Last December 28, 2025, nag-post ang Facebook page na Iskolar ng Bayan tungkol sa offer ng University of the Philippines na “course on Taylor Swift.”
Ang post, published as is: “The University of the Philippines now offers a course on Taylor Swift—using celebrity and fandom to explore media, culture, and power.
“At UP Diliman’s College of Mass Communication, BMAS 196: Celebrity Studies: Taylor Swift in Focus uses Swift’s constructed celebrity as a lens to examine how media intersects with class, politics, gender, race, and even our ideas of success and social mobility.”
Ang naturang post ay nakakuha ng 18K reactions, 641 comments, at 1.8K shares.
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A COURSE OR A PROGRAM?
May mga nagkomento na bakit daw kailangang magkaroon ng “degree” na si Taylor Swift ang pag-aaralan.
Anong trabaho raw ang mapapasukan sakaling maka-graduate dito.
Bakit daw hindi ang ating local celebrities ang pag-aralan.
Marami naman ang nag-explain na magkaiba ang “course” sa “program” (degree or curriculum).
Ang course ay single subject or class gaya halimbawa ng "Introduction to Biology."
Samantala, ang program (or degree/curriculum) ay comprehensive collection of related courses na nakadisenyo para ma-achieve ng isang estudyante ang specific qualification, gaya ng bachelor’s degree, at inaabot ito ng ilang taon bago makumpleto.
Ang program ay isang buong journey (e.g., B.S. in IT), at ang course ay individual steps or modules (e.g., Programming 101, Database Management) sa loob ng journey.
Naririto ang paghahambing:
Course
- Definition: An individual unit of study on a specific topic.
- Duration: Shorter, often a semester or a few months.
- Example: "Calculus I," "Introduction to Marketing," "Organic Chemistry"
Program
- Definition: A structured series of courses leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate.
- Duration: Longer, typically several years (4 years for a bachelor’s degree)
- Example: "Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT)," "Diploma in Culinary Arts"
Bilang analogy, kumbaga sa pagkain, ang program ay full meal (gaya halimbawa ng noche buena), habang ang course ay individual dishes (fried chicken, lechon, spaghetti, etc.) na kasama sa meal.
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WHY A COURSE ABOUT TAYLOR SWIFT?
Ang Taylor Swift course ay noong 2024 pa sinimulang i-offer ng UP College of Mass Communication sa Diliman campus.
Ang nagtuturo nito ay si Dr. Cherish Brillon, professor sa naturang departmento ng UP.
Sa artikulong nalathala sa GMA News last January 25, 2024, sinagot niya ang “commonly asked question” tungkol sa course para sa sikat na American singer.
Ayon kay Brillon, ang kanyang academic interests ay nakatuon sa political economy, sa transnational nature of cultural products, gender, Philippine media studies, postcolonial theories, at maging sa popular culture.
Sinabi niyang bagaman at “equally important” na pag-aralan ang ating local celebrities, may dahilan kung bakit tungkol sa Hollywood singer ang course.
Aniya: "All these interests are embodied by Taylor Swift, who is currently the biggest pop star we have today.
“And if you are in media studies and doing celebrity studies, you cannot ignore this.
“Using Taylor Swift as an example situates the course in a transnational media ecology or environment that's vastly different from what has been previously studied.”
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TAYLOR SWIFT’S GLOBAL APPEAL, POLITICAL DIMENSION
Ipinaliwanag din ni Brillon na malakas ang hatak ni Taylor Swift sa demographic ng mga taong media savvy and digitally literate.
Ang Pilipinas ay kabilang sa top 10 countries na biggest streamers ng music ni Taylor Swift.
Noong 2023, ang Quezon City ay nasa top five cities worldwide na nakikinig sa mga awitin nito.
Bukod sa music and popularity ni Taylor Swift, sinabi ni Brillon na mayroon ding political dimension na nakatuon sa pop star.
Noong 2020, nag-share si Taylor Swift sa kanyang social media accounts ng petition para ibasura ang Anti-Terror Bill sa Pilipinas.
Gumawa rin ito ng ingay tungkol sa conflict sa Palestine.
Nangampanya rin si Taylor laban sa right-wing populist president ng Argentina na si Javier Milei.
Saad ni Brillon: "So, to the question of 'Why Taylor?' I always answer, why not?
“A lot of foreign scholars study us, our cultural products, and our discourses, so why can't we study theirs and put forth knowledge claims and pathways that come from us being Filipinos existing and participating in a global stage?"
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OTHER ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS ALSO OFFER TAYLOR SWIFT COURSE
Ang course tungkol kay Taylor Swift sa UP ay tinawag na "Celebrity Studies: Taylor Swift in Focus."
Elective subject ito sa ilalim ng BA Broadcast Media Arts and Studies.
Sa email interview ng GMA News Online, sinabi ni Brillon na ang course ay nakatuon sa conception, construction, and performance ni Taylor Swift bilang celebrity at kung paano magagamit ang pop star para ipaliwanag ang kaugnayan ng mga Pilipino at ng media sa “class, politics, gender, race, and fantasies of success and mobility.”
Bukod sa UP, inio-offer din sa De La Salle University Dasmariñas (DLSU-D) Senior High School Department ang course tungkol sa buhay at sining ng pop star.
Sa ibang bansa, ino-offer din ito sa ilang academic institutions gaya ng Stanford University, New York University, at maging sa Harvard University.
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