Well, folks, you’re not going to believe this one. Harvard University, the Ivy League institution that’s given us presidents, Nobel laureates, and Supreme Court justices, is now offering a course on…wait for it…Taylor Swift. Yep, you read that right!

As reported by WCVB Channel 5 Boston, “Stephanie” Burt, a biological male who identifies as transgender, will be teaching a course called “Taylor Swift and Her World.” This isn’t a joke, folks. This is real life.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Taylor Swift or her music. She’s a talented artist with a dedicated fan base. But a whole course about her at Harvard? That’s like serving fast food at a Michelin-starred restaurant. It just doesn’t belong.

According to Burt, the course will focus on Swift’s “lyrics and creative composition and how they’re connected to other page-based poets and authors.” So, we’re comparing Swift’s lyrics to the works of literary giants like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge? Talk about apples and oranges!

The course will also dive into Swift’s use of social media, her stage presence, and fashion as “vehicles for her art.” I’m sorry, but when did Instagram posts become a subject for academic study?

The kicker? An estimated 300 students have already signed up for the class. Three hundred! That’s more than some of Harvard’s actual academic courses.

One graduate student, Shayna Perates, had this to say: “I think it’s really important to include popular music or culture into normal pedagogies to get students engaged, and I think that’d just be really fun.” Fun, sure. But is it educational? Is it worth the tens of thousands of dollars these students are paying for their education?

This isn’t the first time a course on Taylor Swift has been offered at the college level. Other institutions like the University of Texas at Austin, Rice University, and Stanford have all offered Swift-focused courses. But Harvard? The same Harvard that’s been a beacon of intellectual rigor for centuries?

In the end, I suppose it’s a sign of the times. Pop culture is king, and even our most prestigious institutions aren’t immune. But one can’t help but wonder: Is this really what higher education has come to?