In spring 2026, Amy Schumacher-Rutherford, instructor in speech, will teach a new course at the University of Mississippi focused on the rhetoric of pop star Taylor Swift — RHET 399.
Swift is one of the most well-marketed and influential musicians in the world, and Schumacher-Rutherford’s fascination and love for the singer goes back to 2007.
“I love Taylor Swift,” Schumacher-Rutherford said. “The first time I ever saw her live was when she opened for Brad Paisley.”
For Schumacher-Rutherford, Swift’s career offers an intersection between fandom and rhetorical study that can connect with a larger collegiate audience than other courses often might.
“I see a lot of people online who do these deep-dive analyses,” Schumacher-Rutherford said. “There’s just so many different parts of her career.”
The course is designed to give students the ability to analyze Swift’s work through not only a fan lens but many rhetorical lenses.
“If we can get other people who are excited about (Swift) to also be able to learn (rhetorical) theory, then that is merging two of my favorite things,” Schumacher-Rutherford said.
Students will not spend the whole course talking about their love for Swift. The class will follow a traditional rhetorical class structure, studying communication, persuasion and audience connection through the lens of Swift’s music and career.
“I’ve divided the course into a rhetorical lens, and then we’ll look at a particular part of her career that it applies to,” Schumacher-Rutherford said.
The variety of avenues to explore into does not stop at lyrics and fan involvement. The course will also dive into Swift’s appeal, Easter eggs and genius within her work.
“We can do close text analysis of her lyrics, but then, we could also do visual rhetoric stuff on her tour setup and things like that,” Schumacher-Rutherford said. “Then, we can do feminist rhetoric on some of her glamour speeches.”
For over a year, the class has been in development within the Department of Writing and Rhetoric. Timing was the key, and they just found it.
“Once the new album (‘The Life of a Showgirl’) was announced, I was like, ‘This is our moment,’” Schumacher-Rutherford said.
College courses centered around Swift have been a common trend nationally over the past few years. “Taylor Swift and Her World” was a course at Harvard University, and Northeastern University offered “Speak Now: Gender & Storytelling in Taylor Swift’s Eras.” Even at UM, the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College hosted “Taylor Swift: An Examination of the Eras Tour” as a conversation course for Spring 2024.
RHET 399: Rhetoric of Taylor Swift is open to any interested students, including fans, skeptics and even some professors who have asked to audit the course. Having a variety of inputs allows discussions to be more rich and engaging.
“People who are innately interested in this topic are going to have a lot more to say,” Schumacher-Rutherford said. “So, I’m hoping that people are going to share because I have my sphere of knowledge, but I want others to share theirs.”
Ultimately, Schumacher-Rutherford hopes the course will help students see the value of rhetoric beyond the classroom and through their interests.
“It’s getting people exposed to what we do because most everyone has to take a writing class here,” Schumacher-Rutherford said. “You can use these things in your life, the things you’re interested in, but also career-wise — these analytical tools are useful.”
