#uniofcam

Wait, what?

Calling all Swifties! Have you been criticised for ‘over-thinking’ Taylor Swift? Find yourself more interested in her persona and lyrics than your English literature classes? Notice things she’s said and done that make you think, woah, that’s deep? Have a desire to see an English student at Cambridge University attempt to defy the odds and write her finalist dissertation on Taylor Swift? Well, oh boy, this is the post for you! I’m attempting to do the impossible, over the next 10 months and birth a 7500, fully-referenced, researched and academic baby focussed on the goddess herself, Taylor Swift. 

What are you looking at?

Well, since it’s July and the middle of the long vacation from my university, I haven’t got a solid working title yet. So far I think I’m leaning towards Taylor’s ‘self-authorship’, which means the way a writer/artist/etc presents themselves as a character. I think this has changed remarkably over the years, we see her presenting herself as an idealised archetype of teenage love and life, through to her mature years, to now where we see her being the one conducting interviews, publishing poems and seizing control over her, well, reputation. 

How can I help?

Yay, I’m so glad you asked! Basically I’m in the research stage - which is awesome and means I can call trawling through things Taylor has said, done and sung and call it work. But I’d love it if you were to slide into my DMs, repost, reblog or enter a discussion with me if anything has taken your interest!

Some of my recent drawings of the different Colleges of Cambridge University - who can recognise them all?

1. Truth is subjective.

People choose the reality that suits their needs, ignoring obvious logical fallacies in favor of feeling good about their worldview. I think the Truth is just a tired mother trying to nap, continuously being awoken by her children.

2. Streets are inherently quiet.

Cobblestone love stories do not reach out to me in the silence of 3am walks. Looming buildings, created by artists long dead, don't shout to me on morning runs about the things they've seen. They simply stare, blinking occasionally, as I admire their beauty and forget their history.

3. Locusts are scary.

I have no clue who thought that the 1 million pound depiction of a locust humping a clock was a beautiful piece of art. Frankly, it invades my dreams and scares me.

4. I look like I speak Chinese.

On two separate occasions I was approached by Asian women, arms flailing, asking for directions. I responded with a half smile and "I don't understand you" but to no avail. Eventually I said "water" in both instances and pointed down the street. I hope they found what they're looking for.

5. No one ever finds what they're looking for.

Philosophers, scientists, researchers of great significance have never been satisfied. These hallowed grounds are conducive to endless thought and an insatiable desire to always have more. No matter how much I learn, I'll always feel that I haven't learned as much as I could have. Maybe I shouldn't even bother.

6. People are inherently curious.

No matter how hard I could try to not learn, I will always have a nagging voice in my head boxing with my brain stem, forcing my body into action. That's probably a solid explanation for why I don't sleep much. Until the boxer in my brain tires, which is rare, I'm forced to explore the world.

7. Time was invented to make human life easier.

Who decided the arbitrary measurements of time anyway? In the end, we all continue the work of dead people, all the while dying on our own. Any basic understandings of time that people have are simply there to allow us to go about our overly-structured lives culminating in nothing. People are satisfied with the randomness of time's invention, because it is useful to them.

8. Corn is International Relations

Cows eat it, and the geopolitics of cattle never cease to amaze me. The trade of corn has marked many important parts of history from the slave trade to modern trade routes and the politics associated with these.

9. Drunk poetry is more legitimate.