Redbrickbear said:

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boognish_bear said:

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Today in my Harry Potter class @Baylor, we had a hard and necessary conversation about JK Rowling and her hatred of trans- people. We decided novelist Rowling, who wrote with compassion about diversity, equity, and inclusion, is worth our attention. Twitter Rowling? Shame on her.

— Greg Garrett (@Greg1Garrett) April 2, 2024

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Harry Potter class?……W.T.F.

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It is a prerequisite for The Alfred E Neuman ENDOWED post-doc studies.

Mr Neuman requested "endowed" be emphasized.

They why do they require this commitment from students? Professors with any unbiblical belief can teach there? They require nothing from their faculty in terms of doctrinal adherence??

— Megan Basham (@megbasham) April 5, 2024

Because, mercifully, we are not a GD Bible college. If you want that Liberty is always an option.

Not directed at you. Just the tweets.

nein51 said:

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Redbrickbear said:

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nein51 said:

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Because, mercifully, we are not a GD Bible college. If you want that Liberty is always an option.

Not directed at you. Just the tweets.

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Since being found in 1845 we have never been a "Bible college"

If you are scared of that you can be sure it's in no danger.

Yet somehow we also survived for almost 200 years without liberal ideologies like professor Garrett being on staff.

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There's no reason under the sun there should be a Harry Potter course

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Why?

Whether she prevails in this conflict with the ruling institutions of the Western world bearing nothing but reason and reality in the face of unlimited coercive power hijacked by ideological mania is a vitally important matter https://t.co/9Tj2yTavmT

— Wesley Yang (@wesyang) April 7, 2024

nein51 said:

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Osodecentx said:

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nein51 said:

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Redbrickbear said:

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nein51 said:

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Because, mercifully, we are not a GD Bible college. If you want that Liberty is always an option.

Not directed at you. Just the tweets.

---

Since being found in 1845 we have never been a "Bible college"

If you are scared of that you can be sure it's in no danger.

Yet somehow we also survived for almost 200 years without liberal ideologies like professor Garrett being on staff.

---

There's no reason under the sun there should be a Harry Potter course

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Why?

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It costs $51,738 a year to go to Baylor or around $1725/hr (15 hours per semester) so assuming a 3 hour course that's $5,175 to discuss wizards and fantasy. You can spend all the time you want on the Harry Potter forum (there are literally dozens) for free.

As a part of course in modern literature, no problem, colleges teach all kinds of stuff, as a full on course…there's no reason for that to exist. That's the kind of stuff I would expect at a community college.

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I don't see the harm in offering the course. I think it is a significant piece of literature in our society. I also point out that nobody has to take it (not a requirement) & there is no harm to Baylor's reputation, IMO.

I understand that and I suspect it is offered because it is a popular elective. On the other hand, I find it difficult to view JK Rowling as a writer on the level of William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, the Bront sisters, Sam Clemens, CS Lewis, etc. Granted, I haven't ready any of it so I'm willing to accept that it might be the greatest literature of our day. Given what most of pop culture looks like these days, I doubt it.

historian said:

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I understand that ping and I suspect it is offered because it is a popular elective. On the other hand, I find it difficult to view JK Rowling as a writer on the level of William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, the Bront sisters, Sam Clemens, CS Lewis, etc. Granted, I haven't ready any of it so I'm willing to accept that it might be the greatest literature of our day. Given what most of pop culture looks like these days, I doubt it.

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I agree with your post.
I enjoyed the Potter series. I'm not saying it belongs in a survey course of the Great Books, just that it is significant in our culture and worthy of an elective class.

Try one of the Potter series; you might be surprised.

I've been told that multiple times. I might some day but I don't have much time for pleasure reading these days so it won't be soon. Yo be honest I have little interest because I'm a huge Tolkien & Lewis fan & I view most books from that genre as sub par.

historian said:

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I understand that and I suspect it is offered because it is a popular elective. On the other hand, I find it difficult to view JK Rowling as a writer on the level of William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, the Bront sisters, Sam Clemens, CS Lewis, etc. Granted, I haven't ready any of it so I'm willing to accept that it might be the greatest literature of our day. Given what most of pop culture looks like these days, I doubt it.

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the HP collection is solid work but book 7 is like season 8 of GOT.. this should not be the case.

Sadly, there is better fan fiction endings than book 7..

Could be an interesting elective i guess

Osodecentx said:

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nein51 said:

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Osodecentx said:

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nein51 said:

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Redbrickbear said:

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nein51 said:

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Because, mercifully, we are not a GD Bible college. If you want that Liberty is always an option.

