“I understand this sounds ridiculous, at least at first glance,” said Kammer, a self-avowed Swiftie. “But it’s not.”
Kammer’s course, The Taylor Swift Effect, planned for the spring semester looks to be the first law school class based on the sequined musical icon. After attending a Swift concert in Minneapolis in June, Kammer said he was inspired to develop the writing-intensive class, available to second- and third-year law students. The course will look at the musician’s interactions with the law, such as her rerecording of six albums and related copyright issue, Kammer said. It will also examine how individuals’ own experiences and beliefs shape how they interpret the law — much like how they interpret her song lyrics.
Pop culture-focused law classes are not uncommon, and they can create a public relations buzz for the schools that offer them. The gritty television show “The Wire” inspired a number of criminal law-focused classes over the years, and the University of Virginia School of Law in 2022Law classes centered on a single public figure are harder to come by, though Georgia State University College of Law is currently running a class based on the legal life of rapper and music executive Rick Ross. headtopics.com
Boston University law professor Jessica Silbey, who co-authored a textbook on pop culture and the law, said students tend to be more engaged when they study subjects such as sports, new technology and celebrities.
Silbey covers the singer’s album rerecordings in her copyright class to teach about contract law in the music business. She said Swift’s success story and her bumps along the way provide opportunity for lessons in the law. headtopics.com