A course poster for ANTH 2827, with a closeup view of Taylor Swift's face. Text: New course offering with the Department of Anthropology What's the Deal with Taylor Swift? Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30-3:45 pm with Dr. Rylan Higgins Winter 2026 Course description: The social, cultural and economic noteworthiness of Taylor Swift is hard to overstate. Her influence and wealth are staggering, her reach, spectacularly global. Her appeal to hundreds of millions of people is mindboggling. This course takes these aspects of Swift’s celebrity status as a starting point and endeavours to interrogate and understand the nature of her appeal, power and influence. The anthropology of the celebrity reminds us that it is a social construct, the product of the public’s interactions with the entertainment industry. Indeed, celebrity figures have been referred to as “America’s royalty.” But even among this noble class, Swift stands out. In this course, we will explore Swift as a global celebrity juggernaut. Learn more about our #ArtsForEveryone courses: https://www.smu.ca/arts/outreach/arts-for-everyone.html
What's the Deal with Taylor Swift? 🌟 Whether you're a Swiftie or not, the pop icon's global influence is unmistakable. Analyze her impact in this new course starting Jan. 8 at 2:30 pm with Dr. Rylan Higgins—free for members of the public through #ArtsForEveryone! 🎤 Learn more: loom.ly/9fHFmTQ #A4E