Harry Styles, a subject of academia? Would you study a college course on this popstar?
Now this is innovation at its best...
When you think of Harry Styles, we doubt that the first thing that comes to mind is college, right?
If it is, then we assume you have a vividly fantastical imagination... Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
Many college students at Texas State University will be graded on this Brit popstar as a new course based on him will be part of their syllabus.
"Louie Dean Valencia, associate professor of digital history at Texas State, announced last week that he'll helm a spring 2023 class entitled "Harry Styles and the Cult of Celebrity: Identity, the Internet and European Pop Culture." (CNN)
Sounds pretty progressive and we love it...
If there is one thing that we believe education should be, it is innovative.
Students should be exposed to courses that test their ability to think outside of the norm and apply their learnings to the current state of affairs in the world. Judging from the title, it sounds like this course has peaked many of their interests.
Of course, the announcement of this course prompted many students to contemplate their futures at their own colleges and looking at the possibility of transferring to Texas State.
"The course centers the ever-popular Brit in a wider discussion on 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," according to Valencia. (CNN)
The professor shared his motivation behind creating this course, saying that over the last two years he has had so many conversations with students that started with the love for Harry Styles' music.
For more from East Coast Radio
The conversations always transitioned into "larger societal questions about gender, sexuality, race, gun control, sustainability because of Harry's art." (CNN)
This is the type of educator that gets a gold star in our books. When an educator can take the interests of the students and transition it into a way of sparking an insightful way of learning, that's a win...
"Self-expression, and comfort with oneself, is a big part of Harry's message -- along with treating people with kindness," Valencia said. "A lot of people, myself included, feel like they've grown up with him -- and so there is a connection." (CNN)
His hopes for the students who take the course is to understand that history is what they are currently living through and that they can learn from Styles self acceptance...
It seems that studying academia can also be an art form that inspires a positive self image.
Image Courtesy of Instagram