Following an earth-shattering concert tour spanning the globe, and highlighting nearly two decades of musical artistry that integrates "complex and sophisticated" storytelling, Taylor Swift has reached her prime. And now it's her TIME. Youthful and vibrant as ever, and wise beyond her years, Swift has been proclaimed the 5th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine. And along the way she has now reached another new milestone: the first-ever individual entertainer to be knighted TIME Magazine's Person of the Year. According to TIME's youthful and vibrant Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, Swift "represents joy and brings light to the world." And so as we take a critical and literary look at the culture, music and storytelling of Taylor Swift, FRANCE 24's Mark Owen is joined by the "swiftieprof" of the academic world: Dr. Elizabeth Scala, Perceval Professor of Medieval Romance, Historiography & Culture at the University of Texas, Austin straight from the "Live Music Capital of the World." She takes us on a Swift journey through the defining ERAS of the 33-year-old artist and 2023's most-streamed musical artist worldwide. Dr. Scala currently offers a literary course at UT Austin showcasing the lyrics from the songbook of Taylor Swift and inspiring university students to read 'deeply & critically' in a universe of contemporary relevance they can connect to. On UT Austin's website, Dr. Scala highlights her work's swift contemporary turn, 'taylor'ed to a whole new generation of young avid readers, listeners and performers of literature: She writes, "In Fall 2022, I taught the first university course on the literary significance of Taylor Swift’s songwriting as a version of E314. “The Taylor Swift Songbook” met with International media attention, which still continues as Swift wraps up the first North American leg of the Eras Tour and continues releasing new versions of her first six albums. You can follow the progress of that course and its spinoffs on Instagram @swiftieprof " Dr. Scala is also Director of the Junior Fellows Program and Senior Associate Chair in the Department of English.
