All I Really Need to Know I Learned From TV and Movies

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 of this discussion-based first year seminar. Specifically, we will examine four important content areas: civic engagement, diversity, ethics, and leadership using lessons learned from the sitcom The Office.”

HBO’s The Wire and its Contribution to Understanding Urban Inequality
Where: Harvard University
Description: “Although journalists and media critics around the world have heaped deserved acclaim on The Wire, many people do not recognize its contribution to social science. Students in this seminar will watch, critique, and discuss selected episodes of The Wire along with assigned readings on urban inequality that relate to these episodes. The assigned readings will feature academic books and research articles that describe and analyze life and experiences in inner city neighborhoods, as well as the social, economic, political, and cultural factors that shape or influence these experiences.”

Topics in Women’s Studies: Twilight: The Text and the Fandom
Where: California State University at San Marcos
Description: ”Examines the Twilight saga and the resulting fandom.  Explores Twlight in relation to the social and cultural construction of gender and gendered identities in contemporary U.S. culture. Using an intersectional lens emphasizing gender, race, class, sexuality, and belief, provides students with the conceptual and analytical foundations to think more deeply about popular culture and its impact.  Covers vampire lore, the romantic core of the series, female characters and fans, the depiction of men and masculinity, religious contexts, race and white privilege, the franchising of Twilight, and various cultural contexts such as abstinence only education and the rise of internet fandoms.”