100 Swifties of all eras gathered at North Central College (NCC) for TayTalks. The night of faculty presentations and student performances centered around the cultural impact of singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.
“We are at Wentz Concert Hall, the fine arts center at North Central College, and we’re here to celebrate TayTalks,” said Jennifer Smith, event coordinator and Chair of English at NCC. “We have ten speakers… eight full presentations.”
A celebration of Taylor Swift in Naperville
Each faculty presenter connected their unique discipline to an aspect of the pop star’s career.
“We’ve got a professor of mathematics who’s going to be talking about the principles of beauty in the natural world,” said Smith. “We’ve got a professor from sports management who’ll be talking about (Swift’s) economic influence on the NFL… I’m most interested in hearing how different disciplines come to understand her influence, how they use her to make sense of their own ways of looking at the world.”
Before the presentations, four North Central students performed creative works inspired by Swift.
“There will be one Taylor Swift song to get us started, then two creative writing pieces inspired by Taylor Swift, before we hear a student who’s done her research on Taylor Swift songwriting and literary influences,” said Smith.
Those in attendance got the chance to craft a Swift-inspired accessory that never goes out of style.
“There’s a whole subculture of Swifties,” said Smith. “They have their chants, their signs, their expressions, and one of the most famous is the friendship bracelets that come from the song, “You’re On Your Own, Kid.” It’s just a sign of love and encouragement among the Swifties.”
Swift helps students “make sense of the liberal arts”
Smith said she’s been a ‘Swiftie’ since attending the “Reputation” stadium tour in 2018, but her idea for TayTalks was sparked back in February. The English professor attended “Swiftposium,” an academic conference in Melbourne, Australia dedicated to the pop star.
Once she returned to the U.S.… “I was back in a meeting with my dean, and we were talking about how students have a hard time making sense of, ‘What are the liberal arts? What does that mean to them?’ I said what if we throw an event called Taylor Swift in the liberal arts in our academic era?” said Smith. “And then from that, it’s evolved into this big event.”
Smith was overjoyed to see local residents share her fascination and love for all things Taylor Swift.
“To have hundreds of people here tonight at North Central, exchanging ideas, celebrating the liberal arts, it just means everything to me, and to do it about someone I love, you know, that’s icing on the cake,” Smith said.
Each TayTalk is available on the North Central College website.
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