) can be viewed via this link.
Check out the teaching materials via this link: https://www.ru.nl/sites/default/files/2024-11/lesopzet-in-1-oogopslag-taylor-swift_0.pdf
Photo: Anouska Kersten
Contact information
- Organizational unit
- Faculty of Arts, Radboud Institute for Culture and History
- Theme
- Art & Culture, Education