As part of a university degree, Harry Styles fans will soon be able to learn everything there is to know about the One Direction singer.
Texas State University is planning to offer the first ever course on Styles, in spring 2023.
Associate professor of digital history Louie Dean Valencia announced the new course, titled “Harry Styles and the cult of celebrity: identity, the internet, and European pop culture,” in a post on Twitter on 16 July.
This course is for people who wish to master the skill of oral sex, consuming cod sperm, and wearing dangly earrings.
The purpose of the Styles lesson is to “understand the cultural and political development in current stardom” by focusing on the 28-year-work old’s in both music and movies.
The subject matter of the course, according to Valencia, will include “gender and sexuality, race, class, nation and globalism, media, fashion, dan culture, internet culture, and consumerism.”
The coursework will apply to studies in pop culture, diversity, women’s and gender studies, international studies, and European or world history.
Students at universities with and without honours can both apply.
The musician’s “art” will be the main subject of Harry Styles’ university course.
Valencia told Dazed and Confused that in addition to reading extensively from Styles’ back catalogue, students will also study works by Susan Sontag and Bethan Roberts. They’ll even read comic books to learn about the comics that served as the model for Styles’ Eros character in Marvel’s Eternals.
“The only musician I’d thought about for such a course is Harry. Since the early days of One Direction, his work has been a part of my life, Valencia remarked.
Both One Direction and his solo music helped me get through my PhD coursework. With someone else, I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking this course.
He had the idea for the course while the COVID-19 pandemic was still in its early stages. Conversations with pupils on the “Watermelon Sugar” hitmaker sparked broader discussions about everything from self-love to the environment.
Already more than capable of instructing about Styles is Valencia. Additionally, he has scheduled shows for the icon in Austin, Texas, and Madrid, Spain. That came when he saw the London, England, exhibition dedicated to Styles fashion.
Given how enthusiastically the course was received on Twitter, the academic is undoubtedly not the only one who is a huge fan of Styles.
“One woman who was 75 years old reached out to me and left me a voice message expressing her desire to learn about how the world has changed in the last decade or so,” Valencia said.
“It was really touching to hear. For those who can’t attend our classes, we will be developing a podcast series as part of the course, which hopefully will give people a chance to be part of it.”
While Valencia hasn’t got around to chatting about the course with Styles himself yet, he hopes people understand what the module is about. It’s not about Styles’ personal life – it’s about his “arts”.
