University To Teach World’s First Course On Harry Styles
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Big news for Harry Styles fans: a university in Texas is set to offer a course on the One Direction star - and it starts next spring.
'Harry Styles and the Cult of Celebrity: Identity, the Internet and European Pop Culture' will be offered at Texas State University and will delve into both Harry, his music, films and popular culture itself in a bid 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, and consumerism".
It seems there's already a lot of demand for the course, with course leader and associate professor of digital history Louie Dean Valencia explaining it's capped at just 20 places.
"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," Valencia told NBC.
"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. I think it's so important for young people to see what is important to them reflected in their curriculum."
Valencia added: "The classes are capped at 20 so we can have in-depth conversations. There is a lot of demand, and I would love to teach it to a broader audience."
It's official, official. I'm teaching the world's first ever university course on the work of #HarryStyles is happening Spring 2023 at @TXST University (see description).
— Louie Dean Valencia (@BurntCitrus) July 16, 2022
This is what tenure looks like. Let's gooooo! 😊 pic.twitter.com/1z3vMZoxRV
Valencia also explained on Twitter that the course will not focus on Harry's private life.
Responding to a follower, Valencia said: "We will not focus on his private life, only his art and public activism and the film, literature, philosophy, music he has acknowledged as influential. Just in the way we study the work of Shakespeare, Toni Morrison, Virginia Woolf or any great artist."
We wonder if students might be getting a guest lecture from Harry himself?
People are already going wild over the idea, with one person writing on Twitter: "I’ve never wanted to be in the honors college so bad."
While another said: "I NEED TO SIGN UP."
And a third added: "I want to….no…I NEED TO attend this course."
"Let me quick just transfer to tx state and change my entire college plan for this course," wrote a fourth.
While best known for his time in boyband One Direction, the 28-year-old has also carved out a hugely successful solo career and is now edging into acting, too.
Having starred in the likes of Dunkirk and Eternals, upcoming movies also include Don't Worry Darling and My Policeman.
Topics: Celebrity, Harry Styles
