NationStates Jolt Archive

http://www.yaf.org/press/12_21_05.html

These students deserve a refund. I am curious why there is no similar list of bizarre conservative leaning courses? Maybe the conservatives just aren't dumb enough to attend or pay for something so stupid...

1 Princeton University’s The Cultural Production of Early Modern Women examines “prostitutes,” “cross-dressing,” and “same-sex eroticism” in 16th - and 17th - century England, France, Italy and Spain (emphasis added).

2 The Unbearable Whiteness of Barbie: Race and Popular Culture in the United States at Occidental College in California explores ways “which scientific racism has been put to use in the making of Barbie [and] to an interpretation of the film The Matrix as a Marxist critique of capitalism.”

3 At The John Hopkins University, students in the Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll in Ancient Egypt class view slideshows of women in ancient Egypt “vomiting on each other,” “having intercourse,” and “fixing their hair.”

4 Like something out of a Hugh Hefner film, Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania offers the class Lesbian Novels Since World War II.

5 Alfred University’s Nip, Tuck, Perm, Pierce, and Tattoo: Adventures with Embodied Culture, mostly made up of women, encourages students to think about the meaning behind “teeth whitening, tanning, shaving, and hair dyeing.” Special projects include visiting a tattoo-and-piercing studio and watching Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bodybuilding film, Pumping Iron.

6 Harvard University’s Marxist Concepts of Racism examines “the role of capitalist development and expansion in creating racial inequality” (emphasis added). Although Karl Marx didn’t say much on race, leftist professors in this course extrapolate information on “racial oppression” and “racial antagonism."

7 Occidental College—making the Dirty Dozen list twice—offers a course in Stupidity, which compares the American presidency to Beavis and Butthead.

8 Students at the University of California—Los Angeles need not wonder what it means to be a lesbian. The Psychology of the Lesbian Experience reviews “various aspects of lesbian experience” including the “impact of heterosexism/stigma, gender role socialization, minority status of women and lesbians, identity development within a multicultural society, changes in psychological theories about lesbians in sociohistorical context.”

9 Duke University’s American Dreams/American Realities course supposedly unearths “such myths as ‘rags to riches,’ ‘beacon to the world,’ and the ‘frontier,’ in defining the American character” (emphasis added).

10 Amherst College in Massachusetts offers the class Taking Marx Seriously: “Should Marx be giving another chance?” Students in this course are asked to question if Marxism still has any “credibility” remaining, while also inquiring if societies can gain new insights by “returning to [Marx’s] texts.” Coming to Marx’s rescue, this course also states that Lenin, Stalin, and Pol Pot misapplied the concepts of Marxism.

11 Brown University’s Black Lavender: A Study of Black Gay & Lesbian Plays “address[es] the identities and issues of Black gay men and lesbians, and offer[s] various points of view from within and without the Black gay and lesbian artistic communities.”

12 Students enrolled in the University of Michigan’s Topics in Literary Studies: Ancient Greek/Modern Gay Sexuality have the pleasure of reading a “wide selection of ancient Greek (and a few Roman) texts that deal with same-sex love, desire, gender dissidence, and sexual behavior.”

enjoy the laughs!

ROFLMAO!! OMG! People actually attend those courses?? And some wonder why our educational system is having problems! Sigh.

I don't even understand some of the titles and catch-phrases! WTF is "gender dissonance," for example???

Yep, nothing more horrible than institutes of higher learning using the classroom to explore human nature in all of its bizarre and esoteric cultural traditions. After all, it's more important that we remember that, since Adam, all people are lilly white heterosexuals who only have sex after marriage, only for procreation, and only in the missionary position.

Color me sarcastically appalled.

WTF is "gender dissonance," for example???

It's what James Thurber covered in "Men, Women, and Dogs" and "The Middle Aged Man on the Flying Trapeze". ;)

"Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead." -Thurber

It's what James Thurber covered in "Men, Women, and Dogs" and "The Middle Aged Man on the Flying Trapeze". ;)

"Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead." -Thurber
Hmmm. That must be one of my blind spots. The only "dissonance" I see there is that between the terms "healthy" and "dead!" :D

Yep, nothing more horrible than institutes of higher learning using the classroom to explore human nature in all of its bizarre and esoteric cultural traditions. After all, it's more important that we remember that, since Adam, all people are lilly white heterosexuals who only have sex after marriage, only for procreation, and only in the missionary position.

Color me sarcastically appalled.
Well said. I don't find it any more unusual to study lesbian novels since 1960 than I would find studying, say, Shakespeare's tragedies. Both are a close look at a very selective area of literature. I think it's the magical word "lesbian" that gets some folks all in a twitter.

I think it's the magical word "lesbian" that gets some folks all in a twitter.
Just replace "lesbian" with "anything out of the ordinary" and you win a prize!

I am curious why there is no similar list of bizarre conservative leaning courses? Maybe the conservatives just aren't dumb enough to attend or pay for something so stupid...

