Local 12: Local universities open Taylor Swift courses
UC faculty interviewed on classes that focus on Taylor Swift
Since spring 2023, the University of Cincinnati has offered a general music class at the College Conservatory of Music that delves into Taylor Swift’s music and lyrical talents but now UC is offering two more classes that study the pop icon's writing and societal themes.
The new courses are in philosophy and English and will begin this fall.
The courses —open to all UC students — were reported in a news story by Local 12 that was picked up by 100 outlets nationally. Local 12 reporter Paige Barnes came to UC’s campus to interview the instructors Katie Monthie, a graduate student in English, and Melissa Jacquart, a professor of philosophy.
"I think we neglect to recognize that there is importance to examining the everyday in a very serious academic manner. Sometimes, it also makes academic work more fun," Monthie said as she explained the purpose of her course: "Topics in Writing Studies: Taylor Swift."
Melissa Jacquart, assistant professor of philosophy, said her course will look at the themes of love, revenge and friendship.
Watch the Local 12 interview.
The UC courses were also covered by other news outlets.
WVXU: The University of Cincinnati is in its Taylor Swift era
WLWT: Excitement building with Kelce brothers
Featured image at top courtesy of UnSplash/Omid Armin.
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
UC professor leads film students to the future
April 6, 2026
As a kid, at the age of 10, Marty Schiff’s dad gave him a Kodak Brownie movie camera, and that led to a lifetime of creating stories on film. He spent his summers with that camera, making eight-millimeter movies, with a camera that taught him how to thread a projector, change the film in a closet, and tell stories with the medium he loved. “I always wanted to go to Hollywood,” Schiff says. So later he did, with $200 in his pocket, and began a career that has spanned acting, directing, producing—pretty much everything with the exception of costumes (“I’m not really good with a sewing machine,” he says).
Scientists discover how snakes stand upright without limbs
April 3, 2026
Smithsonian magazine highlights a study co-authored by UC Professor Bruce Jayne, an expert in snake locomotion, about how snakes stand upright without arms or legs.
UC CubeCats satellite makes hiss-tory at NASA
April 2, 2026
UC Students Launch First Satellite April 8. Help Send Bearcats to NASA Liftoff as they make history for UC and Ohio.