Taylor Swift’s new album “The Life of a Showgirl” dropped early Friday with lyrics about the singer’s mixed reaction to pop stardom.

Meanwhile, at the University of Missouri, an instructor is listening closely to the new album for lessons she plans to teach in a class next spring.

Makayla Dublin, a Ph.D. candidate and graduate instructor in the English Department, taught a Taylor Swift-related class last fall, using the lyrics in her previous album, “The Tortured Poet’s Department.”

The class is offered again during the spring, English 1160, called Themes in Literature: Literature (Taylor’s version) and based on Swift’s latest music.

Dublin’s students compare Swift’s messages to themes in the works of Charlotte Bronte, Daphne du Maurier, F. Scott Fitzgerald and other classics. The st

See Full Page