> Stupidity is always the name of
> the Other, and it is the sign
> of the feminine.

> returned in the postmodern
> discourse against Nation,
> Self, and Truth and

Without humorous intent, capitalizations like that are unforgivable.

Please tell me they were kidding. Can you imagine anyone who would take this course voluntarily? Maybe I'd take it if they showed a lot of Beavis and Butthead videos, but I'm afraid someone would want me to write a paper.

Have you ever noticed that Critical Theorist write like precocious adolescents?

Can't help but wonder what you have to do to get an A in that course...

My assumption would be that the only way this class would work is if it was taught by a person well versed in stupidity. And the person who wrote this sure seems like a great candidate for the job. Then along with the students that sign up for the course; Occidental could give degrees in “Stupid is as stupid does”.

This would then qualify them for any position available in the U.S. government…..

Okay, the postmodern jargon tells us that this course as described is pretty worthless.

However, the subject of stupidity in folk and popular culture is worth looking at. Most societies attribute stupidity to the people in some region or locale: for Californians it's Arkies and Okies; for Jews it's the people of Chelm; for my neighbors in Wisconsin it's Norwegians, embodied in "Ole and Lena" jokes. And so on. "Always the name of the other," as the course description says. You won't catch me saying it that way, but it's worthwhile to note.

It would be interesting to trace the words and actions of the stupid in folklore and popular entertainment across cultures. I wish I had thought of this way to organize a special topics course while I was still teaching. You can bet I would (apparently unlike the teacher who wrote the course description above) balance out tales of feminine stupidity with ones about male idiocy. There are plenty.

And old rpm daddy, I would have assigned students to watch *Beavis and Butthead* outside of class, so the viewing didn't take up discussion time.

I get an A in this class without even going [much like the band that makes money by refusing to play]... because I have a well defined sense of that which I don't want to know...
or maybe I'm wrong and just don't care.

I'm guessing there are few staff in this Dept. Seems the description is as much the first lesson in the course. Yay Ed.

Why do I get the nagging feeling that the coursework on stupidity in modern social discourse will focus on the moronic Limbaugh dittoheads and not so much on the moronic wealth-redistribution crowd?