College courses based around television shows or movies are nothing new. Professors long ago figured out that for many students, the lure of pop culture is as irresistible as the aroma of buttered popcorn.

A scene from NBC's "The Office." (Paul Drinkwater, Reuters, NBC, Newscom)

But once the classroom door is shut and the syllabus distributed, it quickly becomes clear that the semester ahead will be no matinee. Readings, essays, discussions, and tests await. 

In the past few weeks, Tweed has heard about several new courses linked to current television shows and movies. Do you or your colleagues teach one? Let us know in the comments.

Here are three courses that we found intriguing:

Lessons Learned at The Office
Where: Albion College
Description: "What are the key issues facing businesses and individuals in today’s society? That is the question we will explore as part ...

The 2010 Ig Nobel Ceremony (theme: Bacteria), which takes place Thursday night at Harvard University, will be streamed live on YouTube starting at 7:15 p.m. ET. People who prefer their science with a side of humor, like the folks at the Chemical Heritage Foundation, in Philadelphia, are planning their own viewing parties.  

If you've never had the pleasure of attending an Ig Nobel ceremony or watching video of one, we give you last year's acceptance speech by Elena N. Bodnar, who shared the Ig Nobel Prize for Public Health for inventing a brassiere that can be quickly converted into a pair of gas masks — one for the bra wearer and the other for a lucky bystander. In this case, there are two lucky bystanders, the Nobel laureates Paul Krugman and Wolfgang Ketterle.

The first shot in the war for campus civility will be fired in ... New Jersey?

Not exactly, but faculty members and students at Rutgers University are embarking this week on a two-year effort  to "cultivate small acts of courtesy and compassion" on the New Brunswick campus. Project Civility, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports, will "explore politeness and mannerliness" to foster respect at Rutgers.

Two years ago, Pier M. Forni, a professor of Italian literature at the Johns Hopkins University, gamely played along as a Chronicle reporter pelted him with rude questions about his own institution's Civility Initiative. On Wednesday Mr. Forni will speak at Rutgers as the university begin its journey into the politeness zone.

Throughout the year, Rutgers will explore the issue with discussions on such topics as bullying, sportsmanship, politics, and technological change.

Kathleen Hull, a...

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas — unless you're arrogant enough post it to your Twitter feed, as Meghan McCain did last night.

Ms. McCain, daughter of Sen. John McCain and a blogger for the Daily Beast, was scheduled to speak today at Juniata College, in Huntingdon, Pa., as part of a tour to promote her new book, Dirty Sexy Politics. On Friday her publicist notified Juniata that Ms. McCain was canceling her appearance due to "several unforeseen professional responsibilities."

Those responsibilities, according to her Twitter feed, involved a trip to Las Vegas:

Later she had a reservations row with the front desk at the MGM Grand before heading over to the Palms. There she was evidently treated according to the high standards to which she's become accustomed. —Don Troop

Ohio University's mascot staged a premeditated attack on Ohio State's mascot before last Saturday's game, in which the Buckeyes drubbed the Bobcats 43-7. Brandon Hanning, a.k.a. Rufus the Bobcat, told Ohio University's student newspaper that the whole reason he had become a mascot was to get an opportunity to tackle Brutus Buckeye. Not surprisingly, Ohio University has fired Mr. Hanning, who is now a student at Hocking College.

In other football-rivalry news, here's how Alabama fans punish naughty children at the mall.

And finally, Brown University's a cappella group helps out with a surprise marriage proposal. Best wishes to the happy couple!

Just days into the fall semester, professors say the excuses for missing class have already begun to flow: food-borne illnesses, fender-benders, roommate squabbles, and registration snafus.

And then there are the grandparents, those poor souls who wander about dead but unaware of it — like Bruce Willis's character in The Sixth Sense — conveniently killed off by college students whose tuition they might even be paying. 

One commenter on a Chronicle Forums discussion thread on student excuses suggests sending out warning notices to the old folks: "The midterm exam for [course and number] is scheduled for [date]. This puts your life in danger.  We recommend that you get a physical exam before that date and avoid all unnecessary travel until the test is over. Grandmothers are particularly at risk."

Another asks, "Is it just me or is the 'grandparent who dies' excuse being replaced...

Every semester they arrive on college campuses: authors, actors, down-on-their-luck politicians, and aging musicians. They are celebrity guest lecturers, and while they are ballyhooed for their life experiences, their star appeal is what got them in the door.

This fall's crop includes two classic rockers, a retired four-star general, a former South American leader, and an author:

* Todd Rundgren, the rock star and producer best known for his hit "Hello It's Me," will teach half of a two-week honors seminar at Indiana University. Mr. Rundgren will teach alongside an IU music professor, Glenn Gass, who met the musician while on sabbatical in Hawaii, according to a press release from the university.

"The kids start taking the bus together and the next thing you know, you're going to cookouts at Todd's," Mr. Gass says in the release. "I quickly learned that everything they said about...

You've probably already seen this video of a stump speech by an overzealous candidate for treasurer of Stark County, Ohio, which went viral last week.

We know more than a few people with college degrees, including several with Ph.D.'s who get irked because The Chronicle doesn't refer to them as "Dr." on second reference. But never before have we seen anyone state his academic credentials so emphatically as Phil Davison does at :43 in the following video. And don't miss the muffed Einstein quote at 1:35. (Mr. Davison, we regret to inform, did not win his party's nomination.)

Earlier this week, we profiled Brown University's puzzle club, which produced all the crosswords for The New York Times this week. Brown helpfully produced this charming video about the arrangement.

Finally, we ran across a rap video about Eastern Kentucky University that was too profane to post in a...

Take one glance at the list of artists and bands that have performed at Calvin College over the past five years, and it is clear that the student-activities office there knows well at least one vein of music that thoughtful people are listening to these days. Some of it is overtly Christian (Jars of Clay, Wovenhand), much of it could be called spiritual (Emmylou Harris, Iron and Wine), and some of it is just plain indie (Jenny Lewis, Grizzly Bear, Death Cab for Cutie). 

The New Pornographers, a critically respected Canadian power-pop collective with intelligent lyrics, would seem to fit right into that musical continuum. Indeed, the band was booked to play at Calvin on October 15 in the college's Fieldhouse Complex.

But on Tuesday morning The Grand Rapids Press reported that the gig had been canceled because of the New Pornographers' name.

"The band's name, to some, is mistakenly as...