In a classroom at a top university in the Philippines, a group of students watch and analyze some rather unconventional material: news articles about Taylor Swift on social media.

For the first time, the University of the Philippines is offering a course to study the celebrity status of 14-time Grammy winner and her impact on society.

As the performer visits Asia this week, more than 300 students signed up for the elective course, filling limited slots within minutes and prompting the administration to launch an extra class.

The course, led by university professor Cherish Brillon, is titled “Celebrity Studies: Taylor Swift in Focus” and will guide students through analyses of the 34-year-old pop star's relation to celebrity studies, gender discourse, and the political economy.

A self-declared “Swiftie”, Brillon said while some universities in the U.S. such as Harvard, Stanford, and Berklee College of Music offer Taylor Swift courses tackling songwriting and literary takes on her discography, her course will instead delve into how the media portrays her as a celebrity, and how her status as a “transnational” icon.

"How are we using her images, her iconography or the things that are associated with her to express something about Philippine society and politics,” said Brillon, who teaches communication, media theory, pop culture and political economics.

"I would love to delve deeper into the societal issues that we face in connection to Taylor Swift. I think that she was able to empower me," said one class participant Shyne Cañezal, who has been a Swift fan since she was in elementary school.

Taylor Swift was the most streamed artist in the Philippines and globally in 2023 according to the music streaming service provider Spotify.

Swift is set to perform six sold-out "Eras Tour" shows in Singapore - her only stop in Southeast Asia - on March 2 to 9. More than 300,000 tickets were sold to fans who queued overnight in the blistering tropical heat.

Her net worth reached more than $1 billion in October 2023 making her one of the richest female celebrities worldwide. -- Report from Reuters

(Production: Adrian Portugal)