If I’ve ever heard an entire Taylor Swift song, I’m not aware of it. I’ve heard snippets, sure, but her work just isn’t my usual preference; I’m more of a Led Zeppelin guy.
Don’t get me wrong, I respect what she’s done; starting at a very young age, she’s built herself into a mega-star with a huge following. She’s grown (no doubt) very rich, and as far as I’m concerned, she’s earned every penny of it–and more power to her.
With that in mind, it’s interesting to see that the University of California at Berkeley, not exactly an institution known for its fair-handed treatment of free enterprise, is offering a course about Taylor Swift in its school of business. Oh, I know what you might be thinking, and I thought the same thing at first–just another waste of time class for students to fill their heads with pop culture. But this is something else; the class is examining how Swift built her media empire and seeks to inspire students to go forth and do likewise.
You might not expect a business school course to begin with students belting out Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer,” but at the University of California, Berkeley, Swift is not just a “tortured poet,” she’s a case study in how to build an empire.
“Taylor Swift is a phenomenon,” UC Berkeley senior Sejal Krishnan, a chemical engineering major, told CBS News. “Her tour has essentially revitalized so much of the economy and boosted the local economy everywhere she goes.”
Undergrads Sofia Lendahl and Miaad Bushala teach Artistry and Entrepreneurship: Taylor’s Version to 44 fellow students.
I’m not sure why two undergrads are teaching this course, although I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if UC Berkeley lacks any full (or even associate) professors who would teach a class that advocates entrepreneurship and capitalism.
Because that’s precisely what this class is doing, even if it’s unwitting.
And Swift now has some students thinking even bigger.
“She’s incredibly fearless in the ways in which she doesn’t mind taking creative risks,” said student Angelique Zoile, who is studying business. “To me it’s like, climb the corporate ladder…I’ll end up as a manager in five years or so.”
Zoile said she is more ready to take career risks because of this Swift-inspired class.
This, folks, is what education is supposed to do.
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Taylor Swift Fan? You’re Racist! But Only Slightly.
Frankly, this is pretty amazing. UC Berkeley, one of the most commie-lib institutions of education in the country, offers a course that illustrates very clearly how entrepreneurship and capitalism work, how someone like Taylor Swift built a media empire (no doubt with the help of advisors and business managers and plenty of them) and, oh, by the way, created a lot of jobs in so doing.
I wonder if the administration at UC Berkeley knows what a group of subversives they have in their ranks, teaching dangerous ideas like free enterprise and building a successful business–and using a popular singer and performer to lure young skulls full of mush into taking this course?
I wish these kids – and Miss Swift – every success. But as for my own music, well, I’ll stick with this.