Not directed at you. Just the tweets.

---

Since being found in 1845 we have never been a "Bible college"

If you are scared of that you can be sure it's in no danger.

Yet somehow we also survived for almost 200 years without liberal ideologies like professor Garrett being on staff.

---

There's no reason under the sun there should be a Harry Potter course

---

Why?

---

It costs $51,738 a year to go to Baylor or around $1725/hr (15 hours per semester) so assuming a 3 hour course that's $5,175 to discuss wizards and fantasy. You can spend all the time you want on the Harry Potter forum (there are literally dozens) for free.

As a part of course in modern literature, no problem, colleges teach all kinds of stuff, as a full on course…there's no reason for that to exist. That's the kind of stuff I would expect at a community college.

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I don't see the harm in offering the course. I think it is a significant piece of literature in our society. I also point out that nobody has to take it (not a requirement) & there is no harm to Baylor's reputation, IMO.

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Re Baylor's reputation…you apparently haven't read most of the replies to those tweets

Harrison Bergeron said:

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nein51 said:

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Osodecentx said:

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nein51 said:

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Osodecentx said:

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nein51 said:

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Redbrickbear said:

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nein51 said:

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Because, mercifully, we are not a GD Bible college. If you want that Liberty is always an option.

Not directed at you. Just the tweets.

---

Since being found in 1845 we have never been a "Bible college"

If you are scared of that you can be sure it's in no danger.

Yet somehow we also survived for almost 200 years without liberal ideologies like professor Garrett being on staff.

---

There's no reason under the sun there should be a Harry Potter course

---

Why?

---

It costs $51,738 a year to go to Baylor or around $1725/hr (15 hours per semester) so assuming a 3 hour course that's $5,175 to discuss wizards and fantasy. You can spend all the time you want on the Harry Potter forum (there are literally dozens) for free.

As a part of course in modern literature, no problem, colleges teach all kinds of stuff, as a full on course…there's no reason for that to exist. That's the kind of stuff I would expect at a community college.

---

I don't see the harm in offering the course. I think it is a significant piece of literature in our society. I also point out that nobody has to take it (not a requirement) & there is no harm to Baylor's reputation, IMO.

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Re Baylor's reputation…you apparently haven't read most of the replies to those tweets

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Little guy got owned. It was funny how he replied with snark to the first 10-20 responses and then he got owned so bad he quit. Like most radical fascists, he could not actually defend his POV.

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You keep calling him a fascist (and while all tyrannical socialists to some extent look alike) I can assure you that Professor Garrett does not think of himself as a fascist.

He thinks of himself as a Marxist…he is just such a coward he would never come out and say it publicly.

But make no mistake….that is what he is

Osodecentx said:

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nein51 said:

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Osodecentx said:

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nein51 said:

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Redbrickbear said:

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nein51 said:

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Because, mercifully, we are not a GD Bible college. If you want that Liberty is always an option.

Not directed at you. Just the tweets.

---

Since being found in 1845 we have never been a "Bible college"

If you are scared of that you can be sure it's in no danger.

Yet somehow we also survived for almost 200 years without liberal ideologies like professor Garrett being on staff.

---

There's no reason under the sun there should be a Harry Potter course

---

Why?

---

It costs $51,738 a year to go to Baylor or around $1725/hr (15 hours per semester) so assuming a 3 hour course that's $5,175 to discuss wizards and fantasy. You can spend all the time you want on the Harry Potter forum (there are literally dozens) for free.

As a part of course in modern literature, no problem, colleges teach all kinds of stuff, as a full on course…there's no reason for that to exist. That's the kind of stuff I would expect at a community college.

---

I don't see the harm in offering the course. I think it is a significant piece of literature in our society. I also point out that nobody has to take it (not a requirement) & there is no harm to Baylor's reputation, IMO.

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If it's that significant it should be part of a broader survey course, perhaps called "Adolescent literature and their cultural and societal effects" or something to that effect. Not as a stand-alone course. Not if you want a Baylor grad one day to apply to medical school and get asked if he/she learned their biology from a pop-up book. Maybe they'll be a gastroenterologist one day and their patients will see their Baylor degree on the wall and ask if they learned the complex workings of the intestinal tract from the Pottysaurus book series.

Most Leftists reserve the label "fascist" for those people they hate without really understanding it's meaning. Even in academia, there are many myths that are perpetrated. It's based on ideology and ignorance. But it's still inaccurate. Just because someone doesn't think of oneself a certain label doesn't mean it isn't true. That's quite common with Leftists of all varieties (& probably many other people regardless of ideology). For example, trans "women" think they are women but really are men. Our thoughts do not dictate reality. The more arrogant someone is, I think the more likely this is to be the case. Leftists can be very arrogant. But pride is common to everyone to some degree.

