…Ready for it? Swiftposium deep dive into Taylor Swift's impact on music, culture and society

Swiftposium, a three-day academic conference to illuminate Taylor Swift's global impact will run from 11-13 February next year, ahead of the opening night of the singer’s Australian Eras tour.

With Swift today being named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, the conference will highlight how a single artist has influenced various aspects of contemporary life, with papers exploring Swift’s influence across the intersection of music, economics, business, media studies, health, and societal and cultural impact.

First garnering international attention when announced in September, the Swiftposium has attracted more than 400 submissions – 130 of these accepted – from 78 academic institutions worldwide, spanning 60 academic disciplines.

Dr Jennifer Beckett, senior lecturer in the Faculty of Arts’ School of Culture and Communication said: “The breadth of academic papers submitted for the conference is a testament to the way in which Taylor’s Swift’s career has touched on many aspects of contemporary life.”

Dr Eloise Faichney, lecturer in the School of Culture and Communication said: “Swift’s work provides a diverse and rich context for scholars across disciplines to critically explore understandings of popular culture, literature, the economy, health, science, the music industry and more. We’re really excited to hear from a range of leading scholars at the conference.”

While Taylor Swift will not be attending the Swiftposium, this unique event includes two days of in-depth academic presentations and discussions at the University of Melbourne. The Swiftposium will not be open to the public, however, the two keynote addresses will be filmed and shared online.

Brittany Spanos, New York University (NYU) Adjunct Instructor and senior writer for Rolling Stone will open the Swiftposium, delivering a keynote address critically examining Swift’s career in relation to the music industry, musicology, feminism and race.

Dr Georgia Carroll, a researcher at the University of Sydney, whose work explores fandoms and celebrity, will deliver the Early Career Researcher keynote on the second day.

Other papers to be presented will cover topics such as lyrical poetics, cyber-security, AI, mental health, public relations, Swiftonomics, and the philosophy of Taylor Swift. There will also be a stream devoted to Taylor Swift as a teaching tool in higher education, following recent academic subjects devoted to Taylor Swift at institutions including Harvard University, Stanford University and NYU.

Given significant fan interest in the academic conference, the Swiftposium will also present a public event ‘Fanposium’, hosted by RMIT University on Sunday, 11 February. The Fanposium has been created in collaboration between the University of Melbourne and RMIT University to kick off the week-long carnival of Taylor Swift.

Details of this event and an event at Federation Square will be released on the Swiftposium website and social media.

The Swiftposium is a collaboration between academics from six universities from Australia and New Zealand – The University of Melbourne, RMIT University, Curtin University, Auckland University of Technology, Monash University, and University of Sydney.

Key information:

• Taylor Swift will not attend Swiftposium or be on-campus at the University of Melbourne.
• The Swiftposium will not be open to the general public, conference presenters and academics will attend.
• Visit the Swiftposium website: For updates, Swiftopsium lectures and videos, and future events.