The 15 Strangest College Courses in America

Special thanks to The Colossus of Rhodey for this one. I didn’t have a clue what I would do for today’s post, so pardon me for the stretch.

Online Colleges Blog posted their 15 strangest college courses in America. Being strange, however, doesn’t make them bad. Ok, some of them are. Underwater basket weaving, for example. However, three in particular seem like good elective courses. 

The only reason to see the prequels.(image source: Star Wars.com)

Take for example Centre College’s “Myth and Science Fiction: Star Wars, The Matrix, and Lord of the Rings”. Knowing modern myths are as important to up and coming writers as the classics of Greek and Norse legend. A lot of thought and effort was put into the mythology of these worlds (disclaimer, I’ve only seen the first Matrix movie, so I could be wrong), and for a writer trying to create a fictional universe from the ground up, studying what they did right and wrong would be a great way to further one’s own universe-building skills. Simon Furman should take these classes. For that matter, I wouldn’t mind take a few myself.

Then there’s the “Science of Superheroes” course offered by the University of California at Irvine. What better way to make science interesting than looking at the psuedo-science of the comic book multiverse? I find them to be some of the more interesting science shows on the Discovery family of networks, from Bat-gadgets to Spider-Powers. From the Fox News article linked to at the above:

Michael Dennin is teaching the freshman seminar again this semester, and said the course focuses on the very real principles of physics using the very fictitious superpowers wielded by the likes of Spider-Man, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman.

“It gives me a chance to talk about real science but in a context that is very familiar to the students,” said Dennin.

They study the physics of flying and fluid dynamics that allows Superman to zoom through the air, and discuss spider silk, which Spider-Man relies on for his death-defying swings from skyscraper to skyscraper and real spiders use to spin their webs. (The substance is currently being developed for human use because of its incredible strength.)

This could also discourage kids from playing with gamma-rays. 🙂 Here’s a bit of proof of how interesting the course could be from Dr. Jim Kakalios, who actually wrote a book comparing real world physics to comic physics.

I wonder if they need a guest teacher?(image source: Marvel Database)

And that’s part 1. There are three more parts, and the Mythbusters and other science sources have used the superhero world to make science interesting. Not bad for Stan Lee, who’s idea of “science” was to pretty much pull it out of his…hat…and call it good.

“The Science of Harry Potter”, however, at Frostburg State University, doesn’t make sense to me. Harry Potter is about magic, and not so much science.

Then there’s the University of California, Berkley’s “The Strategy of Starcraft”. Actually, this one confuses me in light of all the anti-military protests that go on out there. However, a good Strategy game will tax your decision-making skills, including quick decisions, without putting real people in danger. And not just battle strategies, as you also have to manage resources and people. Sim City would also be a good one, and I wonder how many politicians, especially mayors, could benefit from that game.

Some of the others, however, are a stretch (no pun intended, Reed). I doubt anyone taking the Porn course really would take it for any reason than to watch pornograpy, and some of the others, like the Star Trek/Simpsons and Philosophy courses or studying the “family and social roles” in soap operas would end up being anything other than fans sitting around discussing the shows. That’s what conventions and forums/blogs are for.

And I know all I need to about zombies. They won’t matter, since the robots are going to get us all first. Well, where do you think the zombies are going to come from?