Kate Pattison, fan studies expert and PhD candidate in music industry
RMIT fan studies expert, Kate Pattison, is one of the only people globally doing a PhD on Taylor Swift. Her research looks at online pop music fandom, with a focus on fans of Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Delta Goodrem and BTS. She is the host of RMIT’s Taylor Swift ‘Fanposium’ expert panel.
- Fans and fandom
- Taylor Swift’s cultural importance
- How did Taylor Swift get so popular?
- Throwing things on stage
- Social media and Taylor Swift
- Swifties and Easter eggs
Professor Lisa Given, Director of the Social Change Enabling Impact Platform and Professor of Information Sciences
Professor Lisa Given is an interdisciplinary researcher in human information behaviour. Her work brings a critical, social research lens to studies of technology use and user-focused design. She is a co-organiser of RMIT’s Taylor Swift ‘Fanposium’.
- Ticketing and scams
- AI and deepfakes
- Google searches for Taylor Swift
Associate Professor Shelley Brunt, Program Manager for the Bachelor of Arts (Music Industry) degree
Associate Professor Shelley Brunt is an ethnomusicologist who researches the relationship between parents, young children and the popular music industry. Her work includes the book Popular Music and Parenting, which examines family-friendly live music concerts, musicians as parents, and children's music media. She is a co-organiser of RMIT’s Taylor Swift ‘Fanposium’, and she will be attending one of the Melbourne Taylor Swift concerts with her very excited 7 year old.
- Children and parents at Taylor Swift's concerts
- Fandom and young fans
- Parenting concerns and Taylor Swift (lyrics, her boyfriends, lifestyle)
Associate Professor Catherine Strong, sociology
Catherine is a music industries researcher who focuses on gender inequalities, gender-based violence and working conditions in music. Her work concentrates on how to make music safer and more accessible for everyone.
- Tayor Swift and feminism
- Politics and music
- Gender and fandom
Associate Professor Angel Zhong, economics and finance
Associate Professor Angel Zhong specialises in empirical asset pricing, digital finance, global financial markets, investor behaviour and the recent trends in retail investing.
- Recreational spending
- How Taylor Swift’s Australian tour will boost the economy
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