90; Liberal Arts

Here are some sample college or high school courses I wrote up a few years ago. (There's no other context. Sorry.)

LIT 2121.01
The Graphic Novel
Dillon, Ross

BAM! WHACK! CRUNCH! HASSELHOF! In this course we will be exploring the young field of the graphic novel and what makes them distinct as a novel from a comic book. Readings will include: Moore, Watchmen, Speigelman, Maus, Gaiman, Sandman, Herge, The Case of the Blue Lotus, Eisner, City of God, Smith, Bone, Thompson, Blankets, Deitch, The Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Miller, The Dark Knight Returns, Ware, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid in the World, and Brown, Ed the Happy Clown.

PHI 2212.01
America meet the East: Indian and Japanese spiritualism of the 50s, 60s, and 70s
Dillon, Ross

In the middle decades of the last century America saw a popular influx of Eastern philosophy and spiritualism in popular culture. We’ll explore the traditional Hindu and Brahman philosophy that was popularized by such movements and figures as Ram Dass and the Hare Krishnas in the first half of the course, and then focus on the Buddhist, particularly the Zen movement for the second half, popularized by Kerouac, Berrigan, D.T. Suzuki and other religious and popular philosophical figures.

CMD 2112.01
Stand-up
Dillon, Ross

What makes a stand up routine work? What differentiates between a stage comedian and a stand-up comedian? In this course we will take a cue from the masters of stand-up comedy and work on our own presentation of material that is designed to play to and make the most use of the stand-up comedy venue.

PHY 2111.01
Introduction to Wave Mechanics
Dillon, Ross

What are wave mechanics? How does wave mechanics apply to Newton’s physics? Quantum physics? My life? We will help answer these questions delving into the fascinating and complex realm of wave mechanics and its uses and difficulties explaining our physical world and the application of wave mechanics to the phenomena of your world including your cat.

ECN 2221.01
Anti-Capitalism
Dillon, Ross

Fuck the system! Never did me any good anyhow. If we reject capitalist economy what do we have left to choose from? Well, there’s socialism, Marxism, fascism, and anarchist approaches to economy. Excluding the latter we’ll investigate the three remaining forms of economy and ask where they got their roots, and how they’re related to capitalism as well as the arguments they make against capitalism and the grounds for rejection.

WCV 2111.01
The Vikings
Dillon, Ross

An elite group of warriors who ransacked and terrorized their neighbors, or peace-loving spiritual explorers and agrarians? In this course we are going to try and solve the mystery of the Vikings, the apparent discrepancies of their society and their impact on our Civilization. Research and two papers are part of this course.

DGA 2111.01
Numbers, Computers and Art
Dillon, Ross

In this class students will work with automatic art creation, using programs and statistical variabilities to generate art patterns and discover what art can be made by a computer or programmer asking when is the art is art and who is the artist?

PSY 2221.01
Are You Crazy?
Dillon, Ross

What is sanity and insanity? What are the measures of a sane mind compared to a normal mind? In fact, just what is normal, in terms of a healthy mind? This course aims to challenge the preconceptions of our definitions and explore the historical definitions and sometimes grisly treatments of insanity compared to sanity. Students will research topics of their choosing and interest.

All courses four credits, and meet during the period of that other class you have to take.