For some time, I have been a voice in the wilderness trying to warn the nation of the growing problem of zombies in confrontations with police and traffic accidents. Now, at least one academic is with me. Arnold Blumberg at the University of Baltimore is offering a course on Zombies. Designated English 333, Zombie studies could produce a small cadre of Zombie-ready graduates to deal with the undead.
Blumberg is the author of “Zombiemania,” a book on zombies in culture and the curator of Geppi’s Entertainment Museum. Students will watch 16 movies on zombies and read zombie comics. Sweet. They can then skip a final and instead draw storyboards for zombie flicks.
My God, this idea is the type of thing that would only be thought of by a brain-dead, aimlessly walking . . . Zombie!
Source: Yahoo
Jonathan Turley
SWM,
I went out with Seven Sisters once, maybe more….they were after all Tri-Delts…..
I don’t think so Henman. Blouise probably went to a seven sisters college.
Blouise said: “I got a PE credit out of the way during a winter semester by taking golf…in the gymnasium…little whiffle balls…kid’s play clubs…it was great.” Was this by any chance at Glenn Beck University? I’m sorry, but I’ve had a case of Smart-Ass Syndrome ever since I got up this morning- the only cure for it is a slapstick to the keester and it’s busted.(The slapstick, not the keester).
what the classics teach is that if humans exist they are thinking about the same things whether in ancient Greece or modern China. That certain things are true and will always be true. The only thing that changes is the tools and the toys.
c
what the classics teach is that if humans exist they are thinking about the same things whether in ancient Greece or modern China. That certain things are true and will always be true. The only thing that changes is the tools and the toys.
Elaine M.,
I’m of the opinion that any subject can be taught rigorously (and, conversely, that any subject can be butchered). For an undergrad, I’d much rather have a student taking a course on a topic that seems silly at first blush, but that makes them really think and engages them with multiple disciplines, than have them in a class on a more traditional subject that is taught through rote memorization.
One of the benefits of taking a class like the one being offered on zombies is that you get experience analyzing pop culture in an academic style. As an undergrad I also took classes on ancient Greek medicine, post-Colonial African literature, the history of revolutions in Latin America, and the anthropology of language. In my day-to-day life, learning how to think critically about archetypes and tropes in pop culture was by far the most useful.
Here’s a snippet from the story’s coverage in the LA Times:
Jonathan Shorr, chair of the university’s school of communications design, wanted a rotation of “interesting, off-the-wall” courses for a new minor in pop culture. But when Blumberg pitched him a course about the walking dead, he says, “I hit the side of my monitor a couple times thinking, ‘Do I have this right? Did he say zombies?’ ”
The more he thought about it, however, the more intrigued Shorr became. Zombies have shown great resilience as a storytelling device and in this era of gloom and dread, their popularity is cresting. Maybe they would be a perfect hook to get students talking about sociology, literature and a bevy of other disciplines that can sound stuffy.
“It’s a back door into a lot of subjects,” Shorr says. “They think they’re taking this wacko zombie course, and they are. But on the way, they learn how literature and mass media work, and how they come to reflect our times.”
http://www.latimes.com/features/odd-news/bs-md-ub-zombies-20100906,0,5675306,full.story
Elaine M: That is one great video- I had no idea George Bush was that smart. As a bonus, there is another great video there showing the Iraqi journalist throwing two shoes at President Bush. I can’t help myself- every time I see that video, I jump to my feet and start shouting “Give him more shoes! Give him more shoes!”.
Swarthmore mom,
I commuted to a state college in a neighboring community. I got one helluva an education there when I was studying to be a teacher. Elementary Education majors were required to take no fewer than five science courses–biology (two semesters), weather and climate, earth science, physical science, and nature studies. We also had to take American history, history of Western Civilization, college algebra (two semesters), US geography, world geography, economics, psychology, writing composition (two semesters), sociology, test and measurement, art appreciation, music appreciation, Amercan literature, British literature, public speaking…and a number of education courses. We didn’t get to take many electives.
I decided on a specialization in science–so I took additional courses in chemistry and physics (in lieu of physical science), genetics, geology, conservation. I can’t remember what else.
