Taylor Swift not Jonathan Swift. I feel like I’m living in a Babylon Bee headline world. Glad I’m not subsidizing the church any longer with our hard earned $ but for those of you who are, look what that dough is helping to pay for:

https://universe.byu.edu/2024/01/09/ryan-davis-the-philosophy-of-taylor-swift%EF%BF%BC/

Davis, who’s been working on a syllabus for the past year about what he calls “Philoswiftie” (the philosophy of Taylor Swift), will be teaching the first class on Taylor Swift ever taught at BYU in winter 2024. The class code is POLI 360 and will be called “Miss Americana: Taylor Swift, Ethics, and Political Society.”

There are no more seats available for the class this winter, but those interested should stay tuned for future semesters.

Nothing less than idol worship. That's exactly what it is. I guess this is becoming more the norm at BYU. Her fans get super offended at people who don't like her music. They look at you as if you are crazy. They think she is a genius when her music is typical dumb manufactured corporate pop. She gets credit for writing her songs even if she doesn't because she is a corporate product.

I don't know what you would get out of a brainless university course like this. I see all these people with degrees and debt and frequently losing jobs. This creates an even bigger problem. College really is the greatest scam! think this is a major step in the right direction. Some would say it's been years since BYU has taught any kind of moral philosophy.

You know, it’s one thing for them to be teaching these sorts of classes at a public univ but for a private, supposed church focused school that’s heavily funded by the widow’s mite it just rubs me wrong.

I’ve listened to countless first hand accounts of church members recount how they’d save up for yrs to pay for the multi-day bus trip from Guatemala to AZ to attend the temple. I’ve had missionaries sit at my dinner table tell us how they sold everything to go on a mission. Then I read stories like this in the news and it’s as if the church is peeing on these members in the grossest fashion. This church is telling the poorest people of the earth that in order to receive salvation they need to give this monstrosity, a whore of the earth, called a church 10% of what little they have. Most of those people will never walk the halls of BYU or set foot on temple square. They’re subsidizing rich white Americans so they can live their 1st world pleasure seeking degrees and study Taylor Swift. It’s pathetic & it needs to stop.

I'd take the course just to hear her thoughts on chord progressions!!

Plus, I just have to look up at her!!


edited to add this important word:

              Scaffolding!!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/2024 01:30PM by elderolddog.

> edited to add this important word:
>
>               Scaffolding!!!

That's silly, Jesus. Scaffolding isn't going to save you when the defenestrators come.

Scaffolding is an abused word. People seem to think that scaffolds support buildings, but scaffolds support workers. Peace out.

Off topic, but I remember my first time seeing scaffolding in Southeast Asia long ago. It was made of bamboo, tied with rope at the intersections. I couldn't believe that was sufficient to hold the painters and finishers ten or fifteen floors up in the air.

I was told that it was better than metal for several reasons, including re-usability, less vulnerability to rust, capable of expanding or contracting as ambient temperature changed, and less slippery in humid conditions. I guess that made sense, but it struck this Western mind as alarmingly strange.

https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/bamboo-scaffolding

At least you admit to being bamboozled...

No one who dresses like you has any room to criticize others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoU2XwXLFrA

Saw lots of bamboo scaffolding in Hong Kong. They can put it up real quick and some feel it’s safer than steel scaffolding. They don’t tie it together with rope. They use thin strips of bamboo.

Taylor might be worth a case study as far as marketing and management is concerned but a whole course? Philosophy? Please. BYU is a silly place.

How to magnify your priesthood thru good home teaching techniques~ Ted Bundy?

Looking at Taylor Swift does not magnify my priesthood. Katy Perry maybe.

I'm not a particular fan of her music but what a great business woman. Go Taylor

Exactly. I doubt I would recognize any of her songs, but I admire her a lot. She's got drive.

... just when we 'thought' ChurchCo couldn't sink lower-


- A new PR guy who formerly worked for a tobacco company

- A BYU course around Taylor Swift??? I didn't know she had a philosophy!

- Bundy & Company play 'hide the pea', ChurchCo is SILENT;
qui tacet consentire videtur

NEXT: they'll Directly Endorse political candidates saying that the chaos of the times requires this (who's causing the chaos?)
Also: U.S. Constitution was needed / appropriate for those times, but should not currently be considered sacrosanct!

"The thought of both believers
and non-believers losing faith
in the sanctity and holiness of
the MFMC saddens me..."

              --Wendy Watson Nelson, from her bestseller,
                "I diddled the Prophet and so can you!"

Not to quibble, but the course is under the aegis of the Political Science department, a.k.a. "Poly Sci." I'm not sure what it has to do with Poli Sci, but I'm going to assume that it passed muster with the department head and the powers-that-be at the university. Taylor Swift is probably being used as a hook to engage students in the material.

