Sometimes I worry that when I get older, all my fandom obsessions and “childish” habits will become an issue and people won’t take me seriously in the world of academia but then I remember that
- My first professor at the university specialized in Jewish studies but taught a class on Sherlock Holmes because he really liked Sherlock Holmes
- One of my current professors once owned a Viking ship which he manned by himself
- Another current professor brings stuffed animals to class and lets students who answer questions correctly hold them
- That first professor’s office is also full of Beatles memorabilia
- Another professor teaches a class on the history of westerns just so she can teach Brokeback Mountain and Thelma and Louise to an audience who might not otherwise watch those films
- Yet another professor based his entire career around his fixation on William Shakespeare
- I knew a professor (but was never in his class) who taught a class on early American fashion, but his specialization was modern government
- I once took a class entitled “History of Rock n Roll in America” that was taught by a journalism professor because he really liked classic rock
- My Women in Africa professor spent literally 10 weeks talking about The Black Panther and how her favorite character was Shuri
- Another history professor teaches a whole class on the “Modern American Musical” which I think would be a really fun class, but it hasn’t been offered in the whole time I’ve been here
So I think I’m good. Lol.
EDIT: I forgot to mention the English professor who wrote an entire book on a single scene from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and teaches a grad school seminar on that show.
I had a professor who taught a different science fiction or fantasy class every defeater so she could spend 9 weeks talking about her favorite books
