Psyching Out Taylor Swift

A MAJOR AMERICAN UNIVERSITY has finally decided that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. It is offering a class called "The Psychology of Taylor Swift". For the Sake of Sanity, we may and indeed must assume that the class is not an attempmt to penetrate the depths of the mental and emotional functioning of the young, attractive, super successful superstar singer-songwriter. Rather, it surely is an even more daunting undertaking; an examination of the mental and emotional machinations of the rest of us of the tens of trillions of screeching fawining fans who flock to her sold out concerts and floodthe internet seeking access to her music. The passionately enamored minions would doubtless be flocking to brick and mortar vinyl record stores in doggecdly determined, desperate pursuit of the same,if such enterprises still existed, which in fact they do, if only barely. We the people with what remains of intellectual and academic credibility in these poorly publicly educated United American States make only one demand,or maybe two: that the course be researched and taught with something at least remotely approaching vigorous academic rigor,and,that it be taught as an upper division psychology and simultaneous sociology course,rather than some fluffy, shallow, fun and games elective intended to pad the report cards of football players and assorted non serious students. If those basic requirments are met, then, as we like to say, we're good to go. Students, let us begin with a few fundamental facts. Taylor Swift is currently the hottest thing since sliced bread first emerged freshsly baked from the cliched oven. Gang fights ensue over access to tickets to her leggy performances. Suppliers and distributors of said tickets are hauled into court and threatened with bankruptcy or imprisonment when disputes arise concerning who should and should not have first come first serve. Betting lines of odds for and against are offered, wagering what color Ms. Swift's bangs,hair, and costume will be the coming evening on stage. Will she show thighs all the way up, arms, cleavage, or all of the above and below? Since she's cuter and much more shapely than a bug's ear,you can usually expect the most,or, should we say, the least. the upshot of all this hoopla is that Taylor Swift is abigger sensation than Elvis or the Beatles ever dreamed of being,althoug in all fairness they had neither th einternet, arms and legs, nor a murky swamp of a social context into which to insinuate themselves and from which to derive fame,fortune, and the unmitigated adulation of teenagers and retirees alike, world wide. But much like the former superstars, the following profound truth adheres about the latter: the phenomenon of Taylor Swift tells us much, much more about ourselves and our society than it ever could or should about her. Precisely whatever that might possibl be should be the overarching concern of Swift One Oh One, for, as Shakespeare cogently articulated several centuries ago: that is the question.