University students learn many useful things, and without them you would not have (future) physicians, nurses, physical therapists, lawyers, engineers, teachers, computer scientists, IT professionals and so on. Undergraduates get to spread their wings and take many different kinds of courses because universities try to develop well-rounded human beings. For instance my MIT-educated engineer brother took courses such as art history in his undergraduate days because MIT wanted their engineers, etc. to be able to carry a conversation in polite society. An undergraduate college major may only take up one quarter to one third of your total credits. Much of the rest of the time is your playground. And yes, it is richly worthwhile. A student can be exposed to a world of ideas and concepts that s/he would likely not have otherwise encountered. I was able to study astronomy, religious philosophy, art history, world religions, the French language, and more.

And yes, college is expensive at the present time, but it wasn't always that way. Back in my day, any public school was quite affordable.

I think it's questionable whether they are turning out well rounded human beings. In those terms they are usually no better than the people who never went to college in the first place. In some cases, they develop a kind of superiority which is often reined in very quickly when they find out their course was not as useful as they thought it would be.

Yes, there are some disciplines which are useful. You mention some of them there. But when it comes to the humanities, we are living in the new Dark Ages. The marking and teaching tends to be entirely subjective, and highly questionable. Instead of critical thinking, the students are being taught to think like the teaching staff. Art history, philosophy and religious studies are all areas where certain ideas tend to be pushed at the expense of a wide range of viewpoints. A lot of manage to draw out interpretations which reflect the critic more than the source material.

Critical thinking is the entire point of a university education. And it's a rare university where students of any political persuasion cannot find their place, as you seem to imply. I had friends of all stripes.

I took five courses in art history, and there was nothing unusual about any of them (Art of the 19th and 20th Centuries, Asian art, Art of the Middle Ages, Art of India and SE Asia, and History of Architecture.) They have all enriched my life. I walked into one exhibit at the National Gallery and recognized virtually every work of art in it from my prior studies.

If courses have a more political bent, they are easy to seek or avoid depending on your inclination. No one forces you to take a course in Women's Studies.

Not everyone uses their major field in their line of work. My good friend was an Anthropology major, and she has spent her entire adult life selling real estate. Even now, she enjoys keeping up with the latest archeological findings.

And no, students are not taught to "think like the teaching staff." Any professor worth his or her salt enjoys a lively class discussion. College is not for everyone, but for those who are lucky enough to go, it is a great experience.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2024 07:35PM by summer.

summer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And no, students are not taught to "think like the
> teaching staff." Any professor worth his or her
> salt enjoys a lively class discussion. College is
> not for everyone, but for those who are lucky
> enough to go, it is a great experience.

I found the whole experience a waste of time. Some of our course materials were years out of date, and when I pointed this out, I was quickly shut down. We had to buy a number of expensive texts and we never ever used the most expensive one.

Political science is an oxymoron.

Nihilism? Because the popularity of Taylor Swift makes me question existence itself!!!

You're just upset that they didn't ask you teach the class.

What would Taylor do? Pout and wear lipstick.

Yeah, while she pulls in a billion dollars. I'd pout and go through 2 tubes of lipstick for that.

Two???

...makes sense...

Green lipstick for the upper lip and red lipstick for the bottom lip!

I was just surprised she managed with two. After all, you won't go outside without having applied at least three sticks.

It reminds me of your absolute determination not to wear white after Labor Day.

I'll have you know I was the inspiration for the Mimi Bobeck character on the old Drew Carey show.

https://www.google.com/search?q=drew+carey+show+characters+mimi&rlz=1C1RXQR_enUS1023US1023&oq=drew+carey+show+char&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgCEAAYgAQyBwgAEAAYgAQyBggBEEUYOTIHCAIQABiABDIICAMQABgWGB4yDQgEEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgFEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgGEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgHEAAYhgMYgAQYigXSAQoxMDE4NGowajE1qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

I knew you were a star!

100, 200,300, or 400 level?

this is a sell-out to pop culture, don't we think?

It's marketing. My guess is that the class will meet university level standards. They are just jazzing up the content a bit.

Bet you’d be perfectly fine with a course on the philosophy of nudism.

Pots and kettles, strewn everywhere. Swift has shown impressive business, songwriting and performing skills. Nobody would bat an eyelash at a course on Botticelli, but one on Taylor Swift is controversial? Explain why.

Because Botticelli is deceased!

There are probably any number of imperative sentences one could utter about Ms. Swift that were true when printed up for the course's final exam, but NOT true a week after the exam!

But it ought not matter because it needs to be a pass/fail course!  No way can you allow a human to exist who has to say he or she got a D- in Taylor Swift.

Bad enough that someone, somewhere will be forced to admit failing Taylor Swift!

> No way can you allow a human
> to exist who has to say he or she got a D- in
> Taylor Swift.

Yes, I guess it is time to renegotiate your set up fees.

elderolddog Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Bad enough that someone, somewhere will be forced
> to admit failing Taylor Swift!

