Texas State University has announced a course on the British singer and what he represents on the pop scene. See you in class next spring.
Harry Styles becomes a subject of study. The British singer will soon be at the heart of a new course taught at Texas State University. Launching in the spring of 2023, it will be titled “Harry Styles and the Cult of Celebrity: Identity, the Internet, and European Pop Culture.”
The course will be taught by Louie Dean Valencia, lecturer in digital history, graduate in European history and specialized in countercultures:
“Over the past two years, I couldn’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with students that started with our shared love of Harry’s music and quickly evolved into broader societal questions about gender. , sexuality, ethnicity, gun control (…)”, he explains to CNN.
Large programme
By focusing on this artist whose outfits and speeches regularly challenge gender norms, her course will aim to highlight “the cultural and political development of modern celebrity, linked to questions about gender. and sexuality, ethnicity, class, nation and globalization, media, fashion, fan phenomena, internet culture and consumerism.”
Louie Dean Valencia will analyze the 28-year-old singer’s trajectory from his beginnings with the boy band One Direction (when he was 16) to the successful solo career he has been pursuing since 2017. He will also discuss the artists who have inspired the singer, and mentions in particular the writings of feminist activist Susan Sontag and philosopher Alain de Botton.
“We will not focus on his private life but on his art and public activism, as well as the literature, philosophy, music and films he cited among his influences”, he adds on Twitter. “The same way we study the works of Shakespeare, Toni Morrison, Virginia Woolf or any other great artist.”
Harry Styles isn’t the first pop star to be studied in college. Beyoncé received the same honors at the University of Copenhagen in 2017, for a course that focused on feminism and African-American identity. Earlier this year, New York University announced a course on Taylor Swift, whose objective was to study the trajectory of the singer to highlight what she says about the American sociopolitical climate.
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