University of Virginia rising senior Thomas O'Neil first heard that his school was offering a "Game of Thrones" course this past spring. "I immediately signed up," he told Speakeasy in an interview. "I don't even think it was a two-second delay between me finding it and going online and registering for the class."

The 24-student class ran for four weeks this summer, covering George R.R. Martin's first book in "A Song of Ice and Fire" as well as three seasons of the HBO television show....