As in: Teaching , The Living Dead

In an elevator yesterday, I forgot this primary rule of communication. I was chatting with our associate dean about the j-session course I plan to teach this coming January, Understanding Zombies. Here's what I should have said:

I'm planning to propose a media and cultural studies course focused on the horror figure of the zombie. Students will watch films, read comics and stories, read some critical theory, and produce projects in the last week. I'm calling it Understanding Zombies.

Here's what I said:

I'm planning a course for J-session. It's called Understanding Zombies!

Horrified blank stare. The associate dean then mentioned that someone last year tried to propose a one-credit course in "doing your taxes". I spent the rest of the elevator ride assuring him that it would be far more rigorous than the tax class. D'oh.

Posted by briley at August 22, 2006 7:43 AM