Although I agree that those are some pretty rediculous courses, you have to consider the source as to why there are no "conservative" courses that are as bizarre. From your sources own website: ...As the principal outreach organization of the Conservative Movement, the Foundation introduces thousands of American youth to these principles. We accomplish our mission by providing essential conferences, seminars, educational materials, internships and speakers to young people across the country.

http://www.yaf.org/whoweare.asp

I am sure there are classes which teach that pro-choice advocates are really muslim terrorists at some colleges, and not just at Bob Jones University. From reading up on YAF's website, it looks like they are almost a personality cult for Ronald Reagan.

http://www.yaf.org/press/12_21_05.html

These students deserve a refund. I am curious why there is no similar list of bizarre conservative leaning courses? Maybe the conservatives just aren't dumb enough to attend or pay for something so stupid...

It seems to be not so much a list of PC courses as a list of gay courses. Would Biblical studies count as a "conservative course" in you mind? There are plenty of those around.

How do you know that no conservative students study these subjects? If we're going to get into flamebaiting, perhaps conservatives are too stupid to get into these courses?

Well said. I don't find it any more unusual to study lesbian novels since 1960 than I would find studying, say, Shakespeare's tragedies. Both are a close look at a very selective area of literature. I think it's the magical word "lesbian" that gets some folks all in a twitter.
Well Shakespeare has been more influential, but otherwise there's not much difference.

Yep, nothing more horrible than institutes of higher learning using the classroom to explore human nature in all of its bizarre and esoteric cultural traditions. After all, it's more important that we remember that, since Adam, all people are lilly white heterosexuals who only have sex after marriage, only for procreation, and only in the missionary position.

Color me sarcastically appalled.

Hear, hear!

7 Occidental College—making the Dirty Dozen list twice—offers a course in Stupidity, which compares the American presidency to Beavis and Butthead.


Fucking A.

Speaking as a University student who's not aligned with either the left or the right spheres of politics, some of those aren't that bad. The Marxist one does state that they examine whether Marx SHOULD be given another chance, you can come to your own conclusions after taking the course. Ok some some are fairly petty and stupid, but 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 aren't really that stupid unless you've got anything against homosexuality, but that would reflect worse on you than on the courses themselves.

Meh. I'm unimpressed.

There are thousands of universities and colleges in the US. Each offers hundreds of courses.

That a right-wing group can find a handful of classes about Marxism *gasp*, homosexuality *gasp*, and societal trends and history is more comforting than surprising.

Not everyone studies physics.

I guess I don't see the crisis. A department can offer just about anything. If none of these are required courses for a degree, who cares?

The University System of Georgia, on the other hand, does require some PC courses to graduate. They are labeled "Cultural Diversity" classes, but in fact are just black studies. I suspect the Black Studies departments that were established after the Civil Rights heyday didn't get enough attendance and were made mandatory.

I guess I don't see the crisis. A department can offer just about anything. If none of these are required courses for a degree, who cares?


Exactically!

Young America’s Foundation is committed to ensuring that increasing numbers of young Americans understand and are inspired by the ideas of individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values.
Opening poster must forgive incoherent and idiosyncratic means of expression on my part for being foreigner, but we find your reference most odiously reactionary, and equally laughable as obviously vastly exaggerated examples of American academic efforts.

Maybe the conservatives just aren't dumb enough to attend or pay for something so stupid...
You pay taxes to federal government, yes? And have elected Arnold Schwarzenegger for duke. We from the humble fishmonging nations need say more?

Meh. I'm unimpressed.

There are thousands of universities and colleges in the US. Each offers hundreds of courses.

That a right-wing group can find a handful of classes about Marxism *gasp*, homosexuality *gasp*, and societal trends and history is more comforting than surprising.

Not everyone studies physics.

That about sums it up.

This thread is so underwhelming. :rolleyes:

:headbang:

Some of the classes strike me as the sort of classes that colleges offer to students who would just as soon not be in class. 9 and 10 however both sound vaguely interesting. Not worth actually taking a course on, but worth a day in class or something (if you were studying political science or something). *shrugs*

Bottom line, as far as I can tell is that none of those topics is deserving a whole class, but any one of them might be worth study as part of a broader subject.

That a right-wing group can find a handful of classes about Marxism *gasp*, homosexuality *gasp*, and societal trends and history is more comforting than surprising.

The fact that people see fit to heap ridicule on a course teaching the second most influential and powerful ideology of the C20th (just pipped to the post by modern capitalism) says a lot more about their mental capacity than that of the students who enroll for the course or the lecturers delivering it.

EDIT:... of course the fact that when I was still a student I took course with names such as "Deleuze & Guattari: A Thousand Plateaus" or "Derrida: The Gift Of Death" probably don't even trigger blips on the radar of these rabid rightist watchdogs, despite the fact that their content was probably tenfold more threatening to the things they hold dear, might bias my viewpoint on these matters a tad. Camoflague is a skill which is employed not solely by the military...

http://www.yaf.org/press/12_21_05.html

These students deserve a refund. I am curious why there is no similar list of bizarre conservative leaning courses? Maybe the conservatives just aren't dumb enough to attend or pay for something so stupid...

