Nov 3 | Pittsburgh

[brandonnash]

Not sure I agree with this. Had this been an SEC team, there would be outrage about the charges and lack of suspensions.

Or FSU in the bobby Bowden era...they did they did, but they're good kids.

 

[Emcee77]

Slavic 0880
Dr. Lisa Di Bartolomeo T/H 2:30-3:45 PM
Office: 1420A CL Langley A221
Phone: 624-5711 Email: ldibart+@pitt.edu
Office hours: Tuesdays 11-11:50AM, Thursdays 12-12:50PM, and by
appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course examines the phenomenon of vampirism in verbal and visual culture from different periods in various cultures (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Rumania, Russia, Serbia, France, England, America, Africa and the Caribbean). Why do vampires capture the imagination especially of Anglophone readers and viewers? What qualities does the vampire incarnate? Which historical events or customs have triggered particular enthusiasm for depicting the undead? How has the depiction of the vampire evolved over centuries? Our discussions will address these and related issues as we analyze stories, novels, films, legends, fairy tales, television shows, and historical studies, focusing on vampires from a variety of critical perspectives and contextualizing the works in the cultures that produced them.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The number of students enrolled in this class is, you will notice, very large. The requirements have been modified to suit that fact.

i'm sure it has nothing to do w/ being an easy A

This is a disgrace to the education system. I'm attending a community college in Phoenix and they don't even offer stupid courses like this.

Lol a community college wouldn't ... community colleges teach skills. Universities teach liberal arts and natural sciences, which most people consider useless by themselves but important for the background knowledge of any educated person, in addition to skills. The fact that vampires capture our imagination says something about our socio-sexual values. I promise that a version of this course is being taught all over the country. I took a graduate-level course that touched on similar themes.

 

[jimmymac]

Lol a community college wouldn't ... community colleges teach skills. Universities teach liberal arts and natural sciences, which most people consider useless by themselves but important for the background knowledge of any educated person, in addition to skills. The fact that vampires capture our imagination says something about our socio-sexual values. I promise that a version of this course is being taught all over the country. I took a graduate-level course that touched on similar themes.

Agreed. ND has classes like this, for instance I took a class last semester with 400 ppl basically on babies...

 

[irishpat183]

Is it any wonder that our education system is going down the sh*tter??

Seriously.


And some young people are wondering why they can't find a job?

Try learning a SKILL, not about vampires.

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

Gender and Sexuality in Pop Media was by far my favorite course @ ND. All we did was listen to music and watch movie clips.

 

[Emcee77]

Is it any wonder that our education system is going down the sh*tter??

Seriously.


And some young people are wondering why they can't find a job?

Try learning a SKILL, not about vampires.

Well, this isn't quite fair. Courses like this are for background knowledge so universities develop well-rounded, well-read, articulate people. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it used to be that to graduate with a business degree from ND you had to take ten liberal arts/natural science courses, such as the above. You may be a finance genius and a great analyst, but if you aren't culturally literate you may have trouble relating to your rich, sophisticated clients, which may put a ceiling on your career path. Learning a skill is great, but certain fields (like mine, law) are over-crowded with people who have the skills. It's other stuff that sets you apart. Maybe you take this class and then a few years later your client says she loves True Blood and you have something intelligent to say about vampires, and she's impressed. I can tell you that I got a high-paying job in a fairly elite law firm because the guy who hired me loved that, before law school, I wrote a thesis on James Joyce (I have since left that job, because it sucked, but still...) I think there's definitely a place for courses like this in universities, as long as they are ALSO teaching skills.

Sorry for digressing, lol. Education theory is something I'm interested in.

So Ray Graham ...

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

Well, this isn't quite fair. Courses like this are for background knowledge so universities develop well-rounded, well-read, articulate people. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it used to be that to graduate with a business degree from ND you had to take ten liberal arts/natural science courses, such as the above. You may be a finance genius and a great analyst, but if you aren't culturally literate you may have trouble relating to your rich, sophisticated clients, which may put a ceiling on your career path. Learning a skill is great, but certain fields (like mine, law) are over-crowded with people who have the skills. It's other stuff that sets you apart. Maybe you take this class and then a few years later your client says she loves True Blood and you have something intelligent to say about vampires, and she's impressed. I think there's definitely a place for courses like this in universities, as long as they are ALSO teaching skills.

