From Taylor Swift to Bob Dylan, pop music has found a place on the syllabus

Close to 15 major US universities, including the University of Chicago, Columbia University, and UC Berkley, were offering literature lectures in the academic year 2021-22

In 2021, as a 150-strong class of undergraduate English majors settled down for their first lecture in “Foundations of English Literature” at Clark’s College, University of Oregon, in the US, they were hit by a loud riff of metallic guitars. The professor had pressed play on “Wig Wam Bam”, a cult classic from 1970s hit US Disco band The Sweets. As it turned out, the syllabi for “Foundations of English Literature” — a series of three term-length courses — had packed in a galaxy of music stars like Bob Dylan, The Queens, and others, and their famous creations, as academic