A) There's nothing particularly liberal about most of those courses. They are highly specialized in their focus. Liberals tend to be more well educated, so I can see how one might confuse liberalism with highly focused areas of study, but they're not the same thing.

B) There's a passage in Al Franken's "Lies and the lying liars who tell them," that illustrates the purpose for the existence of such classes. As far as I can remember it goes something like:

Harvard asked me to teach a class. I suggested "How about 'How To Write My Son's Harvard Application Essay?"

Harvard said, "No, we want you to teach them something new, Harvard students already know how to write a Harvard application essay."

So then I suggested "How about I teach "How to research my book?"

Harvard said "that's fine, most of our professors teach that class."

If you're making a study of a discipline such as history or political science then odds are you're not looking for the same sort of vocational training that you'd get in a business administration or accounting program. You're not going to go to a history firm and get a job as their staff historian. You're not going to become the foreman at the philosophy factory. If you are going to make a career out of it, then part of your education will have to include learning how to research topics for writing academic articles and books. The actual topic isn't important. What's important is that you learn how to write about it. Because if you can learn how to research and expound upon the sexual habits of the 16th century French, then you can research pretty much anything you want.

Conservatives aren't too intelligent to study topics that aren't useful in direct application to popular vocations. The sort of conservative that you're identifying with is too stupid to recognize the value of academic discipline independent of subject matter and probably doesn't have the intelligence to make a contribution to their field of study other than to simply fill a chair. That's the sort of thing you look for with an accounting degree, a law degree, or a business degree. There's a place in those disciplines for lifetime scholars who are always seeking to advance the field. Those people wouldn't see the need for, nor would they stand to benifit from, the sorts of classes that you listed. The difference with a discipline such as political science, philosophy, or history however is that it is almost only that scholarly division who stand to make a living in it. With the possible exception of some high school social studies teachers. Other than that, if you're going to major in a field like that, then odds are you plan to have your name on a book someday.

What an idiotic post. While I'll admit that some of these just seem too minute to occupy an entire class, your implicit assumption that any class relating to Marxism, (hate it though I do, it's certainly an important topic) or homosexual(ity/s) is a worthless, extremely weird course just shows your small-minded ignorance and very ulterior agenda in creating this list. Also, your very premise in this, that a topic that is highly specialized or doesn't seem interesting or important to you can't possibly be of value and is rightfully an object of disdain, merely proves that conservatives tend to be less educated and on the whole value knowledge and education less than liberals.

If you are going to make a career out of it, then part of your education will have to include learning how to research topics for writing academic articles and books. The actual topic isn't important. What's important is that you learn how to write about it. Because if you can learn how to research and expound upon the sexual habits of the 16th century French, then you can research pretty much anything you want.

Just highlighting this, very well said.

I have absolutely no problem with any of the listed courses.

Could someone please explain to me why I should be offended/outraged/shocked/etc.?

If you want to know that, go ahead. However, they seem to be pretty much useless for anything other than knowing that particular field. Needless to say, I wouldn't spend money on them until well after graduation and gainful employment.

Well said. I don't find it any more unusual to study lesbian novels since 1960 than I would find studying, say, Shakespeare's tragedies. Both are a close look at a very selective area of literature. I think it's the magical word "lesbian" that gets some folks all in a twitter.

MAybe it's because Shakespeare was one of the greatest Western writers, and the authors of those books...aren't?

If you want to know that, go ahead. However, they seem to be pretty much useless for anything other than knowing that particular field. Needless to say, I wouldn't spend money on them until well after graduation and gainful employment.

You couldn't pay me enough to waste my time in those bullshit courses.

I am curious why there is no similar list of bizarre conservative leaning courses? Maybe the conservatives just aren't dumb enough to attend or pay for something so stupid...

Two words for all those conservative geniuses:
INTELLIGENT DESIGN

Egyptian lesbians are pretty relevant by comparison...

Damn straight....

Although I have no idea what is so politically correct about these courses. They seem to be investigations of sociological themes, and as such should be pretty neutral. At least from their titles I can see little wrong.

I wouldn't take any of them, because they don't interest me. But there are many such courses, for all those that prefer to party every night to getting some work done.

But then again...if there's an opportunity to smell a vast left-wing conspiracy in the country that is now completely ruled by Conservatives (executive, judicative and legislative, pretty much without exception), then why not take it, right? :rolleyes:

MAybe it's because Shakespeare was one of the greatest Western writers, and the authors of those books...aren't?Way to miss the analogy--I was comparing the study of two very specific and limited eras in literature. In the universe of world literature, the tragedies of Shakespeare make up an extraordinarily limited sub-group, in fact, a smaller sub-group than that of lesbian fiction since 1960. Was Shakespeare more influential? Without a doubt. But in terms of focusing in on a particular era of study, one might easily argue that the lesbian class is more wide-ranging.

I have to wonder....

Are theology courses afforded the same amount of ridicule?

Or perhaps the only courses worth any academic merit are those in the sciences?

