In a classroom where literature and lyrics collide, students in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh are taking a deep dive into two of the most intricate storytellers of their respective centuries: Vladimir Nabokov and Taylor Swift. It’s all part of Girlhood: Nabokov’s Lolita and Taylor Swift (Russian 0770) — a wildly popular course taught by Thomas Dyne, whose research explores the ethics of narrative and the power of interpretation.
“My research focuses on narrative ethics in fiction and film,” Dyne said. “I look at stories that draw attention to their own ethical stakes, or that force readers or viewers to at times restage or experience the problematic relationships they’re watching or reading about.” A central thread in his current work is the 1962 Stanley Kubrick film adaptation of “Lolita,” a key text in the course. “The film raises the question of how to stage or adapt a novel as controversial and complex as ‘Lolita’ — a problem that, I argue, is very much on the movie’s mind.”
For Dyne, putting Nabokov and Swift in conversation came intuitively. “Taylor, as the most gifted lyricist, and maybe the most famous writer, of the 21st century, pairs naturally with Nabokov, who was frequently regarded as the finest English-language writer of the 20th century, even though it was his third language. They both reward close readers and listeners, seeding their writing with hidden gems and easter eggs, layering them with secret secondary meanings, and challenging — as well as rewarding — their closest fans with playful, semi-autobiographical plots and characters.”
Each week in the course, students read a short story or selection from “Lolita” alongside Swift lyrics and tracks that speak to the same themes, sometimes supplemented by music from Chappell Roan, Phoebe Bridgers, or Lana Del Rey. Dyne encourages students to treat Swift’s lyrics as literature, analyzing everything from the evolution of metaphor (“Red” to “Maroon”) to layered meanings in early work (“Our Song”) to ethical provocations in songs like “Wildest Dreams.” They study fan theories and decode liner notes, compare multiple versions of “All Too Well,” and reflect on the maturing lyrical voice across Swift’s career.
The course is both personal and pedagogical for Dyne. “My research on Nabokov has always shaped how I teach this class. I bring in first editions, alternate versions, production materials from the film adaptation, and research from the Nabokov archives,” he said. “However, my recent turn back to working on ‘Lolita’ really came out of the class itself, especially when discussing together with students their expectations for, reactions to, and takes on the tricky film adaptation.”
While many students enroll because of their love for Swift, Dyne is thrilled to see how many leave with a newfound appreciation for Nabokov. “One of the surprises of the class is how students who came in for Taylor stay for the literature. They learn that the tools of close reading — attention to detail, layered meaning, wordplay — aren’t just relics of English class, but ways to better understand the world we live in.”
This fall, Dyne is also teaching two other courses that connect in unexpected ways. One is Introductory Russian (Russian 0101), where students build language proficiency using the communicative method. The other, Heroes, Tsars and Saints in Fiction, Film & History (Russian 0850), examines propaganda and mythmaking in Eastern Europe, exploring everything from medieval chronicles to modern media. In that course, Dyne helps students “read against the grain” to recognize how stories have been used to shape political narratives across time.
“What ties all my courses together is a commitment to helping students become more informed and engaged citizens,” Dyne said. Whether we’re analyzing the unreliable voice in a Taylor Swift song or the ideological framing of a modern war documentary, it’s about equipping students to think critically about the messages they’re consuming.”
It’s a pedagogy rooted in passion — for language, for literature, and for helping students see that the sharpest tools of interpretation are just as relevant in a pop song as they are in a classic novel.
- By Carly Petree