Well, it looks like the Taylor Swift and academia Venn diagram didn’t stop at that class at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. Another college course based on the superstar now exists, focusing on none other than Taylor’s magnum opus: “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)”.
The new class, cleverly titled “All Too Well (Ten Week Version),” will be offered by the prestigious Stanford University in the upcoming winter quarter. If you’ve spent a good chunk of 2021 unpacking the song’s lyrics and Grammy-winning short film through Reddit threads and Stan Twitter exchanges, just imagine how ten weeks’ worth of focus and dedication could unfold?
With the goal of holding an “in-depth analysis” of Taylor’s hit song, this short course will be taught by Stanford alum Nona Hungate. “All Too Well (10 Week Version)” is under the university’s ITALIC 99 courses, a roster of topics headed by the program’s alumni. In the past, students have explored “travel sketching, watercolor, music composition, improv acting, animation, and digital art” among others, according to the university’s website. It might just be the ultimate test—do you really know the song all too well?
It’s no surprise that this track off “Red (Taylor’s Version)” has evolved into a ten-week coursework. Besides possibly altering our brain chemistry with that well-built bridge, the song is filled with hard-hitting metaphors, vivid storytelling, and rawness, proving Taylor’s capabilities as a songwriter. As a cherry on top, the song also broke the long-standing record of Don McLean’s “American Pie” as the longest song to land number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Apart from New York University and Stanford University, University of Texas and Queen’s University in Canada have also recently opened Taylor Swift-focused classes: “The Taylor Swift Songbook” and “Taylor Swift’s Literary Legacy (Taylor Swift’s Version)”, respectively. If that’s not iconic enough, I don’t know what is.
Read more:
Lessons I’m taking home from Taylor Swift’s NYU speech
This quarantine, I finally accepted that I’m a Swiftie
Here’s a look at the Taylow Swift college course’s goals and lessons
Still from “All Too Well: The Short Film”