Legitimate sociological subjects and literature research classes really don't seem that world ending to me. Heck, certain subjects, like “Psychology of the lesbian experience” sound like good classes, I would take them. There is a real lack of psychological information and studies on that type of subject, especially information that is easily available to the public. Likewise, most students have taken their economic classes (which are capitalist.) How is it such a bad thing to learn about a different system and have a different view to analyze economics with?

"mostly made up of women" Which has nothing to do with anything. When I took women’s studies, there was about a 4:3 female-male ratio, my old Psych 101 was 15:1. Just me and one other guy. I guess 101 must be more liberal and geared towards women, huh?

How about number 6, which is taught by "leftist professors." How did they determine this? Are they just assuming a right-winger wouldn't be able to teach it?

I admit number 7 was really stupid though. WTH
Edited for a grammer error.

All colleges have their nutty academics. That's a part of the experience.

I am curious why there is no similar list of bizarre conservative leaning courses?

Maybe thats because..by the very nature of academia, the more education you recieve, the more progressive you become. People who are becoming more and more liberal by going to college definitely do not want to learn "101 Ways to Sew a Klan Hood". Well, most dont. Never underestimate the "stupidity", as you put it, of conservatives.

And seriously...dont even try to argue against that point. You wont win.

I have to wonder....

Are theology courses afforded the same amount of ridicule?

Or perhaps the only courses worth any academic merit are those in the sciences?
Hear hear!

Theology classes are only NOT included because that is the one form of lunacy that is considered "normal"

To me, the only people in Theology class, aside from people interested in the historic side, would be like the people at a "We love George W. Bush" convention. Already, and about to get more, stupid.

Hear hear!

Theology classes are only NOT included because that is the one form of lunacy that is considered "normal"

To me, the only people in Theology class, aside from people interested in the historic side, would be like the people at a "We love George W. Bush" convention. Already, and about to get more, stupid.

Theology can be one of the most interesting and intellectually stimulating subjects that exist.

I have to wonder....

Are theology courses afforded the same amount of ridicule?

Or perhaps the only courses worth any academic merit are those in the sciences?


I'm assuming the Conservatives that put together this list would consider a theology class that looks at more than just Christianity to be too "P.C.", because it shows more than one side of a debate. I could be wrong though.

I'm wondering why B0zzy isn't willing to come back and defend his copy/paste. Could it be that the excess of logic showing how flawed the OP's point was, was just too overwhelming?

Theology can be one of the most interesting and intellectually stimulating subjects that exist.

I can see how that would be true for some people. My original point was that it's of no greater or lesser intellectual value than the above subjects. It's not something I would study, but I don't hold it (or it's scholars for that matter) in disdain because of that.

However; if the above subjects are "bizarre", then by that logic, so is the study of Theology.


I'm assuming the Conservatives that put together this list would consider a theology class that looks at more than just Christianity to be too "P.C.", because it shows more than one side of a debate. I could be wrong though.

I suspect that you may be correct. A course studying Islam or another religion would probably be viewed in a negative light.

EDIT

HERNDON, VA – As tuition rates climb to an average of over $21,000 per year, today’s college students study prostitution, teeth whitening, and Beavis and Butthead. The following Dirty Dozen highlights the most bizarre and troubling instances of leftist activism supplanting traditional scholarship in our nation’s colleges and universities.

Two points here-

One, i'd like to see the definition of "traditional scholarship".

Two, I very much doubt that any of these units are core subjects in any degree. These particular subjects would be electives....and i'm not sure that mentioning the cost to inspire some sort of outrage is justified, because under the US system, these students are choosing to pay for these subjects...

And for what it's worth, the Taking Marx Seriously: “Should Marx be given another chance?” would be a subject I would find very interesting and would definitely pick as an elective. I don't see how that subject is ridiculous - politics students study political thinkers. So?

Theology can be one of the most interesting and intellectually stimulating subjects that exist.

Note that I said "Aside from the historic side". Im not saying its not interesting, no. I find it very interesting. But so are Lesbian Novels after WWII.

I can see how that would be true for some people. My original point was that it's of no greater or lesser intellectual value than the above subjects. It's not something I would study, but I don't hold it (or it's scholars for that matter) in disdain because of that.

However; if the above subjects are "bizarre", then by that logic, so is the study of Theology.

Indeed. Consistency, however, is not in the minds of these people; the interest is in launching an ideological attack, meant to be read and praised by ideological allies, not to be subject to actual serious analysis. It is propaganda, and bad propaganda.

And for what it's worth, the Taking Marx Seriously: “Should Marx be given another chance?” would be a subject I would find very interesting and would definitely pick as an elective. I don't see how that subject is ridiculous - politics students study political thinkers. So?

That one caught my eye, too. 1, 2, 6, 9, 11, and 12 are vaguely interesting as well - perhaps only to me, though.

The day the only things people discuss and debate are "mainstream," "acceptable" matters will be the day human progress halts, forever.

Note that I said "Aside from the historic side". Im not saying its not interesting, no. I find it very interesting.

I'm not talking about the "historic side," I'm talking about the philosophical argumentation involved in theology, mainly, and the variety of interpretations and conceptions held by people about God, gods, spirituality, etc.

