Brandon Polite

Brandon Polite serves as Chair and Professor of Philosophy, renowned for bridging academic philosophy with contemporary culture through his analysis of Taylor Swift's re-recording project and exploration of philosophical puzzles in music.

His research spans:

• Aesthetics of recorded media
• Ethics of copyright and recording contracts
• Metaphysical nature of artistic re-creation
• Social-political dimensions of music ownership
• Philosophy of popular music interpretation

Polite actively disseminates philosophical discourse through his YouTube series Polite Conversations: Philosophers Discussing Art and his 2025 edited volume Taylor Swift and the Philosophy of Re-recording: The Art of Taylor's Versions, which examines ethical, aesthetic, and metaphysical aspects of Swift's re-recorded albums while making complex philosophical concepts accessible to broad audiences.