His name is Jake. Travis better come correct!

(Pls click link for Urban Dictionary definition of “come correct.” No worries. It’s safe. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=come+correct )

Brother Of Jerry Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bet you’d be perfectly fine with a course on the
> philosophy of nudism.
>
> Pots and kettles, strewn everywhere. Swift has
> shown impressive business, songwriting and
> performing skills. Nobody would bat an eyelash at
> a course on Botticelli, but one on Taylor Swift is
> controversial? Explain why.

Botticelli has been filtered by time.
Swift has not. She is also more of an industry than an artist. If you want to see the real Taylor Swift, see her early performances before she completely sold her soul. Nowadays her image, music, and a hundred other things DON'T come from her.

100% sell out to pop culture, as is the MTC crowd waving their arms to light Christian rock.

Why not a previous course about Madonna ??? How about Elvis ? (Elvis' fame & following continues decades and shows no signs of fading).

the Test of Time is 100% accurate indicator of value to the community, not flashy outfits or wealth.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2024 10:08PM by GNPE.

Yeah, cuz Madonna and Elvis never wore flashy outfits

Liberace!!!

Male performers can deduct the cost of creating and caring for their flashy outfits because of the likelihood that a tax court would agree that no guy would EVER wear such gaudy outfits other than on stage.

Women, not so much...

Elton John!

https://youtu.be/jL53EUbHazo

How do you think he does it?
I don’t know!
What makes him so good?

I recently watched his farewell (yeah, I'll believe he's done when I see it) tour at the Dodger's Stadium. It was fantastic.

I relived my life from college to the present listening to him sing and talk about the songs that were part of the soundtrack of my life. I remember thinking he was cute when I was a freshman. I remember when he came out. I hope he knows how many people appreciated his contribution to the world.

I was playin rock n roll and you were just a fan
But my gitar couldn’t hold ya
So I split the band

https://youtu.be/IYoZ1NfqRME?feature=shared&t=4m0s



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2024 12:04AM by Beth.

OMG Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding is my second fav by him. My absolute favorite is Gray Seal. Fun memories.

And the reverse for me! The lyrics still hit me hard.

I wonder if those changes have left a scar on you
And all the burning hoops of fire you and I passed through…

Who hasn’t been stuck in the circus performing?

Great breakup song. Great life song. Just great :D

You know how I am about music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Ly7xgLXGQ&list=PLiN-7mukU_RHOef1akKz_jcXzEjKeYSuO&index=2

Apparently it's more common than I thought to have college classes on contemporary musicians.

https://www.billboard.com/lists/college-music-classes-taylor-swift-pop/lana-del-rey/

I would have guessed a class on Bob Dylan or Beyoncé might be popular too but who knows. The idea is to engage students with popular songs they know to introduce them to all kinds of aspects about music, performing, writing, etc. BYU is probably hearing what other schools are offering, so that might help explain it too.

Bob Dylan maybe. Not so sure about Beyoncé. She has an alter which she claims possesses her so it's more a study in demonology.

Yeah…I have no idea what you’re talking about re: Beyonce.

Whatever it is, I'll have what she's having!

Haha! Right? I have an altar to Beyonce.

I dreamt Lizzo and I were onstage playing superflutes! <— this is true, and I have no idea what a superflute is, but we rocked them!

Who knew flutes would be such a cool thing?

Lizzo playing that thing was amazing.
Then comes along André 3000 with magical flute sounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_tJNVc07Jc&list=OLAK5uy_l2-maXhuoiXd4dKO_RgqAPGPJWALefwpA

Talent and creativity!

Thank you! I had no idea.

Dang, Andre!

“That Night In Hawaii When I Turned Into A Panther And Started Making These Low Register Purring Tones That I Couldn’t Control … [ish] Was Wild”

https://youtu.be/agrAUjogAvo?feature=shared

The title fits!
What cool music to sit and relax with. I saw him on Colbert's show holding a giant wooden instrument and was intrigued.
I expected music like Outkast which I liked. That's why I looked to see what he was doing with that flute thing. Dude is an artist.

What a coincidence: Jesus has an altar to Lizzo too.

It sits in his blacked-out man cave, surrounded by candles and the bones of old Santeria offerings, across from a 1963 La-Z-Boy recliner and a rotary telephone in case he needs to dial "M".

? was the La-Z-Boy recliner made in the U.S (Utah for a while, I understand) or was it built/assembled in another country?

* Even if it was built/assembled in Ew-tah, it probably wasn't by unionized workers, sigh.

Beth Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yeah…I have no idea what you’re talking about
> re: Beyonce.

Beyonce has an alter ego which she calls Sasha Fierce. She claims it has a different personality than her.

Only because they thought she was related to Zachary.

It was that or they didn't want to have a course on who's afraid of Taylor Swift, windmills, whales, oranges, the truth, etc., etc., etc.