Sorry for digressing, lol. Education theory is something I'm interested in.

So Ray Graham ...

Check this out if you haven't seen it. Pretty amazing. Ethiopian kids hack OLPCs in 5 months with zero instruction | DVICE

 

[dublinirish]

www.pitt.edu/~slavic/courses/russ0880/Vamp041.pdf

I think this is the "class"

edit: deadspin are all over it:
Deadspin.com Updates: Breaking: Pitt Has A Class On Vampires (Also Something About Three Starters Being Charged With Assault)

 

[dublinirish]

Gender and Sexuality in Pop Media was by far my favorite course @ ND. All we did was listen to music and watch movie clips.

I did a class in college on Information Society and the core media was watching Enemy of the State starring Will Smith :/

 

[Black Irish]

Well, this isn't quite fair. Courses like this are for background knowledge so universities develop well-rounded, well-read, articulate people. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it used to be that to graduate with a business degree from ND you had to take ten liberal arts/natural science courses, such as the above. You may be a finance genius and a great analyst, but if you aren't culturally literate you may have trouble relating to your rich, sophisticated clients, which may put a ceiling on your career path. Learning a skill is great, but certain fields (like mine, law) are over-crowded with people who have the skills. It's other stuff that sets you apart. Maybe you take this class and then a few years later your client says she loves True Blood and you have something intelligent to say about vampires, and she's impressed. I can tell you that I got a high-paying job in a fairly elite law firm because the guy who hired me loved that, before law school, I wrote a thesis on James Joyce (I have since left that job, because it sucked, but still...) I think there's definitely a place for courses like this in universities, as long as they are ALSO teaching skills.

Sorry for digressing, lol. Education theory is something I'm interested in.

So Ray Graham ...

If it was well-written, coherent, concise, and didn't make you want to set it on fire out of frustration, then I'm guessing you got an F.

Just messing with you. I majored in English, and I can't tell you how painful it was trying to slog through Joyce's stuff. I'm guessing you really enjoy a challenge.

Anyway, go Irish! Beat Pitt!

 

[irishpat183]

Well, this isn't quite fair. Courses like this are for background knowledge so universities develop well-rounded, well-read, articulate people. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it used to be that to graduate with a business degree from ND you had to take ten liberal arts/natural science courses, such as the above. You may be a finance genius and a great analyst, but if you aren't culturally literate you may have trouble relating to your rich, sophisticated clients, which may put a ceiling on your career path. Learning a skill is great, but certain fields (like mine, law) are over-crowded with people who have the skills. It's other stuff that sets you apart. Maybe you take this class and then a few years later your client says she loves True Blood and you have something intelligent to say about vampires, and she's impressed. I can tell you that I got a high-paying job in a fairly elite law firm because the guy who hired me loved that, before law school, I wrote a thesis on James Joyce (I have since left that job, because it sucked, but still...) I think there's definitely a place for courses like this in universities, as long as they are ALSO teaching skills.

Sorry for digressing, lol. Education theory is something I'm interested in.

So Ray Graham ...

Good God. All is lost. Pop culture has no place in our classrooms. You can learn that outside our learning institutions. I mean, really??

Horrible explanation. But I still love you.

 

[no.1IrishFan]

Lol a community college wouldn't ... community colleges teach skills. Universities teach liberal arts and natural sciences, which most people consider useless by themselves but important for the background knowledge of any educated person, in addition to skills. The fact that vampires capture our imagination says something about our socio-sexual values. I promise that a version of this course is being taught all over the country. I took a graduate-level course that touched on similar themes.

Lol to you too. I've had to take several liberal arts classes, ranging from the history of rock and roll to anthropology classes. As far as natural sciences go, I have microbiology, molecular biology, college level chemistry and anatomy and physiology 1&2. I've been a Paramedic for 5 years and will be a Registered Nurse in about 6 months. It is FAR more than simply a "skill".

If this vampire class was a chapter or two in a humanities course, fine. Personally I think it's just a waste of time and money. Please tell me how a course like this prepares someone for a career?