Elaine Both of my children went to liberal arts colleges. I went to a liberal arts college for one year but graduated from a state university. I nudged them to go liberal arts colleges but they ultimately made the decision. Neither of then regret it.
OOOPPPSSS!!!
Spelling correction: I thought the story was about a murderer with a guilty CONSCIENCE.
Buddha,
I dunno. Considering what it costs to send a kid to college these days, I wouldn’t think it was okay for my kid to take a course on zombies. If certain young people’s inetersts are that vapid–maybe they shouldn’t be wasting their/their parents’ money on college tuition.
I read Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” more than four decades ago. My memory may fail me at the moment so you can correct me if I’m wrong. I thought the story was about a murderer with a guilty consience.
My daughter attended a small liberal arts college where all of the students have to participate in the school’s Humanities Program, Portraits of Human Greatness, during their freshman and sophomore years.
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From the college website:
Through readings, lectures, seminars, and a varied program of films, concerts, exhibitions, and stage presentations, the Humanities Program seeks to confront the student with questions of value, moral choice, and the real significance of human life.
The first year consists of ten units, each a portrait of human greatness, which range from ancient Greece through the European Middle Ages. In examining these portraits, the student experiences diverse value systems and can face the questions of why and whether a given individual or portrait can be called “great.”
The second year consists of portraits of individuals arranged chronologically from the Italian Renaissance to the 20th century. Each individual, great in his or her own right, has far-reaching social, cultural, or political significance.
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I’m not sure my daughter appreciated all the courses that she was required to take when she was in college–just as I didn’t. I began to value the rich education I got as I grew older.
Byron,
While I agree that there are better subjects for a whole class than zombies, remember a key function of university classes isn’t what to think, but how to think critically. And as far as critical thinking goes, applying it to a contemporary analysis of zombies (which are a large part of modern cinema and literature if one includes such works as “The Monkey’s Paw” by DuMaurier and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Poe both of which are arguably zombie stories rather than ghost stories) is as good a way to teach critical thinking skills as any other subject. Keeping in mind the often vapid interests of some minds at that age, zombies are a way to overcome a “lack of interest” gap that some classical studies courses have to deal with in “selling their value” to students.
gYGES/jAMES M:
Zombies would not make a good class, maybe a portion of a class on Caribbean religions. Isn’t there so much that needs to be taught? Like old dead Greeks, Romans, Chinese, etc. that Zombies would take time away?
And zombies are real!!!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoXgRtDysLY&fs=1&hl=en_US]
Gyges,
Exactly. You can practice analysis, critical thinking, and writing with zombies just as easily as 18th century Romantic writers. If the subject matter gets the students interested, so much the better.
As an undergrad I took a class called Science in Popular Culture, in which we looked at archetypes of the Scientist. I think it was a very worthwhile class, and I ended up using a project I’d done in it as the inspiration for my thesis.
I’m not sure how I’d structure a zombie class in the English department, but I think there’s a kick-ass history class to be had there as well. I’d do it by looking at the rise of zombies in popular culture and how their portrayal reflects social anxieties about race, nuclear weapons, and most recently infection / biological weapons.
Quick question for everyone: Would you be opposed to an upper level English class dedicated to Classical Greek plays? What about early science fiction? The lyrics of Bob Dylan songs? For better or worse, Zombies are part of the modern iconography; they’re an archetype used in modern story telling.
I got a PE credit out of the way during a winter semester by taking golf … in the gymnasium … little whiffle balls … kid’s play clubs … it was great.
Hey what’s a Zombie with you. If I could take courses like the Origin and Theory of Country and Western Music in the USA, The Beatles Era and a International Business course called Economic Theory’s in the US “based upon a magazine” then why the hell not teach about the undead. Haven’t we had back to back President that were Zombies? Oh, excuse me…Puppets……
I like silly, I really do but …. Zombies? Oh well, it’s getting close to Halloween ….
It is incredibly important that professors teach courses with no value other than getting paid to stroke their own hobbyist obsessions. After all, when it comes to actually useful topics and skills, GOD that is so boring one can only keep up the pretense of enthusiasm for teaching those dumb little bastards for SO LONG.
Then its time to party! With Zombies!