Photo by Ashlyn Myers, TheStatehouseFile.com.

“Taylor Swift: The Conference Era” will be held in Buskirk-Chumley Theater near the Bloomington campus on Nov. 3 and 4, with other Swift-inspired events on Nov. 2 and 5 around campus.

“A brainchild of the IU Arts & Humanities Council, the conference includes speakers who will reflect upon the icon’s cultural relevance and her influence on pop culture, the economy, gender, fandom, politics, music theory, history and more,” IU said in a news release.

Natalia Almanza, the council’s program coordinator, told WISH-TV that “the forum will look at Swift as a businesswoman, addressing the technical engineering and lyricism of her work with a feminist lens.”

While the official list of big names speaking at the conference has yet to be announced, we can tell you that scholars from IU’s Jacob School of Music and the Kelley School of Business, podcast hosts, and people who work in the music industry are among the 30-plus presenters ready to show you incredible things and eager to talk about Swift’s notorious reputation.

Turns out, Swift doesn’t even need to walk into the room to make the whole place shimmer—she just needs to be brought up. According to IU, more than 1,000 Swifties and scholars have registered for the event, already selling it out for Saturday, Nov. 4 (likely because these tickets were cheaper and easier to acquire than the ones on Ticketmaster).

Hannah Smith is a junior at IU and Swiftie since seeing her at the Fearless tour stop in her hometown of Evansville.

“As a student and a Swiftie, it’s so exciting that IU is hosting an event like this,” Smith said. “I’m really hoping to go so that I can connect with other Swifties and meet new friends.”

Graphic by Sydney Byerly, TheStatehouseFile.com.

Call it what you want, but the Arts and Humanities Council is leaning in fearlessly to offer a full experience for Swifties by scheduling the conference around other inspired events in Bloomington.

On Nov. 2, Swifties can watch a lineup of different musical groups as they perform covers of Taylor Swift throughout all her eras. To close out the midnights manifest for the weekend, Swifties can visit a Taylor Swift Artist Market at the Cook Center for Public Arts and Humanities on Nov. 5 to purchase artwork in screaming color.

Now, IU isn’t the only college that’s taken notice of Swift’s lyrics: “Honey, life is just a classroom.” Colleges across the country have started offering Swift-inspired courses that study her lyrics, legacy and pop culture reign.

Among them are the Berklee College of Music, the University of Texas at Austin, Arizona State University, New York University—where Swift received an honorary degree and gave the class of 2022’s commencement address—and Stanford University. Stanford has two course offerings, “All Too Well (Ten Week Version)” and “The Last Great American Songwriter: Storytelling with Taylor Swift through the Eras.”

Franklin College chemistry professor Dr. Hilary Florian said it’s nothing new for educators to try to find ways to get students to speak now and stay engaged in class.

Florian currently teaches a first-year seminar class called “From Frankenstein to Freddy: A Journey through the Horror Genre,” a topic she chose hoping to have her students interact with the material and participate more.

“I think using pop culture and entertainment as a medium for teaching deeper skills is catching on as professors and teachers realize that there are effective ways to communicate these skills within the context of subject matter that our students care about,” she said.

Florian said any time a teacher can make a student forget they’re learning, that’s oftentimes when “the best and most effective learning happens.”

“For many of the skills we hope to teach our students, like critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, writing, etc., oftentimes the subject material doesn’t really matter,” she said. “What matters is student engagement and investment in their learning, and this happens best when they are passionate about what they are learning, like with horror or Taylor Swift.”

Long story short, everything has changed, so events and class offerings like this may become a more common occurrence. Swiftposium, a hybrid academic conference organized by scholars from seven universities across Australia and New Zealand, is set for 2024.

To see Swift in person, you don’t need to grab your passport or our hand, just wait until November 2024 when Swift returns to the Hoosier State to sold-out crowds, bringing her record-breaking Eras Tour to Lucas Oil Stadium.

Or you can always meet her at midnight on Friday to celebrate the release of 1989 Taylor’s Version.