More bonkers/niche courses
Game of Thrones
George R. R. Martin’s works are the focus of Our Modern Medieval: The Song Of Ice And Fire As Contemporary Medievalism at the University of British Columbia.
It’s not for the casual viewer or reader, though, as those looking to enrol will need to have read the five books of the series and seen every episode of the HBO TV adaptation.
“This course seeks to examine the role of the medieval in the popular consciousness of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.”
Taught by Robert Rouse, the course will be assessed by one presentation, one analysis of a TV episode, and one research essay. Topics of discussion will include women, politics, monsters, disability, nature, history, chivalry, objects, place, religion, sexuality and race, according to the description.
Scholars and critics have argued that the hit HBO series Game of Thrones (and the novels on which the show is based) contain the most varied, often celebratory, depictions of characters with disabilities in all of pop culture. Others have argued that the show is not immune to stereotypical and marginalizing portrayals of disability. Using disability (as well as gender and race) as categories of analysis, this course will examine these debates and use the series as a lens through which to consider wider historical and contemporary media depictions of physical, neurological, and developmental disabilities.
Star Wars
Lightsabers clash in a galaxy far far away as a pair of droids walk slowly towards the setting of the twin suns.
In the world of cinema, science fiction has been experiencing an exciting revival. With the rebooting of the Star Wars franchise and grand offerings like The Martian, Interstellar, and Gravity, our screens are flooded with dazzling depictions of space and technology. What’s more, many of these new films promise to be more scientifically accurate, even as they show us wormholes and space stations, time distortion and intelligent robotics.
In this course, we put those claims to the test.
Downton Abbey
Harry Potter at Durham perhaps: https://www.dur.ac.uk/faculty.handbook/module_description/?year=2015&module_code=EDUC2381