Only In Vegas?
When I went to college I took a few unusual courses. I took a class called “Ancient Sports” where we learned about sports in Greece and Rome and the start of the Olympics. I took a class called, “Blacks in Film” where we looked at the history of movies made specifically by or for African Americans. So I know that it’s not all History and Math and Science.
But … I learned recently that there is a class at UNLV on … beer. They not only learn, they actually brew beer in class. A “Big Beer Bash” is held during the semester.
Two thoughts: (1) This has got to be the most popular course at UNLV, and (2) And we wonder why America’s losing it’s place as the leader of the world?
It’s not Vegas – it’s just colleges in general. At my former employer one of my colleagues was tasked with publishing a book each year called “Comedy and Tragedy” that detailed some of these courses. Among the favs:
At Princeton you can take “English 404: Huey, Dewey, and Louie: The Capitalist Tragedy of Emasculated Ducks With No Pants.”
At Bowdoin: “Women’s Studies 248c, Music and Gender — Is Beethoven’s ninth symphony a marvel of abstract architecture culminating in a gender-free paean to human solidarity, or does it model the processes of rape?”
At Montclair State: “How to Watch Television”
At Centre College: “The Art of Walking”. I’m not even kidding.
At UC-Berkeley: “Rhetoric 24 Freshman Seminar: Arguing with Judge Judy: Popular ‘Logic’ on TV Judge Shows.”
What’s dumber than the colleges offering them and the students taking them? The parents who are paying for them.