Taylor Swift Headed to This Law school, in Theory

Taylor Swift Headed to This Law school, in Theory

理论上，泰勒·斯威夫特是这所法学院的负责人

【原文听力】

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　　By Gregory Stachel

　　03 November 2023

　　University of South Dakota law professor Sean Kammer's friends told him they were unsure about the seriousness of his upcoming class on musical performer Taylor Swift.

　　"I understand this sounds ridiculous, at least at first glance," said Kammer, a Taylor Swift fan, or Swiftie, himself. "But it's not."

　　Kammer's class, called the Taylor Swift effect, is planned for the spring. It is believed to be the first law school class based on the famous American singer.

　　After attending a Swift concert in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in June, Kammer said he was inspired to develop the writing class. It is available for second- and third-year law students.

　　The class will study the artist's dealings with the law, including her rerecording of six albums and related copyright problems, Kammer said.

　　It will also examine how an individual's experiences and beliefs shape how they understand the law – much like how there are different understandings of her songs.

　　Law classes about popular culture are not uncommon. They also bring attention to schools that offer them. The television show The Wire inspired a number of criminal law classes over the years. In 2022, the University of Virginia School of Law offered a class on corporate law based on the show Succession.

　　Law classes centered on a single public person are rare, however. But Georgia State University College of Law is currently offering a class based on the legal life of musician Rick Ross.

　　Boston University law professor Jessica Silbey helped write a book on popular culture and the law. She said students are usually more interested when they study subjects such as sports, new technology and famous people.

　　Silbey teaches Swift's album rerecordings in her copyright class to teach about contract law in the music business. She said the singer's success story and what she has dealt with provide good lessons in the law.

　　South Dakota Law is not the first school to offer classes on Swift. The University of California at Berkeley recently announced an upcoming business class based on Swift's business experiences. Stanford, New York University, and the University of Texas have also offered Swift-inspired classes. But Kammer's class is the first legal exploration of her music and career.

　　Kammer also teaches legal history. He said he plans to examine some Swift songs to look into how the words of the songs and certain legal texts can be understood. He said his class will also look at good and bad qualities of methods for understanding the law.

　　I'm Jill Robbins.

　　Karen Sloan reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted the story for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者:格雷戈里·斯塔切尔

　　2023年11月3日

　　南达科他大学法学教授肖恩·卡默的朋友告诉他，他们不确定他即将上的关于音乐表演家泰勒·斯威夫特的课的严肃性。

　　“我明白这听起来荒谬的，至少一开始是这样闪光泰勒·斯威夫特的粉丝，也就是斯威夫特本人说。但事实并非如此。"

　　Kammer的课程名为泰勒·斯威夫特效应，计划在春季开课。它被认为是第一个以美国著名歌手为原型的法学院课程。

　　今年6月，在明尼苏达州明尼阿波利斯参加了一场Swift音乐会后，Kammer说他鼓舞发展写作课。该课程面向法律专业二年级和三年级学生。

　　这门课将研究这位艺术家与法律的关系，包括她录制的六张专辑及相关作品版权问题，Kammer说。

　　它还将考察个人的经历和信仰如何塑造他们对法律的理解——就像对她的歌曲有不同的理解一样。

　　关于流行文化的法律课并不少见。他们也引起了提供这些课程的学校的注意。电视节目电线多年来启发了许多刑法课程。2022年，弗吉尼亚大学法学院根据该节目开设了一门公司法课程继承权.

　　然而，以一个公众人物为中心的法律课程很少。但是佐治亚州立大学法学院目前正在开设一门以音乐家里克·罗斯的法律生活为基础的课程。

　　波士顿大学法学教授杰西卡·西尔比帮助写了一本关于流行文化和法律的书。她说，当学生学习体育、新技术和名人等科目时，他们通常更感兴趣。

　　西尔比在她的版权课上教授斯威夫特的专辑录制，讲授音乐行业的合同法。她说，这位歌手的成功故事和她所处理的案件为法律提供了很好的借鉴。

　　南达科他州法学院并不是第一所提供Swift课程的学校。加州大学伯克利分校最近宣布了一个基于Swift商业经验的商业课程。斯坦福大学、纽约大学和德克萨斯大学也提供了受Swift启发的课程。但Kammer的课是她音乐和事业的第一次法律探索。

　　Kammer还教授法律历史。他说他计划检查一些斯威夫特的歌曲，看看这些歌曲的歌词是否合法文本可以理解。他说他的班级也将关注理解法律的方法的好的和坏的品质。

　　我是吉尔·罗宾斯。

　　凯伦·斯隆为路透社报道了这个故事。Gregory Stachel为VOA英语学习改编了这个故事。

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　　这个故事中的词语

　　ridiculous – adj.极其愚蠢或不合理的

　　glance – n. 快速、不感兴趣的一瞥

　　inspire – v. 让(某人)想做某事:给(某人)一个做或创造的主意

　　copyright – n. 在一定时期内唯一复制、出版和销售一本书或音乐唱片的合法权利

　　text –n. 一段文字