Since the time she was 14 years old and put the Fearless record into her CD player, Georgia Carroll has been captivated by the music of Taylor Swift.
At this point, she is considered to be the only individual in the entire globe who possesses a doctoral degree in the field of the superstar.What was her opinion? "At the moment, it wouldn't be going too far to say [Swift] is one of the most powerful people in the world."
Because of this, Dr. Carroll is one of the many specialists who have gathered in Melbourne this week for an international academic symposium. The purpose of the symposium is to attempt to understand how Taylor Swift has become so powerful.
A flutter of excitement and global headlines have been sparked as a result of the event, which is the first of its type and serves as a curtain raiser to the Eras Tour in Australia. The event has received more than 400 submissions from dozens of academic institutions and study fields from all over the world.
"It all began as a joke..."
The 'Swiftposium' concept originated in July of last year as a tweet that was only half-joking and received a few dozen likes. The event, however, went viral overnight across the globe after its organizers made a covert announcement of it some months later. The announcement was supported by seven colleges located in Australia and New Zealand.
Coverage of the event appeared on the BBC, in Rolling Stone Magazine, and on CNN when the organizers awoke.
Dr. Eloise Faichney smiles and says, "I was like, I've got to email my boss," as she describes her thoughts. "Our little conference suddenly became this juggernaut."
Fans were also eager to take part, and on Sunday, hundreds of people came inside the landmark Capitol Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, only to hear lectures about the megastar. These individuals were walking advertising for rhinestones, cowboy boots, and Swift's distinctive red lip.
Soumil, who is 19 years old, stated that the event, which is being sponsored by RMIT University, is trying to heal the wounds that were left by the ticketing bloodbath that occurred the previous year. The session was a friendship bracelet-making workshop that was completely sold out.
He tells the BBC, "It's fun to still be part of it all," and he says this.
However, the organizers are careful to point out that this is not a convention catering to fans.
"Although some of us are fans, it certainly - for us - is about trying to take somebody like her seriously in academia," according to Dr. Emma Whatman.
"This is not an uncritical celebration."
Influence that is "godlike"
There is no doubting that 'Taylor Mania' has gripped the world this past year; she was selected the Person of the Year by Time Magazine in 2023. It is not obvious when this phenomenon might begin to fade away.
There were photographs of the 34-year-old woman and her footballer lover Travis Kelce winning the Super Bowl on Monday, which once again caused her to dominate the news. She won her fourth album of the year award at the Grammy Awards, which she won last week. She absolutely dominated the competition.
Even her pets, her publicist, and her childhood friends have acquired a loyal following and are well-known in their own fields.
"[Swift] has somehow become the most godlike superstar on the planet, bigger than I thought was even possible," said the keynote speaker at the conference, Brittany Spanos, who is a reporter for Rolling Stone and who in the year 2020 delivered the very first university course ever on the idol.
However, ever since she shot to fame as a teenager, the pop queen has been at the center of significant cultural moments and discussions for a considerable amount of time.
She is now considered to be one of the most famous and highest-earning musicians of all time, and she has done it while also sparking discussions on a wide range of topics, including misogyny, cancel culture, and streaming royalties.
"Swiftonomics" is a term that was coined to explain her enormous impact on economies, and it is a trend that has global leaders demanding her to tour their nations. The summit obviously has an entire panel that is dedicated to "Swiftonomics."
However, there are also specialists who describe how her bops are being used to teach young people how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and there is a lively discussion on how her relationship with Kelce is assisting females in feeling more at home in sports fandoms that have previously been dominated by men.
According to Harrison Croft, there is even a lyrical examination of her sentiments about public transportation. It is paradoxical that as her actual use of private jets has increased, so have songs that reference trains and buses.
A duet between a musician-turned-academic and an uncomfortably accurate AI clone of a younger Swift's voice was performed for the audience when they had grown bored of listening to lectures. The purpose of the duet was to contrast how Swift's tone has altered over the course of the past 17 years.
During the conference, a mother and daughter duo recited spoken-word poetry about the disdain that society has for the interests of young women. This was an item that got an enthusiastic response from the audience. The conference was held for those who are interested in literature. And for those who are interested in politics, there will be a presentation by an academic on how Australian members of parliament use Swift to make themselves appear more approachable.
