Day 1: Friday, April 25th, 2025
2:00-2:15pm
Introductions (Dr. Melanie Holm, Faculty Sponsor)
Welcome Remarks (Kristin Kuhns, Chair)
Introduction to Opening Panelists (Josie Kochendorfer, Co-Chair)
2:15-3:00pm
Opening Panel of Guest Speakers:
Title: “‘Ladies Always Rise Above:’ Disrupting Patriarchal
Narratives of Sex, Selfhood, and Success”
Juliette Holder, Texas Woman’s University
Katie Cline, Bowling Green State University
Christina Xan, University of South Carolina
3:00-3:15pm
Opening Panel Q&A
3:15-3:30pm
Break
3:30-4:30pm
Panel 1: “No One Likes a Mad Woman”:
Feminism & Womanhood
4:30-4:45pm
Break
4:45-5:45pm
Panel 2: "Magic, Madness, Heaven, Sin”:
Occultism & Religion
5:45-6:00pm
Break
6:00-6:15pm
Closing Remarks/Announcements/Dinner Reminders
7:00pm
Dinner
Location: Lemoona House
*Dinner on Friday, April 24th, and dinner on Saturday, April 25th are on your own. However, on our website, you will find a list of recommended local restaurants. If you would like to dine with other symposium participants, there are locations where we will be meeting up.*
Day 2: Saturday, April 26th, 2025
10:30-10:45am
Welcome Remarks Day 2
Introduction to Keynote Speaker (Kristin Kuhns, Chair)
10:45-11:30am
Keynote Address: Dr. Billie Tadros, University of Scranton
11:30-11:45am
Break
11:45-12:45pm
Panel 3: “I’m a Monster on the Hill”: Monstrosity & the Body
12:45-1:45pm
Lunch (Swift-themed activities)
Location: Pizza will be provided at Sprowls Hall
1:45-2:45pm
Panel 4: “Feeling so Gatsby”: Swift & the Classics
2:45-3:00pm
Break
3:00-4:00pm
Panel 5: “You Fit in My Poems Like a Perfect Rhyme”:
Language, Lyrics, Mashups & Revisions
4:00-4:15pm
Break
4:15-5:15pm
Panel 6: “The Story Isn’t Mine Anymore”: Beyond the Music
5:15-5:30pm
Break
5:30-6:30pm
Panel 7: “I Think It’s Time To Teach Some Lessons”:
Swift Pedagogy
6:30-6:40pm
Closing Remarks & Acknowledgements
(Dr. Melanie Holm, Kristin Kuhns, Josie Kochendorfer,
Stacey Hoffer, and Gates MacPherson)
7:00pm
Dinner
Location: Romeo's Pizzeria & Mediterranean Kitchen
Friday Panels
Panel 1: "No One Likes a Mad Woman”: Feminism & Womanhood
Commentator/Moderator: Gates MacPherson, IUP
“Mastermind: Taylor Swift’s Lyrics as a Model for Talking Back to Sexism,” Heather Holland, IUP (15 mins)
“Confessions of Swift: The Poetic Lyricist,” Michelle Winters, IUP (15 mins)
“Melodic Manspreading: The Feminist Liberation of ‘All Too Well,’ (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” Rebecca Karpen, New York University (15 mins)
Panel 2: “Magic, Madness, Heaven, Sin”: Occultism and Religion
Commentator/Moderator: Heather Holland, IUP
“Enchanted or Erased: Witchcraft, Race, and Taylor Swift,” Josie Kochendorfer and Stacey Hoffer, IUP (30 mins)
“‘Guilty as Sin’: An Exploration of Female Sexuality Within Religion,” Gates MacPherson, IUP (15 mins)
Saturday Panels
Panel 3: “I’m a Monster on the Hill”: Monstrosity and the Body
Commentator/Moderator: Josie, Kochendorfer, IUP
“The Monster on the Hill: ‘Anti-Hero’ and its Connection to Frankenstein,” Alexa Rogers, Buffalo State University (15 mins)
“Blood Soaked Gown: The Monstrous in Taylor Swift’s Lyrics,” Eliot Viv, Texas State University (15 mins)
“The Lost Boys Chapter: Taylor Swift & the Poetics of Aging,” Shoshannah Diehl, Marshall University (15 mins)
Panel 4: “Feeling so Gatsby”: Swift & the Classics
Commentator/Moderator: Stacey Hoffer, IUP
“The Tortured Poet: Melancholic Charm in Emily Dickinson and Taylor Swift,” Liz Laughlin, IUP (15 mins)
“‘Cryptic ad Machiavellian’: Feminine Scheming and Power Acquisition of the Victorian Woman in Taylor Swift’s Discography,” Lily Prince, The University of Montevallo (15 mins)
Panel 5: “You Fit in My Poems Like a Perfect Rhyme”: Language, Lyrics, Mashups & Revisions
Commentator/Moderator: Kristin Kuhns, IUP
“Linguistically Swift: Decoding Lyricism in Folklore,” Rachel Martin and Sydnee Pilarski, IUP (15 mins)
“‘Swirled you into all of my poems’: The Poetics of Mashups (The Eras Tour Version),” Langtian Lang, University of Cambridge (15 mins)
“Swift’s Great War: War Imagery in the Lyrics of Taylor Swift,” Sydney Nelson, IUP (15 mins)
Panel 6: “The Story Isn’t Mine Anymore”: Beyond the Music
Commentator/Moderator: Sydney Nelson, IUP
“Are we ‘Ready for It?’: Exploring the language of safety and security for Swifties,” Jack Rozdilsky and Talia Shortt, York University in Toronto (30 mins)
“The Spectacle of Global Icons (Taylor’s Version): Explorations of Fame and Selfhood in Taylor Swift and Franz Kafka,” Jordan Traut-Jellad, State University of New York at Binghamton (15 mins)
Panel 7: “I Think It’s Time To Teach Some Lessons”: Swift Pedagogy
Commentator/Moderator: Rachel Martin, IUP
“Swift Engagement: Teaching Feminism through Taylor Swift,” Kristin Kuhns, IUP (15 mins)
“‘In This Light’: Teaching the Storytelling of Taylor Swift,” Dr. Jeanette Vigliotti and Dr. Annie Schultz, Flagler College (30 mins)