How’s this for a sign of the times? Harry Styles is officially a school subject.
Yes, you read that right: For some Texas college students, instead of all this, well, late night talking, they’ll be lucky enough to study the singer and his rise to fame during much earlier hours in a course titled, “Harry Styles and the Cult of Celebrity: Identity, the Internet and European Pop Culture.”
The class—offered through the Honors College at Texas State University in San Marcos starting in Spring 2023—will be taught by Associate Professor of Digital History Dr. Louie Dean Valencia. In fact, the instructor himself confirmed the news by sharing the summary of his class to social media.
“This course focuses on British musician Harry Styles and popular European culture to understand the cultural and development of the modern celebrity,” the class synopsis read. “As related to questions of gender, sexuality, race, class, nation and globalism, median fashion fan culture, internet culture and consumerism.”
25 Things to Know About Harry Styles
As part of the course, according to NBC New York, not only will students study Styles’ solo bodies of work (including both his albums and films) but will also explore the albums released from his former band, One Direction.
“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 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. I think it’s so important for young people to see what is important to them reflected in their curriculum.”
So, will the 28-year-old actually make an appearance? Well, Valencia is open to the golden idea.
“My dream would be to have Harry show up to class (or just Zoom)—but I understand how busy he is,” Valencia noted. “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.”
For scholars that simply adore this idea—time will be of the essence since as Valencia explained, each class will cap at 20 students.
Safe to say that school will no longer be as it was.
(NBC and E! are part of the NBCUniversal family.)