Indeed. Consistency, however, is not in the minds of these people; the interest is in launching an ideological attack, meant to be read and praised by ideological allies, not to be subject to actual serious analysis. It is propaganda, and bad propaganda.

Aye, true.

That one caught my eye, too. 1, 2, 6, 9, 11, and 12 are vaguely interesting as well - perhaps only to me, though.

I can certainly see how they would be, but I probably wouldn't choose them myself.


The day the only things people discuss and debate are "mainstream," "acceptable" matters will be the day human progress halts, forever.

Agreed. :)

The fact that people see fit to heap ridicule on a course teaching the second most influential and powerful ideology of the C20th (just pipped to the post by modern capitalism) says a lot more about their mental capacity than that of the students who enroll for the course or the lecturers delivering it.



You're think Beavis and Butthead are the second most influential and powerful ideology of the 20th C? I thought they were third?

You're think Beavis and Butthead are the second most influential and powerful ideology of the 20th C? I thought they were third?
Talking 'bout Marxism, mate :)

Theology can be one of the most interesting and intellectually stimulating subjects that exist.

So is sociology, and to some people gay/black/spider studies. Both however have similarities in that, while they are interesting, they are unlikely to lead to gainful employment, and to those who don't see the value in pure thinkers (instead of more applicable fields of study like science or engineering), they are likely to seem pointless.

So is sociology, and to some people gay/black/spider studies. Both however have similarities in that, while they are interesting, they are unlikely to lead to gainful employment, and to those who don't see the value in pure thinkers (instead of more applicable fields of study like science or engineering), they are likely to seem pointless.
It works both ways - people on the humanities side of the science/humanities divide often see little point in studies such as physics and engineering. As one of the seemingly few people who can operate in both worlds (computer science major, but I filled up all of my elective slots with history courses), I found that on either side of the line, provincial attitudes prevailed.

This is a dangerous development. A university education used to consists of both Arts and Sciences, and both were viewed as necessary to a full understanding of the world. But an education that includes only humanities or science and excludes the other doesn't produce that - we get people with a great deal of knowlege about a limited subject who can't relate their work to the wider world. We need people who can think critically about a broad range of issues, and who can also understand science and technology, and we just aren't getting them.
:(

It works both ways - people on the humanities side of the science/humanities divide often see little point in studies such as physics and engineering. As one of the seemingly few people who can operate in both worlds (computer science major, but I filled up all of my elective slots with history courses), I found that on either side of the line, provincial attitudes prevailed.

This is a dangerous development. A university education used to consists of both Arts and Sciences, and both were viewed as necessary to a full understanding of the world. But an education that includes only humanities or science and excludes the other doesn't produce that - we get people with a great deal of knowlege about a limited subject who can't relate their work to the wider world. We need people who can think critically about a broad range of issues, and who can also understand science and technology, and we just aren't getting them.
:(Yeah, that's a problem with the university system--departments guard their turfs jealously and want to keep their major students so busy with upper level classes that they don't wander out into other realms of study. I'm another one who was comfortable between worlds--degrees in English and Writing but I started as a Chemistry major (calc kicked my ass, but I had almost enough credit for a minor when I finished my BA)--but most of my compatriots couldn't tell you the difference between organic and inorganic chemistry on a bet.

I think part of the problem stems from tenure level professors not wanting to do the grunt work of teaching anymore, i.e. they don't want to deal with freshmen and sophomores. They want to teach seniors and grad students about the things they spent a large chunk of their lives writing their dissertations on (or use them as research assistants for their newer projects). The system aids them in this because freshman level courses are now taught by Graduate assistants or Instructors, and tenure level professors only deal with freshmen in emergency situations (and man, do they hate it then). But for those professors to avoid the freshmen, they have to have courses for the upper-level students, and every student who is taking a class outside the major isn't taking one inside the major, and that's one more chance a class they're teaching isn't going to make the cut, so they load majors up with all these in-department requirements and the kids get more insulated as a result. They never see the outside world.

Ok some some are fairly petty and stupid, but 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 aren't really that stupid unless you've got anything against homosexuality, but that would reflect worse on you than on the courses themselves.
I'd include #1 in that as well - my university's school of history offered a "Womens' roles in society and its development 1600-1800" when I was in the 2nd year, which (although I didn't take it) I know included a look at sexuality in this period. I don't see what's so different about the first course on the list. Studies of sexuality aren't that rare in universities - it's an area of significantly increasing research.

The Stupidity course is too much, but I don't see anything wrong with the rest of the courses. They might be bizzare to some people but I think they sound interesting. And I don't think any of them sound like they are politically correct..it seems like they are pushing the envelope rather than dancing around it. Anyway, a lot of the courses seem to be history courses and if it happened in history, why not teach it and open peoples minds about how earlier ages really did live. I guess some of them are "left-ish", but to deny that stuff like prositutes and gay people didn't exist and that sexuality has and does make a difference in the world is like saying that Walt Disney wasn't at least somewhat anti-semitic. Out of curiosity, I'd like to know what the first poster doesn't like about them. And anyway, if you sign up for a course like that, you should know what you are getting into, so I think giving kids a refund is kind of stupid. Just my two cents:)

Yep, nothing more horrible than institutes of higher learning using the classroom to explore human nature in all of its bizarre and esoteric cultural traditions. After all, it's more important that we remember that, since Adam, all people are lilly white heterosexuals who only have sex after marriage, only for procreation, and only in the missionary position.

