How come that there's a surging scholarly movement in not a few North American universities these days on the cultural impact of the hugely popular singer-entertainer Taylor Swift--a movement that approaches the phenomenal influence of the singer-entertainer Madonna on feminist cultural studies in the early 1990s?
An extensive but quizzical look at this unsettling academic phenomenon is taken by Michael Dango, assistant professor of English and media studies at Beloit College in Wisconsin in his article "Revisiting Madonna-ology in the Era of Taylor Swift Studies" in the January 12, 2024 issue of the
Los Angeles Review of Books website.
IMAGE CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES APPEARING IN FORBES MAGAZINETaylor Swift performs during Rio de Janeiro tour, November 19, 2023
Prof. Dango observes somewhat quizzically that the movement is being done something like a PR campaign: "Maybe there’s some mild sexism or mild ageism—depending on who you think typically comprises Swift’s audience—in assuming the average Swiftie does not read, or at least does not read just for kicks. But everyone knows newspaper subscriptions, library memberships, and college English enrollments are declining... And what makes Swift so ideal for that campaign is that hers is a kind of celebrity organized by relatability, which means she invites her fans not to gawk but to imitate."
Read Michael Dango's "Revisiting Madonna-ology in the Era of Taylor Swift Studies" in full in the LA Review of Books website now!RELATED READING IN ATLANTIC.COM:
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