ARTS & CULTURE

Taylor Swift Headed to This Law school, in

Theory
November 03, 2023

FILE - Taylor Swift attends a premiere for Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in Los Angeles,
California, U.S. on October 11, 2023. (REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo)

Taylor Swift Headed to This Law school, in Theory 

by VOA - Voice of America English News

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University of South Dakota law professor Sean Kammer’s friends told him they were
unsure about the seriousness of his upcoming class on musical performer Taylor Swift.

“I understand this sounds ridiculous, at least at first glance,” said Kammer, a Taylor
Swift fan, or Swiftie, himself. “But it’s not.”

Kammer’s class, called the Taylor Swift effect, is planned for the spring. It is believed to
be the first law school class based on the famous American singer.

After attending a Swift concert in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in June, Kammer said he was
inspired to develop the writing class. It is available for second- and third-year law
students.
The class will study the artist’s dealings with the law, including her rerecording of six
albums and related copyright problems, Kammer said.

It will also examine how an individual’s experiences and beliefs shape how they
understand the law – much like how there are different understandings of her songs.

Law classes about popular culture are not uncommon. They also bring attention to
schools that offer them. The television show The Wire inspired a number of criminal law
classes over the years. In 2022, the University of Virginia School of Law offered a class
on corporate law based on the show Succession.

Law classes centered on a single public person are rare, however. But Georgia State
University College of Law is currently offering a class based on the legal life of musician
Rick Ross.

Boston University law professor Jessica Silbey helped write a book on popular culture
and the law. She said students are usually more interested when they study subjects
such as sports, new technology and famous people.

Silbey teaches Swift’s album rerecordings in her copyright class to teach about contract
law in the music business. She said the singer’s success story and what she has dealt
with provide good lessons in the law.

South Dakota Law is not the first school to offer classes on Swift. The University of
California at Berkeley recently announced an upcoming business class based on Swift’s
business experiences. Stanford, New York University, and the University of Texas have
also offered Swift-inspired classes. But Kammer’s class is the first legal exploration of
her music and career.

Kammer also teaches legal history. He said he plans to examine some Swift songs to look
into how the words of the songs and certain legal texts can be understood. He said his
class will also look at good and bad qualities of methods for understanding the law.

I’m Jill Robbins.

Karen Sloan reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted the story for VOA
Learning English.

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Words in This Story

ridiculous – adj. extremely silly or unreasonable

glance – n. a quick, uninterested look

inspire – v. to make (someone) want to do something: to give (someone) an idea about

what to do or create
copyright – n. the legal right to be the only one to reproduce, publish, and sell a book or
musical recording for a certain period of time

text –n. a piece of writing