Color me sarcastically appalled.

I think you have the wrong attitude on this - if conservatives had courses as stupid like this, there would be a Girls Gone Wild course, complete with road trip.

Now tell me you wouldn't enjoy a class like that.

Elgesh']Talking 'bout Marxism, mate :)


humor - ar-ar. get it?

it wasn't that dry, was it?


Now, about that girls gone wild class... I think you may be on to something - though I doubt conservatives would approve - maybe libertarians...

I strongly doubt there are any college classes of conservative leanings which are nearly so silly as any of the ones from this list of liberal excesses. If anyone could find one I would be pleased to see it - please include a link.

Here are my suggestions for conservative silly classes;

"The Myth of Male Power"
"White, Black or Green - Who gives a shit"
"The REAL role of women in families"
"The double standard of 'choice' - Abortion from the male's and fetus's point of view"
"The inequality men face in family law"
"The moral shortcomings of elected officials"
"Power Corrupts - should small government be restored in the US?"
"Europe - Ingrates or just assholes?"

Maybe these could be interesting - but they are no more deserving of COLLEGE CREDITS than any of the silliy things from the other list.

Other than the course on "Stupidity," which is pretty laughable, the list doesn't contain anything that I find worthless or inappropriate.

Hear hear!

Theology classes are only NOT included because that is the one form of lunacy that is considered "normal"

To me, the only people in Theology class, aside from people interested in the historic side, would be like the people at a "We love George W. Bush" convention. Already, and about to get more, stupid.
Are you serious? Religion in general doesn't have much to do with George Bush. I know buckets of left-wing Christians.

I think you have the wrong attitude on this - if conservatives had courses as stupid like this, there would be a Girls Gone Wild course, complete with road trip.
I strongly doubt there are any college classes of conservative leanings which are nearly so silly as any of the ones from this list of liberal excesses. If anyone could find one I would be pleased to see it - please include a link.
How are these university courses inherently owned by liberals, as you imply? Why does everything have to be "liberal or conservative" with you people?

humor - ar-ar. get it?

it wasn't that dry, was it?
No, it just wasn't good. ;)

Here are my suggestions for conservative silly classes;

"The Myth of Male Power"
"White, Black or Green - Who gives a shit"
"The REAL role of women in families"
"The double standard of 'choice' - Abortion from the male's and fetus's point of view"
"The inequality men face in family law"
"The moral shortcomings of elected officials"
"Power Corrupts - should small government be restored in the US?"
"Europe - Ingrates or just assholes?"

Maybe these could be interesting - but they are no more deserving of COLLEGE CREDITS than any of the silly things from the other list.
How do you define what deserves college credits and what doesn't? I think the bolded topics would be worth studying (maybe some on the US right would learn why Europe so isn't "in" in the new imperialist power rush).

What has small government got to do with the modern interpretation of "conservatism" (i.e. undying loyalty to the Republican Party) in America?

I strongly doubt there are any college classes of conservative leanings which are nearly so silly as any of the ones from this list of liberal excesses. If anyone could find one I would be pleased to see it - please include a link.
Well the problem is the classes on the list are not so silly as you seem to think.

An important aspect of humanities disiplines is the ability to reason out sound understandings from bodies of information. Judging from the limited descriptions of the courses on the list, it seems to me that developing this ability is very probably a core aim of the courses. Since the utility of the skills that comprise the ability are general, courses that develope such skills could be about the most inane and irrelevent of subjects and yet still be very valuable.

Ironically the very skills that appear to be a primary focus of the courses described (and which are of great importance in the humanities generally), are the same ones that would enable anyone competent even in their basic employment to conclude that the person who put together the linked to list and it's introduction is either intentionally dishonest, or 'none-too-bright'.
If the earlier, then one can only wonder - if you dig enough there's always some dirt, yet apparently when it comes to liberals these conservatives must resort to misrepresentation.....should we infer that the need to 'make things up' stems from a lack of any real dirt to dish?
If however no dishonesty was involved, then the only other possible explanation is that the author (ironically) would greatly benefit from participation in the courses he/she is deriding.....:rolleyes:

<snip>
4 Like something out of a Hugh Hefner film, Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania offers the class Lesbian Novels Since World War II.
<snip>
8 Students at the University of California—Los Angeles need not wonder what it means to be a lesbian. The Psychology of the Lesbian Experience reviews “various aspects of lesbian experience” including the “impact of heterosexism/stigma, gender role socialization, minority status of women and lesbians, identity development within a multicultural society, changes in psychological theories about lesbians in sociohistorical context.”
<snip>
11 Brown University’s Black Lavender: A Study of Black Gay & Lesbian Plays “address[es] the identities and issues of Black gay men and lesbians, and offer[s] various points of view from within and without the Black gay and lesbian artistic communities.”

