<p>I bet they can all be consolidated under a new major: 'Decline of Western Civilization, General Studies'.</p>
<p>haha I go to Vanderbilt and actually listed the LOST class as one of my choices for a writing seminar, but I didn't get in!</p>
<p>that was amazing.</p>
<p>I would maybe take the Muppets class. Seriously, haven't you guys ever wondered about the Muppets? It would be interesting to learn about how the puppeteers do what they do. I could not care less about the "Social Impact?!" of the Muppets, but learning about the puppetry behind them would be interesting.</p>
<ol>
<li>Muppet Magic: Jim Henson's Art
University of California-Santa Cruz
This long-running course taught by professor and puppeteer Kathy Foley examines "the artistic and social impact of the Muppets on American puppetry." In addition to introducing students to "puppet theory," the class promises screenings of Muppet movies and shows, as well as some "special guest lecturers." But don't expect Kermit. He only does commencement speeches.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>Pornography: The Writing of Prostitutes
Wesleyan University
Early in the new millennium, porn studies (or Pornology) became a fashionable discipline. Several colleges offered classes that incorporated the work of Annie Sprinkle and some dude with a mustache. But only Wesleyan associate professor Hope Weisman took the pedagogy one step further and, alongside assigning readings by Roland Barthes and Susan Sontag, required students to make their own pornography as a final project. One photographed herself and her boyfriend engaging in oral sex, while another taped his friend masturbating to the music of Ella Fitzgerald (and got an A). After two years, the class was canceled, but that didn't stop Wesleyan's workhorse students from exploring the topic through independent studies.</li>
</ol>
<p>*Academic conferences ruminate on Morrissey and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. *</p>
<p>Those are basically my two favorite things in the entire world. If I could go to college to just study them, that would be like...the best college experience ever. JK...Well kinda not really.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>even more hilarious is the link at the bottom that lists the "Nation's Nine Worst Colleges".</p>
<p>Boy is this stuff a scream. Drew, get a better title for your thread so more people see this.</p>
<p>a bunch of my friends are in the Super Smash Brothers Exco (Experimental College) class here at Oberlin.</p>
<p>One thing you should keep in mind is that most of the classes taught in the Exco are just "for fun" classes that are in no way meant to constitute the bulk of one's curriculum. They only count for one credit, and no more than 5 Exco credits can count towards graduation, if I remember correctly. </p>
<p>They are just a relaxing, "for fun" class.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Even more hilarious is the link at the bottom that lists the "Nation's Nine Worst Colleges".
Boy is this stuff a scream. Drew, get a better title for your thread so more people see this.
[/quote]
Agreed! Drew...get this in the mainstream...too funny.</p>
<p>lmao at the MSU comments.</p>
<p>You should break this and post in the threads for each university if possible. Some reactions would not be as nice as others, of course.</p>
<p><em>I bet they can all be consolidated under a new major: 'Decline of Western Civilization, General Studies'.</em></p>
<p>Agreed, while people in other nations are learning "boring" subjects like engineering and computer science, kids here are learning how to make X-rated movies and watch Hip Hop.</p>
<p>Something similar is happening to our elementary/middle schools too, with "cuddle puddles" sprouting up at public schools all over our nation. On that topic, someone posted something to the effect of: "While Chinese kids are learning how to do math and science, American kids are learning how to 'discover themselves' by making love on hallway floors. Where lies the future of of our world?" (he said something to that effect, probably phrasd it better, the boards are sadly down now, so I couldn't even go to the archives to check)</p>
<p>A friend of mine who I respect a lot happens to think #5 (Fake News) and #8 (Invented Languages, including Esperanto) are worth studying as part of a liberal-arts education, and I'm inclined to agree with her - they probably have some value in today's world. But it still sounds funny to hear about, and the rest are obviously a total farce.</p>
<p>Their 'Bad Education' article is a good read.</p>
<p>I think #5 is the most reputable of the 10, I mean 'fake news' is getting really big. It's really not thaat different than a 'media and society' class</p>
<p>Good grief...at almost $1000/credit hour for private school tuition, a flaky, worthless course like one of these had better not show up on my son's schedule unless, of course, he's willing to pay for it!</p>