DETROIT (AP) - Dozens of Michigan State University students survived a zombie pandemic this summer.Or at least a class about one.
For the past seven weeks, Glenn Stutzky, an instructor in the School of Social Work, taught a course not previously offered at the East Lansing university.
Called "Surviving the Coming Zombie Apocalypse - Catastrophes and Human Behavior," the online class, which wrapped up on Friday, encouraged students to consider how human behavior and nature change after catastrophes, both historical and hypothetical.
In this case, the hypothetical was a zombie apocalypse.
On the surface, it may not sound like the most rigorously academic class ever offered.
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.....And American higher ed dies not with a bang, but through horseshit classes on things that will never happen.
ReplyDeleteI don't get it. Students *are* zombies.
ReplyDeleteSo he's teaching sociology/psychology/human behavior using a framework the kids will find fun and interesting? Sounds legit.
ReplyDeleteOh, the exercise sounds fine. I just meant, why would zombies want to oppose a zombie pandemic?
DeleteIf everybody's a zombie then there are no fresh people to eat, and the shambling undead starve to their second deaths. Zombies are like vampires; both creatures have to keep their numbers down to survive.
DeleteI'm with Snarky. We get trashed for not being relevant or entertaining, and then when we try to be we get trashed for being lightweight or silly. You can't win.
ReplyDeleteYuuuup. Agree with you and Snarky.
DeleteThe CDC's Zombie Apocalypse site is a case in point: (http://www.bt.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies.asp) It's just a "fun new way of teaching the importance of emergency preparedness." Personally, I'm terrified of zombies (I grew up next to a cemetery) so I haven't gone through the site. But yeah, they're trying to reach a younger demographic, one that is in tune with this kind of stuff to teach them about evacuation strategies and what supplies to have in case of an emergency. And now, you know, with face-eating incidents on the rise, it might actually be useful.
I'll join the crowd agreeing with Snarky. It depends how far you take it and how much time you spend on it, but as a basic approach, I think this is legit. In an international relations class of mine, I had students use models of international relations regimes to analyze the Star Wars series. The fact that it engages student interest immediately is fun, and helps. But it isn't the primary reason I would do this. It is something the students already know, so you don't have to do a content reading or lecture before you get to the analysis. You can teach the analysis and practice it without new and unfamiliar content getting in the way. THEN, in the next step, you can look at "real" scenarios with students who have some theory background in their pockets. It is a bridge to the "real" content. It does not replace the "real" content.
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