BusyTarpDuster2017 said:

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Osodecentx said:

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nein51 said:

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Osodecentx said:

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nein51 said:

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Redbrickbear said:

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nein51 said:

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Because, mercifully, we are not a GD Bible college. If you want that Liberty is always an option.

Not directed at you. Just the tweets.

---

Since being found in 1845 we have never been a "Bible college"

If you are scared of that you can be sure it's in no danger.

Yet somehow we also survived for almost 200 years without liberal ideologies like professor Garrett being on staff.

---

There's no reason under the sun there should be a Harry Potter course

---

Why?

---

It costs $51,738 a year to go to Baylor or around $1725/hr (15 hours per semester) so assuming a 3 hour course that's $5,175 to discuss wizards and fantasy. You can spend all the time you want on the Harry Potter forum (there are literally dozens) for free.

As a part of course in modern literature, no problem, colleges teach all kinds of stuff, as a full on course…there's no reason for that to exist. That's the kind of stuff I would expect at a community college.

---

I don't see the harm in offering the course. I think it is a significant piece of literature in our society. I also point out that nobody has to take it (not a requirement) & there is no harm to Baylor's reputation, IMO.

---

If it's that significant it should be part of a broader survey course, perhaps called "Adolescent literature and their cultural and societal effects" or something to that effect. Not as a stand-alone course. Not if you want a Baylor grad one day to apply to medical school and get asked if he/she learned their biology from a pop-up book. Maybe they'll be a gastroenterologist one day and their patients will see their Baylor degree on the wall and ask if they learned the complex workings of the intestinal tract from the Pottysaurus book series.

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"I could have been a brain surgeon, but my university offered a 1 hour elective on Harry Potter and all of the med schools rejected me"

Proud 1992 Alum said:

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Just FYI, "Liberal Fascism" by Jonah Goldberg is a great book. While fascism is thought to be right-wing, it actually can be persuasively argued to be left-wing. E.g., nazis and national socialism.

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An excellent book with a very distinctive cover

I've seen articles about it in some conservative news sites.

historian said:

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Most Leftists reserve the label "fascist" for those people they hate without really understanding it's meaning. Even in academia, there are many myths that are perpetrated. It's based on ideology and ignorance. But it's still inaccurate. Just because someone doesn't think of oneself a certain label doesn't mean it isn't true. That's quite common with Leftists of all varieties (& probably many other people regardless of ideology). For example, trans "women" think they are women but really are men. Our thoughts do not dictate reality. The more arrogant someone is, I think the more likely this is to be the case. Leftists can be very arrogant. But pride is common to everyone to some degree.

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Correct. Fascism may be the most misused and misunderstood word in the culture. Its an economic theory that is to the right of socialism and to the left of mercantilism.

Harrison Bergeron said:

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historian said:

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Most Leftists reserve the label "fascist" for those people they hate without really understanding it's meaning. Even in academia, there are many myths that are perpetrated. It's based on ideology and ignorance. But it's still inaccurate. Just because someone doesn't think of oneself a certain label doesn't mean it isn't true. That's quite common with Leftists of all varieties (& probably many other people regardless of ideology). For example, trans "women" think they are women but really are men. Our thoughts do not dictate reality. The more arrogant someone is, I think the more likely this is to be the case. Leftists can be very arrogant. But pride is common to everyone to some degree.

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Correct. Fascism may be the most misused and misunderstood word in the culture. Its an economic theory that is to the right of socialism and to the left of mercantilism.

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I would also suggest that the Left/Right appellation fails with regard to Fascism.

Interesting description but I think the reality is more complicated. The simplest way to describe fascism is that it is socialism that tolerated private property but the govt has so much control over how one can use one's property that ownership means little. It's brilliant because when failures inevitably results the horror politicians will blame the victims, the businessmen unable to succeed under govt rules, regulations, mandates, etc.

Osodecentx said:

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BusyTarpDuster2017 said:

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Osodecentx said:

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nein51 said:

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Osodecentx said:

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nein51 said:

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Redbrickbear said:

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nein51 said:

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Because, mercifully, we are not a GD Bible college. If you want that Liberty is always an option.

Not directed at you. Just the tweets.

---

Since being found in 1845 we have never been a "Bible college"

If you are scared of that you can be sure it's in no danger.

Yet somehow we also survived for almost 200 years without liberal ideologies like professor Garrett being on staff.