12 Students enrolled in the University of Michigan’s Topics in Literary Studies: Ancient Greek/Modern Gay Sexuality have the pleasure of reading a “wide selection of ancient Greek (and a few Roman) texts that deal with same-sex love, desire, gender dissidence, and sexual behavior.”
What, exactly, is so funny about those?

These students deserve a refund. I am curious why there is no similar list of bizarre conservative leaning courses?

Because college courses for conservatives are like tanning beds for fish.

(It couldn't go unsaid.)

How are these university courses inherently owned by liberals, as you imply? Why does everything have to be "liberal or conservative" with you people?

"Liberals" are the sole authors of political correctness. These courses exude political correctness, and are based on it. If you can't see that, then you're blind.

"Liberals" are the sole authors of political correctness. These courses exude political correctness, and are based on it. If you can't see that, then you're blind.
So a class based on sexuality in literature is politically correct? On what planet--the world of right-wing Deep Kimchi?

These courses exude political correctness...
How?

Well, in the US, don't you pay full cost? So whats the big deal? If people want to study useless but interesting courses, so what?

I'd have a problem in Australia though, because taxpayers pay a substantial part of the cost of any undergrad degree. And we have HECS. And Austudy. so the people studying these courses out here would be basically paid for by the government to sit on their arses and do courses like this, which have no real value, except at an esoteric level.

Personally I think a few of them would be fascinating, though I'm not really that into GLBT studies or queer theory. But they should not be paid for by taxpayers.

Well, in the US, don't you pay full cost? So whats the big deal? If people want to study useless but interesting courses, so what?

I'd have a problem in Australia though, because taxpayers pay a substantial part of the cost of any undergrad degree. And we have HECS. And Austudy. so the people studying these courses out here would be basically paid for by the government to sit on their arses and do courses like this, which have no real value, except at an esoteric level.

Personally I think a few of them would be fascinating, though I'm not really that into GLBT studies or queer theory. But they should not be paid for by taxpayers.

We do have to pay back a lot of money at the end of it. At the end of the day, you have to look at what courses are going to get you a job. If you don't get a decent job, you're stuck with having all that debt and no means to pay it off.

We do have to pay back a lot of money at the end of it. At the end of the day, you have to look at what courses are going to get you a job. If you don't get a decent job, you're stuck with having all that debt and no means to pay it off.

I am well aware of how much we have to pay back thank you. I have a HECS debt that I will begin paying off next year thank you. However, we only pay like 25% (i think Howard bumped it up to 33%?) of the total cost of the degree. Unless you're one of those delightful overseas students that pay full-cost and keep my degree costs down. I love you all, foreign students :D .

F*cking halfwitted xenophobic system though.

I'm a permanent resident, have been since 2001. I finished high school in this country, I pay taxes in this country (I don't get to vote though :rolleyes:) and so on.

But, if you don't decide to become an Australian after three years of issue of your visa - you're no longer eligible for HECS. :headbang:
Meaning that they want me to give up my EU citizenship (yeah, fat chance) to become Australian, otherwise I have to pay normal fees like everyone else (ie, about 3000 bucks a semester) every half-year, up-front and without discount.
You try and pull that much money out of your arse every six months.

This thread is so underwhelming. :rolleyes:
I was thinking the same thing

http://www.yaf.org/press/12_21_05.html

These students deserve a refund. I am curious why there is no similar list of bizarre conservative leaning courses? Maybe the conservatives just aren't dumb enough to attend or pay for something so stupid...

1 Princeton University’s The Cultural Production of Early Modern Women examines “prostitutes,” “cross-dressing,” and “same-sex eroticism” in 16th - and 17th - century England, France, Italy and Spain (emphasis added).

2 The Unbearable Whiteness of Barbie: Race and Popular Culture in the United States at Occidental College in California explores ways “which scientific racism has been put to use in the making of Barbie [and] to an interpretation of the film The Matrix as a Marxist critique of capitalism.”

3 At The John Hopkins University, students in the Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll in Ancient Egypt class view slideshows of women in ancient Egypt “vomiting on each other,” “having intercourse,” and “fixing their hair.”

4 Like something out of a Hugh Hefner film, Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania offers the class Lesbian Novels Since World War II.

5 Alfred University’s Nip, Tuck, Perm, Pierce, and Tattoo: Adventures with Embodied Culture, mostly made up of women, encourages students to think about the meaning behind “teeth whitening, tanning, shaving, and hair dyeing.” Special projects include visiting a tattoo-and-piercing studio and watching Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bodybuilding film, Pumping Iron.

6 Harvard University’s Marxist Concepts of Racism examines “the role of capitalist development and expansion in creating racial inequality” (emphasis added). Although Karl Marx didn’t say much on race, leftist professors in this course extrapolate information on “racial oppression” and “racial antagonism."

7 Occidental College—making the Dirty Dozen list twice—offers a course in Stupidity, which compares the American presidency to Beavis and Butthead.

