The University of California, Berkeley offers a new course on Game of Thrones, which will interest students who already find themselves inhaling think pieces across the internet. The class, which is part of the Film Studies program, will revolve solely around this one show. There’s plenty of material to be had, and term paper topics aplenty. The course aims to dive deep into the controversial themes of sex, violence, and power, so discussions should be lively. The reading list for the course includes Rousseau and Foucault:
Included in the reading materials for the Game of Thrones course are selections by Rousseau and Foucault. Students will also be asked to explore heavy themes, such as democracy, climate change, terrorism and torture, corruption, women as objects to possess and of power, and other delicate subject matters.
The course description promises to link up the show’s politics to reality as well (which should be interesting with the upcoming election). The university also hosts a Westeros-friendly exhibit of dire wolves (the extinct species favored by George R.R. Martin in his creations).
Tuition seems like a hefty price to pay to argue about these topics in a classroom setting, but students will spend their student loan money in other frivolous ways no matter what. At a private university, the expenditure would seem even more outlandish. The course’s first run filled up fast, but HBO is certainly much cheaper than the high price of tuition.
(via Mashable & Tech Times)
