{"id":107933,"date":"2026-02-25T16:04:46","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T21:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=107933"},"modified":"2026-02-26T10:45:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T15:45:06","slug":"say-youll-remember-me-wartime-love-letters-revived-in-a-taylor-swift-history-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2026\/02\/say-youll-remember-me-wartime-love-letters-revived-in-a-taylor-swift-history-course\/","title":{"rendered":"Say you\u2019ll remember me: Wartime love letters revived in A (Taylor) Swift History course"},"content":{"rendered":"

What do Brock University\u2019s Archives and Special Collections have to do with Taylor Swift?<\/span><\/p>\n

More than most people might think, says Elizabeth Vlossak.<\/p>\n

The Associate Professor of History will reveal the connections this spring when students in her A Swift History course study letters that Brock founder Arthur Schmon received from his fianc\u00e9e, Celeste. Preserved in Brock\u2019s collection, the letters were written while Arthur was fighting in the trenches of Northern France during the First World War.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Students will analyze letters sent to Brock founder Arthur Schmon from his fianc\u00e9e, Celeste, while he was fighting in the trenches of Northern France in the First World War. The Schmons\u2019 love story, along with Swift\u2019s song \u201cThe Great War,\u201d provide the backdrop for a lesson uncovering conflicting interpretations of the causes and consequences of war and its impact on memorial culture.<\/p><\/div>\n

Vlossak \u2014 Brock\u2019s 20th-century Europe and world history expert and resident \u201cSwiftie\u201d \u2014 uses the music, career and fandom of Taylor Swift to explore historical thinking and research methods alongside significant, and lesser-known, historical figures, events and cultural developments.<\/p>\n

In the course, the Schmons\u2019 love story and Swift\u2019s song \u201cThe Great War\u201d provide the backdrop for a lesson uncovering conflicting interpretations of the causes and consequences of the war and its impact on memorial culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cCeleste Schmon\u2019s letters are probably not what most students expect to read in a lesson on the First World War, yet they invite us to think more critically about including as many different voices as we can when we study the past,\u201d Vlossak says.<\/p>\n

While A Swift History focuses largely on the 20th century, the innovative course also delves into the histories of witch hunts, New York City, showgirls and cats \u2014 topics that Vlossak suspects would appeal to Taylor Swift and her fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is to help students understand what history is and to learn how historians study and make sense of the past,\u00a0but I also want students to be moved by the lives and experiences of those who came before us and to recognize our common humanity,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

For Vlossak, this includes learning how to read and analyze a wide variety of primary sources, including archival documents like Celeste\u2019s letters, material culture and oral history. Students will be asked to reflect on how sources shape historical narratives and how to make history more inclusive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must include as many voices as we can when we study the past,\u201d she says. \u201cOur choice of sources matters deeply.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year, Vlossak will also dive into political protest music, connecting the cultural impact of music from the early 20th century \u2014 from the 1960s with the anti-Vietnam War protests and Civil Rights movement \u2014 to today.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will learn about other influential musicians to build base knowledge of these historical actors and events and broaden our understanding of cultural production,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Students will explore the ways that historical knowledge is communicated in books and articles, museums and memorials, and podcasts and social media.<\/p>\n

Each weekly lesson and assignment is inspired by Swift \u2014 whether a song, an album or a meme \u2014 and students will have plenty of opportunities to analyze Swift\u2019s music, music videos and interviews, and read about her life and career.<\/p>\n

Vlossak has even adopted some of the techniques Swift famously uses to engage and communicate with her audience, such as incorporating secret messages, often called Easter eggs, into the weekly lessons.<\/p>\n

Whether students have never studied history or are fourth-year History majors, they\u2019ve never heard a Swift song or are lifelong Swifties, Vlossak says A Swift History has something for everyone.<\/p>\n

More information on Brock\u2019s Spring\/Summer course offerings, including A Swift History, is available at brocku.ca\/springsummer<\/a><\/p>\n

Registration opens Tuesday, March 3.<\/p>\n

Photo credit: Ronald Woan, CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n