---

There's no reason under the sun there should be a Harry Potter course

---

Why?

---

It costs $51,738 a year to go to Baylor or around $1725/hr (15 hours per semester) so assuming a 3 hour course that's $5,175 to discuss wizards and fantasy. You can spend all the time you want on the Harry Potter forum (there are literally dozens) for free.

As a part of course in modern literature, no problem, colleges teach all kinds of stuff, as a full on course…there's no reason for that to exist. That's the kind of stuff I would expect at a community college.

---

I don't see the harm in offering the course. I think it is a significant piece of literature in our society. I also point out that nobody has to take it (not a requirement) & there is no harm to Baylor's reputation, IMO.

---

If it's that significant it should be part of a broader survey course, perhaps called "Adolescent literature and their cultural and societal effects" or something to that effect. Not as a stand-alone course. Not if you want a Baylor grad one day to apply to medical school and get asked if he/she learned their biology from a pop-up book. Maybe they'll be a gastroenterologist one day and their patients will see their Baylor degree on the wall and ask if they learned the complex workings of the intestinal tract from the Pottysaurus book series.

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"I could have been a brain surgeon, but my university offered a 1 hour elective on Harry Potter and all of the med schools rejected me"

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I think the point was that Baylor's reputation could be a joke. If you've ever applied to very competitive programs (like top medical schools) where you need to stand out, it really can matter. Their admission committees have and probably still do consider a college's reputation for the level of rigor in its coursework. If the kinds of courses offered is ripe for jokes, then that really isn't going to help.

BusyTarpDuster2017 said:

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Osodecentx said:

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BusyTarpDuster2017 said:

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Osodecentx said:

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nein51 said:

---

Osodecentx said:

---

nein51 said:

---

Redbrickbear said:

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nein51 said:

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Because, mercifully, we are not a GD Bible college. If you want that Liberty is always an option.

Not directed at you. Just the tweets.

---

Since being found in 1845 we have never been a "Bible college"

If you are scared of that you can be sure it's in no danger.

Yet somehow we also survived for almost 200 years without liberal ideologies like professor Garrett being on staff.

---

There's no reason under the sun there should be a Harry Potter course

---

Why?

---

It costs $51,738 a year to go to Baylor or around $1725/hr (15 hours per semester) so assuming a 3 hour course that's $5,175 to discuss wizards and fantasy. You can spend all the time you want on the Harry Potter forum (there are literally dozens) for free.

As a part of course in modern literature, no problem, colleges teach all kinds of stuff, as a full on course…there's no reason for that to exist. That's the kind of stuff I would expect at a community college.

---

I don't see the harm in offering the course. I think it is a significant piece of literature in our society. I also point out that nobody has to take it (not a requirement) & there is no harm to Baylor's reputation, IMO.

---

If it's that significant it should be part of a broader survey course, perhaps called "Adolescent literature and their cultural and societal effects" or something to that effect. Not as a stand-alone course. Not if you want a Baylor grad one day to apply to medical school and get asked if he/she learned their biology from a pop-up book. Maybe they'll be a gastroenterologist one day and their patients will see their Baylor degree on the wall and ask if they learned the complex workings of the intestinal tract from the Pottysaurus book series.

---

"I could have been a brain surgeon, but my university offered a 1 hour elective on Harry Potter and all of the med schools rejected me"

---

I think the point was that Baylor's reputation could be a joke. If you've ever applied to very competitive programs (like top medical schools) where you need to stand out, it really can matter. Their admission committees have and probably still do consider a college's reputation for the level of rigor in its coursework. If the kinds of courses offered is ripe for jokes, then that really isn't going to help.

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I understand what you are saying but, if anything, the elite colleges have a ton of courses like the Harry Potter course. Thankfully, Baylor's academic reputation has been on a steady rise since I graduated over 3 decades ago.

historian said:

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Baylor has a Harry Potter class???

Do they still teach Shakespeare? When I was a student, there was a class on Oxford Christian's CS Lewis & JRR Tolkien. It was listed in the catalog but I don't know if it was actually offered. I never saw it. If I had had the opportunity, I might have taken it as an elective. They still are two of my favorite 20th century writers. This would be a great class to offer but I don't expect it is offered now either.

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I don't know how often it's taught, but I did see that the Oxford Christians course is actually being offered in the Fall '24 with the most recent recipient of the incredibly prestigious award at Baylor, the Cornelia Marschall Smith award, Dr. Richard Russell.

https://news.web.baylor.edu/news/story/2023/english-professor-honored-cornelia-marschall-smith-professor-year