Students who are in the mood for a change of pace during their current academic year might think about checking out one of the many bizarre and unusual classes currently being offered on our nation’s campuses.

1. “Oh Look, a Chicken!” Embracing Distraction as a Way of Knowing, Belmont College – This class is described as developing knowledge “through embracing what it means to be distracted,” i.e. students to welcome and utilize the many distractions of everyday life.
2. Theory and History of Video Games, Swarthmore – deals with “the historical, cultural and formal perspectives on video games, tracing their emergence as new medium, big business, and social force.”
3. Physics for Future Presidents, UC Berkeley – How to become well-versed in “topics like spy satellites, medical imaging, nuclear weapons and energy conservation.”
4. Joy of Garbage, Santa Clara University – This picks up where “Toy Story 3” left off and tells you how your “unwanted junk is burned, reused, shipped abroad or dumed on minority communities.”
5. The Textual Appeal of Tupac Shakur, University of Washington, “explores the philosophical, historical and literary influences of the late rapper and activist.”
6. Invented Languages: Klingon and Beyond, University of Texas, Austin, explores “the Star Trek language and Esperanto, among others.”
7. (Mental Floss.com) – The Sociology of Fame and Lady Gaga, University of South Carolina, doesn’t hand out extra credit for “wearing a sirloin to class, but . . .  focuses on the culture of fame as exemplified by Lady Gaga.”

& & &

Deborah Lambert writes the Squeaky Chalk column for Accuracy in Academia ^[1].

If you would like to comment on this article, e-mail mal.kline@academia.org ^[2].