“It’s been a long time coming.” This is the line Taylor Swift greets fans with on her Eras tour. It’s also what Catherine Fairfield says about the Swift-focused course she’s teaching this winter at Northeastern University.
The intersession class, “Speak Now: Gender & Storytelling in Taylor Swift’s Eras,” will explore “how women’s literary and cultural influences on genre and narrative have shaped the artistry of Taylor Swift’s ten eras,” according to the course description. Students will examine not just Swift’s lyrics, but how they incorporate storytelling methods initiated by women and how that helps her music resonate with a global audience.
“If you have been a fan, especially before the ‘Folklore’/‘Evermore’ boom, you know what it’s like to see her career have a lot of ups and downs,” Fairfield says. “I’m not talking about the money side of it, but about the public image and what it felt like to be a fan and be told that you shouldn’t like this artist who’s singing about anger amidst the ‘Reputation’ era.
