15 Bizarre College Courses

[missflick]

http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-cu...hat-0?hpt=Sbin

A geek's dream.

[Angelskates]

It's really just the course titles that are interesting (I wouldn't even call them bizarre) - and I think it's a great way to draw students in. There are several there I think would be interesting to taking, and I like the practical approach it sounds like most of them use.

[Buzz]

Thanks for the link. Some of those truly are very strange but the cyberporn class not so much because I believe it is a growing problem. But a class on Harry Potter and another on Lady Gaga?!

[Skittl1321]

There was a poultry science class at my school that was affectionatly known as the "chicken sex" class. I don't remember what the actual course was, but I went to a lecture by the professor and it was a sort-of psychology of human relationships as demonstrated by poultry. I do know that poultry science people loved the class.

[michiruwater]

We have a Harry Potter Lit course at EMU. It uses something practically everyone my age has read to delve into all the Greek myths and other literature that played a part in the development of Harry's world, as well as reading (or re-reading for many people) the books themselves of course. I think utilizing something that college-age kids can all relate to and love to teach them about the classics in a way they'll appreciate is brilliant, personally.

[Erica Lee]

My uni had various courses with similar "catchy" titles. Most often, it's just the prof using a popular culture example to illustrate theory.

So it's not really a course about Lady Gaga... it's a sociology course that uses Lady Gaga as an example - one current students can relate to.

My philosophy teacher was in love with the Simpsons and often used them to illustrate things - so even though the course I took was just called "Intro to Philosophy" (yawn), we had a lot of pop culture infused into it.

Often when picking courses, you've only got a title and a few sentences upon which to base your decision. These sure do catch your attention and I'm sure the catchy titles have increased enrollment.

Some of those truly are unique though... Maple Syrup... yes, please!

[agalisgv]

The Harry Potter class is a science class where they look at contemporary scientific developments

[znachki]

They didn't put any Buffy Studies courses on the list! I mean, they even a have a journal for goodness sakes! The Journal of Buffy Studies www.slayageonline.com

and conferences!

[wickedwitch]

There was a Eurovision course at my college.

[vesperholly]

I took Young Adult lit in college, and sadly it was not the section that read all the Harry Potter books. This was back in 99-00, before the first movie came out, so that class was pretty ahead of its time.

There was also a class called 7 Wonders that Shook the Universe. That and Astronomy were science electives designed specifically for those of us not majoring in science.

[IceAlisa]

Yeah, OK. I admit I would take the Harry Potter course.

[Prancer]

I'd take the YouTube class; in fact, since it's an open course, I'm going to check it out. YouTube can be an amazingly useful tool for students.

[overedge]

My school has a Simpsons course (in the mass communications department). A lot of students sign up thinking it's going to be TV watching for credit, but quickly drop out when they find they actually have to think and write critically about the issues the show presents (e.g. aging, families, workplace structures, religion).

Calling these courses "weird" is a little judgemental IMHO. Would the writer be happier if all these courses were purely theory, and didn't try to engage with things in the world that could illustrate the concepts and interest people?

[cailuj365]

The Harry Potter science course sounds really cool.

[Japanfan]

It's really just the course titles that are interesting (I wouldn't even call them bizarre) - and I think it's a great way to draw students in.

ITA and think most of the courses are interesting - you can find much of depth in contemporary cultures (i.e. daytime soaps, Star Trek, Harry Potter).

The Maple Syrup class I'm not so sure about, though I'm sure there is an art to maple syrup.