According to Madeline Pentland, who is 27 years old, she discovered more than thirty speeches that cited her most famous lyrics. One of these speeches was a shameless performance by the treasurer of New South Wales, who cited twenty references in a single speech.
She found that men were more inclined to quote the artist, but they had a tendency to use the lyrics in a manner that was either mocking or attacking the singer's political beliefs. On the other hand, women were much more likely to use the songs to support themes of dispute.
The most amusing thing for Ms. Pentland, however, was discovering that they were employed during one of the most popular activities in Australian politics, which was the removal of leaders.
In spite of this, she bemoans what she considers to be a number of possibilities that were lost: "I would have thought that there would be a bit of Bad Blood here and there, but I didn't find any references!"
Swift has become such a magnet for conspiracy theories, with lovers of "delulu" reading into her strategic clues and right-wing characters reading into nearly anything. They have investigated how Swift has become such a magnet for conspiracy theories.
In just the past few days, Vice President Joe Biden has brushed off speculation that Taylor Swift's romantic life is part of a scheme to rig the Super Bowl and help him get re-elected. Meanwhile, Swift's followers have been convincing anybody with an internet connection that the re-recording of the album Reputation is right around the corner.
Clare Southerton is curious about the lessons that can be learned from various aspects of the expansion of conspiratorial communities.
"There is a distinction in the world between saying something like, 'Oh, look, the blue outfit signifies 1989 is next'... in addition to becoming a domestic terrorist, however it is beneficial for us to comprehend why folks take pleasure in this," the individual, who is 35 years old, stated to the BBC.
There have also been awkward conversations regarding the terrifyingly unforgiving nature of Swift's fandom, the ways in which her music represents colonialism, and her questionable depiction as a villain in the transportation emissions scandal.
Swift's "US-centric, white brand of feminism" is something that Singaporean researcher Aimee-Sophia Lim, who examines how the artist is encouraging political activity in countries in South East Asia, says she is a major admirer of, although she is frequently disappointed by Swift's music.
According to the 23-year-old, who is speaking to the BBC from Singapore, "Perhaps people of color and those from the Global South should be the ones advocating for themselves and their communities... but Taylor's outreach is undeniable."
"It would be great if she manages to expand her activism, so perhaps she could give a platform to other people who are able to speak on behalf of themselves."
Is it possible that she became so powerful?
However, there are those people who are opting out of the frenzy.
Sabrina, who is physically leaving the city the weekend that Taylor Swift's Eras Tour comes to town, has stated that she is unable to grasp the extraordinary levels of attraction or impact that Swift continues to demonstrate.
"The whole thing is beyond my comprehension... According to what she says to the BBC, "I really don't understand what's happening here."
But according to Dr. Carroll, it all boils down to the fact that Swift has established a brand that is widely relatable and the "intense connection" that she has managed to cultivate with her fan base, including the fact that many of them feel as though they have grown up with her.
"Taylor has spent her whole career making her fans think they could be her friend," she says the British broadcaster.
"And she's done all of these things that make fans want to act in a way that makes her like them back," she said, adding that this may often lead to behavior that is concerning, such as attending her friend's wedding, spending tens of thousands of dollars on merchandise and tickets, and becoming obsessed with her every move.
People have been comparing Taylor Swift to other artists such as Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Beyoncé during the entirety of the symposium that was organized by the University of Melbourne.
Ms. Spanos, who is the keynote speaker at the event, told the BBC that it is difficult to compare her to artists who were active at a previous age, but she is without a doubt the most popular item on the earth right now.
"She'll be considered the greatest songwriter of her generation… and also one of the greatest songwriters of all time."
Dr. Carroll contends that Taylor Swift has, in fact, been able to take her renown to a higher level, and that this is largely due to the fact that her fanbase is so large and so highly motivated.
When it comes to other artists, their sphere of influence does not extend too far beyond the confines of their individual fan base. Nevertheless, such is no longer the case with Taylor.
According to her, the fact that people are showing interest in it is not only welcome but also rather long overdue.
About a year ago, as she was obtaining her doctorate, people laughed at the subject of her studies being discussed. At the moment, she is delivering a keynote address at one of the academic conferences that receives the greatest attention all over the world.
"It's kind of like, oh my God, everybody gets it!" according to her. "The sensation of being recognized and the acknowledgment that my research does have some significance is what I am most grateful for.
"We are not just gonna be sitting around at this conference fangirling - that will occur - but there's so much that studying her can tell us about the world."