Calling all tortured poets, it’s time to “Speak Now” about Taylor Swift again.

Coming to the Chemistry building on Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m., you would not expect to see a flock of students adorned in Taylor Swift’s merchandise from her album “Red.”

This semester, however, the view includes students wearing black hats and shirts that say “Who’s Taylor Swift anyway? EW,” other classmates wearing “1989”-themed cardigans and a sea of red clothing and music video references. 

Cultural Studies and Pop Art, LIT3301, has been an elective at USF for several years. This semester was the first time it focused on Taylor Swift’s music.

Related: Taylor Swift USF course to be taught this fall

The class is taught by Michelle Taylor, Jessica Cook and Emily Jones, all English professors who teach the section together on Tuesdays. On Thursdays, the students are divided into “break-out” classes in smaller classrooms in Cooper Hall.

After the success of one section this semester, there will be five total Swift-themed sections in spring 2025, according to Taylor.

There’s just under 100 students registered for the course this fall, according to Taylor.

In the past, the class has had a variety of themes, such as monsters in fiction and adaptations of “Pride and Prejudice.” It is often taught online as an English elective but is open to all majors.

There are currently four sections of LIT3301. Next semester, the Swift sections will be similar to this semester’s courses, with small adjustments to the lectures, according to Taylor.

Zainab Muhammed is a junior studying English literature and has always enjoyed Swift’s music, she said. She sits outside the classroom listening to Swift’s music before class. 

The three professors attend all classes but take turns lecturing. Last Tuesday, it was Taylor’s turn to lecture and she dressed for the occasion in a blue, flowy dress reminiscent of Swift’s “Begin Again” music video. 

The class theme was inspired by Swift’s “Red (Taylor’s Version).” Taylor taught about songs from all of Swift’s albums related to childhood. These included “Seven” and “Fifteen,” with comparisons to classic romantic poets like William Wordsworth.

Gianna Prettitore, a senior majoring in English, took “Introduction to Literary Methodology” with Cook in the past, who recommended the new Swift class to fans. 

“I already loved her as a professor, so I thought it would be a good thing,” Prettitore said. “I’m more of a recent listener to Taylor Swift, but I thought it’d be interesting to have a class where you talk about songs and music as literature.”

Registering for the class was compared to getting tickets for Taylor Swift’s concerts on Ticketmaster, Muhammed said.

“There were a lot of spots left initially because it’s in the Chemistry building, but so many people heard about it right away that I feel like the spots went more quickly,” Muhammed said.

Paulina Ruiz is also a junior majoring in English literature and has been a Swift fan since she was young. Ruiz carries her three bags full of books, food and the class’s syllabus. The syllabus is organized by week, with a different playlist of songs for each. 

The class has deepened her knowledge of music and lyrics, particularly in Swift’s songs, as literature to be analyzed, Ruiz said.

“[The professors] have a very deep reading of Taylor Swift,” Ruiz said. “Every time I walk in, I learn something new about myself and how to look at it.”

Taylor’s lecture explained the psychological development in childhood through Swift’s work. Referencing Swift’s songs, Taylor explained how culture shifts changed the way childhood is celebrated.

Taylor also uses romantic poetry, reciting works “that Swift definitely knows.” This includes explaining allusions to famous poems in Swift’s song “New Romantics.”

Whether or not you call yourself a Swiftie, she undoubtedly influenced this generation’s childhood, according to Taylor.

“Isn’t that romantic?” Taylor asked rhetorically.