8 Students at the University of California—Los Angeles need not wonder what it means to be a lesbian. The Psychology of the Lesbian Experience reviews “various aspects of lesbian experience” including the “impact of heterosexism/stigma, gender role socialization, minority status of women and lesbians, identity development within a multicultural society, changes in psychological theories about lesbians in sociohistorical context.”

9 Duke University’s American Dreams/American Realities course supposedly unearths “such myths as ‘rags to riches,’ ‘beacon to the world,’ and the ‘frontier,’ in defining the American character” (emphasis added).

10 Amherst College in Massachusetts offers the class Taking Marx Seriously: “Should Marx be giving another chance?” Students in this course are asked to question if Marxism still has any “credibility” remaining, while also inquiring if societies can gain new insights by “returning to [Marx’s] texts.” Coming to Marx’s rescue, this course also states that Lenin, Stalin, and Pol Pot misapplied the concepts of Marxism.

11 Brown University’s Black Lavender: A Study of Black Gay & Lesbian Plays “address[es] the identities and issues of Black gay men and lesbians, and offer[s] various points of view from within and without the Black gay and lesbian artistic communities.”

12 Students enrolled in the University of Michigan’s Topics in Literary Studies: Ancient Greek/Modern Gay Sexuality have the pleasure of reading a “wide selection of ancient Greek (and a few Roman) texts that deal with same-sex love, desire, gender dissidence, and sexual behavior.”

enjoy the laughs!

Are you really so terminally thick as to believe that ANY of these courses are REQUIRED for anyone NOT getting a related degree? For fuck's sake, man, hop off the partisan bandwagon and wake the hell up! You don't LIKE the classes? DON'T TAKE THEM! Why must the simplest concepts be such a mystery to the Right?

F*cking halfwitted xenophobic system though.

I'm a permanent resident, have been since 2001. I finished high school in this country, I pay taxes in this country (I don't get to vote though :rolleyes:) and so on.

But, if you don't decide to become an Australian after three years of issue of your visa - you're no longer eligible for HECS. :headbang:
Meaning that they want me to give up my EU citizenship (yeah, fat chance) to become Australian, otherwise I have to pay normal fees like everyone else (ie, about 3000 bucks a semester) every half-year, up-front and without discount.
You try and pull that much money out of your arse every six months.

Would I be eligible in Germany? Can I even become a full German citizen without German heritage (I really don't know, I remember my old German teacher in high school telling us something about it, perhaps you could elaborate)? I think it's perfectly fair. You're basically saying you want to benefit from our system, without giving up the perks of your own?

First, professors do tend to be politically leftist because, frankly, voluntarily taking on a career for less money than you could make in the private sector, in order to be of greater benefit to society as a whole, is the antithesis of the American right-wing ethos.

Second, if you want your Lunatics in Education (Right-Wing Edition) calendar, look no further than the school board of Kansas and the recently-ejected school board of Dover, PA. Or if you want to stick just to collegiate courses, there's got to be plenty at Bob Jones to pick from - or any college in the country that offers something named like "The Bible As History" or whatnot, though most of those are going to be at private and often unaccredited religious institutions.

Third, what's so PC about most of those courses? That they focus on groups (gays, minorities, communists) that the right is frightened by? That could make them leftist courses, sure. But a PC course would have to be something more like "Exploring (If You're Comfortable With That) The Nature (Or Artifice, If That's What You Prefer) Of Familial Or Other Interpersonal Relationships Without Prejudice To Organization In The Arbitrarily-Selected Region Of Your Choice, If That's Okay With You." PC does not mean 'discussing things scary to right-wingers without condemning them to Hellfire' but instead has a meaning much closer to 'Painstakingly Removed Of Anything That Could Possibly Offend Anyone.'

"Liberals" are the sole authors of political correctness. These courses exude political correctness, and are based on it. If you can't see that, then you're blind.

As are you, unless you read the whole thread.

Would I be eligible in Germany? Can I even become a full German citizen without German heritage (I really don't know, I remember my old German teacher in high school telling us something about it, perhaps you could elaborate)? I think it's perfectly fair. You're basically saying you want to benefit from our system, without giving up the perks of your own?
:D

Yes, you could become a German citizen, no trouble. There are no heritage restrictions AFAIK, and Australia does the Dual Citizenship I believe.
I'm currently working on fitting through a loophole to do that - Germans usually aren't allowed, but foreigners are...:confused:
As for eligibility to studying in Germany...I have no idea, but I do know that uni there is free of charge, at least for the time being and for citizens.

As for the system...well, I like to keep my options open. I wouldn't consider simply leaving and not paying my debt, but you'd have to agree that the EU is a bigger, better job market than Australia, particularly if I want to consider going to post-grad studies at the LSE.

So the HECS system is good (I think it's the best of the world, and I take my hat off to Bruce Chapman - but this particular rule requires improvement. Problem is that the permanent residents don't make for a particularly powerful political group.

As are you, unless you read the whole thread.

It's true. Conservatives simply don't care enough to be bothered with political correctness.

The only way to justify being so thouroughly dissmissive of any course is to demonstrate that there is nothing to be learned on the subject. Most of these course topics seem like they have actual content. If people find it interesting, what is wrong with teaching them about it?