Swiftposium

Sunday 11th - Tuesday 13th February, 2024

Taylor Swift has emerged as a cultural icon of extraordinary influence. Swiftposium is a hybrid academic conference for scholars to engage in critical dialogue about Swift’s popularity and its profound implications for a range of issues including gender, fandom, popular culture, literature, the economy, the music industry, and more. Swiftposium has been collaboratively organised by scholars from six universities across Australia and New Zealand.

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 2023, the Swiftposium has attracted more than 400 submissions – 130 of these accepted – from 78 academic institutions worldwide, spanning 60 academic disciplines.

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.

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.

Get your tickets to the event at Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia for Sunday, 11 February 2024.

Want more?

Want a taste of the Swiftposium? Check out how experts from the University of Melbourne apply their research to the wide-ranging impact of Taylor Swift.

‘The 1’: Something’s been forgotten in the Kanye-Taylor feud

There was more than one ‘victim’ from the infamous Kanye West 2009 VMA’s “I’mma let you finish” moment. By Dr Sarah Walsh. More on Pursuit.

‘The Man’: Taylor’s feminism could go so much further

Taylor Swift’s ‘The Man’ promotes the idea of women being given the same standards as men, we should instead focus on not making ‘alpha male’ the standard. By Dana Fahadi. More on Pursuit.

‘Anti-hero’: A philosophical take on Taylor’s existential authenticity

Taylor Swift fans adore her authenticity, but what does it actually mean to be ‘authentic’ when you are a mega-celebrity in the digital age? By Dr Marc Cheong. More on Pursuit.

‘Picture to burn’: The law probably won’t protect Taylor (or other women) from deepfakes

Legal redress is hard to come by if you fall victim to an AI-generated deepfake pornography and abuse. By Professor Jeannie Marie Paterson. More on Pursuit.

...Ready for it?: How Taylor is changing modern society

Celebrities – like Taylor Swift – are increasingly lending their fame to socio-political issues, taking their fans with them and blurring the line between celebrity and activism. By Dr Hao Xu and Yuzheng Li. More on Pursuit.

‘Blank space’: What if AI wrote the songs?

Taylor Swift fans love the honesty, vulnerability and relatability of her lyrics – but would we have the same connection if AI wrote the words? By Xanthe Lowe-Brown, Shilpa Singh Jaswant, Ben Loveridge, Holly Jones and Dr Michael Wildenauer. More on Pursuit.

‘Fearless’: How Taylor Swift is owning her narrative

From her teenage crushes to her feuds, Taylor Swift has been using confession, testimony and narrative to shape the public story of her life. By Dr Eloise Faichney. More on Pursuit.

‘Dear John: Taylor’s responsibility to her Swifties

Taylor Swift has redefined fan engagement in the digital age, but that fandom comes with a responsibility to call out Swifties behaving badly. By Dr Jennifer Beckett. More on Pursuit.

Key Dates

Abstract Submission Opened:

20 September 2023

Abstract Submissions Closed:

11:59 pm AEDT Sunday 5 November 2023

Presenters Notified:

30 November 2023

Registration opened:

20 December 2023   - Invited speakers only

Registration closes:

25 January 2024

Fanposium:

11 February 2024

Swiftposium public-facing panel:

11 February 2024

Swiftposium conference:

12 - 13 February 2024