 

[NDdomer2]

Lol to you too. I've had to take several liberal lib arts classes, ranging from the history of rock and roll to anthropology classes. As far as natural sciences go, I have microbiology, molecular biology, college level chemistry and anatomy and physiology 1&2. I've been a Paramedic for 5 years and will be a Registered Nurse in about 6 months. It is FAR more than simply a "skill".

If this vampire class was a chapter or two in a humanities course, fine. Personally I think it's just a waste of time and money. Please tell me how a course like this prepares someone for a career?

Wait until the first person comes in the ER with two holes in the side of their neck thirsty for blood.

 

[woolybug25]

Sapp said early word he got from a source is that all three are still supposed to travel with the team today.

It is complete BS if these guys suit up. Can you imagine the public backlash if ND played some guys that were charged for assault a couple days prior?

 

[Kaneyoufeelit]

Lol to you too. I've had to take several liberal arts classes, ranging from the history of rock and roll to anthropology classes. As far as natural sciences go, I have microbiology, molecular biology, college level chemistry and anatomy and physiology 1&2. I've been a Paramedic for 5 years and will be a Registered Nurse in about 6 months. It is FAR more than simply a "skill".

If this vampire class was a chapter or two in a humanities course, fine. Personally I think it's just a waste of time and money. Please tell me how a course like this prepares someone for a career?

If the sole point of college was to prepare people for a specific career, then we wouldn't have Notre Dame. In fact, we wouldn't have universities; trade schools and job specific completer programs would be the norms. Universities strive to create well-rounded people and learning about things other than "job skills" are an integral part of that. It's great that you know what you want to do but a lot of 18-21 year olds do not know what they want to do. More importantly, it's impossible to accurately predict the path your life will take 20 years down the road. I'm not suggesting that knowing about a specific painting of a vampire will somehow improve the earning potential or happiness of a person. But, and I think it's an important but, having an understanding and appreciation (ability to appreciate) for art, lit, music, ect is a valuable "skill" even if it isn't quantifiable.

 

[Emcee77]

This is a disgrace to the education system. I'm attending a community college in Phoenix and they don't even offer stupid courses like this.

Lol to you too. I've had to take several liberal arts classes, ranging from the history of rock and roll to anthropology classes. As far as natural sciences go, I have microbiology, molecular biology, college level chemistry and anatomy and physiology 1&2. I've been a Paramedic for 5 years and will be a Registered Nurse in about 6 months. It is FAR more than simply a "skill".

So they do have stupid courses like this ...

No offense meant though. I think that's great.

If this vampire class was a chapter or two in a humanities course, fine. Personally I think it's just a waste of time and money. Please tell me how a course like this prepares someone for a career?

You may have been typing while I was typing ... see my response to Irishpat. It doesn't prepare you for a career, per se, but it gives you necessary cultural background or a frame of reference that can be important to success, especially in certain fields where you mix with sophisticated people who find that stuff interesting.

Good God. All is lost. Pop culture has no place in our classrooms. You can learn that outside our learning institutions. I mean, really??

That's a fair point. As I've said, I still think there's a place for this sort of thing in our universities, but I get the argument that educational resources are scarce and we should allocate less of them to this sort of thing. I disagree but still there's something to that.

Horrible explanation. But I still love you.

I love you too.

 

[irishpat183]

My dad would've kicked my a$$ had I wasted his money on classes like that...LOL

 

[CarrollVermin]

It is complete BS if these guys suit up. Can you imagine the public backlash if ND played some guys that were charged for assault a couple days prior?

I agree with you 100%, but early reports are that they will travel and play tomorrow.

 

[Emcee77]

If the sole point of college was to prepare people for a specific career, then we wouldn't have Notre Dame. In fact, we wouldn't have universities; trade schools and job specific completer programs would be the norms. Universities strive to create well-rounded people and learning about things other than "job skills" are an integral part of that. It's great that you know what you want to do but a lot of 18-21 year olds do not know what they want to do. More importantly, it's impossible to accurately predict the path your life will take 20 years down the road. I'm not suggesting that knowing about a specific painting of a vampire will somehow improve the earning potential or happiness of a person. But, and I think it's an important but, having an understanding and appreciation (ability to appreciate) for art, lit, music, ect is a valuable "skill" even if it isn't quantifiable.

