Students can now earn college credit for being obsessed withHarry Styles.
On Saturday,Dr. Louie Dean Valenciaannounced he’ll be teaching a course titled “Harry Styles and the Cult of Celebrity: Identity, the Internet, and European Pop Culture” at Texas State University’s Honors College in spring 2023, for which students will study all of Styles' albums and acting roles as well as his work withOne Direction.
An associate professor of digital history at the university,Valencia tweeted about the classon Styles, 28, and posted a screenshot of the college confirming its information as well as its official course description.
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“This course focuses on British musician Harry Styles and popular European culture to understand the cultural and political development of the modern celebrity as related to questions of gender and sexuality, race, class, nation and globalism, media, fashion, fan culture, internet culture, and consumerism,” read the Texas State Honors College description.
“It’s official, official. I’m teaching the world’s first ever university course on the work of#HarryStylesis happening Spring 2023 at@TXSTUniversity,” tweeted Valencia. “This is what tenure looks like. Let’s gooooo!”
In an interview withNBC New Yorkpublished Tuesday, Valencia spoke about the inspiration behind the course. “I’ve always wanted to teach a history class that is both fun, but also covers a period that students have lived through and relate to,” the educator told the outlet.
“By studying the art, activism, consumerism and fandom around Harry Styles, I think we’ll be able to get to some very relevant contemporary issues,” he continued. “I think it’s so important for young people to see what is important to them reflected in their curriculum.”
Harry Styles.David Fisher/Global/Shutterstock
Valencia said his idea for the course was sparked in summer 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic complicated most travel options.
“This class came out of research that I started when locked at home during the summer of 2020 listening to Harry’s music,” he explained. “When I couldn’t travel to do my regular research, I started researching Harry—focusing on his art, the ways masculinity has changed in the last decade, celebrity culture and the internet.”
Fans have already expressed excitement toward the class on social media, but unfortunately most of them won’t be able to get in the room.
“The classes are capped at 20, so we can have in-depth conversations,” Valencia told NBC New York. “There is a lot of demand, and I would love to teach it to a broader audience.”
Harry Styles.Lillie Eiger
However, there is one person he’d allow to join the students. “My dream would be to have Harry show up to class (or just Zoom) — but I understand how busy he is,” said Valencia. “The one thing I would want Harry to know is that this class doesn’t focus on his personal life, only his art and the things he puts out there.”
“This course proposes to deconstruct both the appeal and aversions toTaylor Swiftthrough close readings of her music and public discourse as it relates to her own growth as an artist and a celebrity,” read the course description, perVariety.
“I’ve been coveringTaylor Swiftsince I began my writing career a decade ago and have been a super fan of hers for even longer,” Spanos explained, calling it “such an honor to be able to share my Swiftie expertise” with her class.
source: people.com