Winner.

 

[no.1IrishFan]

Listen, my response was NOT a hit on liberal arts courses. I see a necessity for them. My problem lies with an entire course dedicated to fictitious characters that make 13 year old girls lose their mind. If Stephanie Meyers had never wrote those books we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Now it's an accredited college course!?

 

[CarrollVermin]

Brett McMurphy ‏@McMurphyESPN
Pitt statement: (Street, Graham, Pitts)will remain active members of our program while we gain more clarity on this situation”

 

[drayer54]

Hopefully these guys sit and further allow Everett to absolutely throttle that defense. Big numbers!!!

 

[Sheppy]

I took a course about Tolkien at ND. Best course ever actually; assigned reading was the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

But at least that was about some famous works of literature.

 

[Sheppy]

I took a course about Tolkien at ND. Best course ever actually; assigned reading was the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

But at least that was about some famous works of literature.

Just came to mind: maybe they read Dracula in that class? Might not be as ridiculous of a class at it seems at first.

 

[ThePiombino]

Brett McMurphy ‏@McMurphyESPN
Pitt statement: (Street, Graham, Pitts)will remain active members of our program while we gain more clarity on this situation”

Read: Will remain active until after the ND Game.

 

[irishpat183]

Listen, my response was NOT a hit on liberal arts courses. I see a necessity for them. My problem lies with an entire course dedicated to fictitious characters that make 13 year old girls lose their mind. If Stephanie Meyers had never wrote those books we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Now it's an accredited college course!?

Correction.....WINNER

 

[dshans]

Try and let the young people live-- eat the oldest ones first.

Sooo ... now I'm nothing more than a canapé? Chopped liver on a Ritz? With a soupçon of lox, maybe???

I don't get no respect!

 

[Emcee77]

Listen, my response was NOT a hit on liberal arts courses. I see a necessity for them. My problem lies with an entire course dedicated to fictitious characters that make 13 year old girls lose their mind. If Stephanie Meyers had never wrote those books we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Now it's an accredited college course!?

But that's exactly why it's a useful college course. Going back to Dracula, vampire stories have indirectly said a lot about sexual values, female sexuality, social anxiety around female sexual desire, etc., and now suddenly they are hotter than ever. An educated person should understand his cultural environment, and a course like this will help people understand why vampire stories are so persistent in our culture and where they come from. I am pretty sure that it is being taught all over the country, and I'm pretty sure that people who take it will be able to get something out of it, if it's capably taught.

Not to belabor this and continue to clog the thread, but here's all I'm saying at this point: if you don't accept that any liberal arts courses are worthwhile, like irishpat, that's fair enough and I'm ok agreeing to disagree, as I've made my point about that; but if you do think liberal arts education is valuable, I don't think it's fair to be dismissive of this course.

 

[Kaneyoufeelit]

Listen, my response was NOT a hit on liberal arts courses. I see a necessity for them. My problem lies with an entire course dedicated to fictitious characters that make 13 year old girls lose their mind. If Stephanie Meyers had never wrote those books we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Now it's an accredited college course!?

Correction.....WINNER

If Dayne Crist were our QB we wouldn't be having the NC conversation. Now we're relevant!?

You're right, though. We wouldn't have this convo if Stephanie Meyers wrote those books. But she didn't and now we are.

 

[irishpat183]

But that's exactly why it's a useful college course. Going back to Dracula, vampire stories have indirectly said a lot about sexual values, female sexuality, social anxiety around female sexual desire, etc., and now suddenly they are hotter than ever. An educated person should understand his cultural environment, and a course like this will help people understand why vampire stories are so persistent in our culture and where they come from. I am pretty sure that it is being taught all over the country, and I'm pretty sure that people who take it will be able to get something out of it, if it's capably taught.

Not to belabor this and continue to clog the thread, but here's all I'm saying at this point: if you don't accept that any liberal arts courses are worthwhile, like irishpat, that's fair enough and I'm ok agreeing to disagree, as I've made my point about that; but if you do think liberal arts education is valuable, I don't think it's fair to be dismissive of this course.

WHOA! I don't accept ANYTHING liberal......Get my close-mindedness right if you're gonna use me. LOL