5 Cool College Courses to Add to Your Schedule

Who said critical analysis had to be boring? Go beyond your average gen eds with these Columbia College Chicago courses that take a creative, out-of-the-box approach to examining topics like pop culture, gaming, and paleontology.

The Simpsons as Satirical Authors

"I believe that children are our future. Unless we stop them now." – Homer J. Simpson

Since 1989, The Simpsons has provided irreverent commentary on all aspects of American life. This course focuses on self-referentiality and how The Simpsons satirizes itself as an operative principle and strategy.

Zombies in Popular Media

“All bludgeoning weapons are most useful. But if you’re at the point where you have to kill zombies, you’re probably already dead.” – Brendan Riley, Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing

Analyze the underlying questions that zombie movies and books address, such as how people relate to one another, how to trust people in times of need, and what zombies can teach us about being human.

Hip-Hop: A Sonic History

“We all know that Kanye West is an international hip-hop figure, but really understanding that dynamic from a grassroots level to a national level is meaningful because students can see his journey.” – Amina Norman-Hawkins, Faculty Member, Music

As part of Columbia’s innovative Hip-Hop Studies curriculum, this course explores the social conditions of hip-hop’s emergence through critical listening and analysis of music and film.

Game Culture

“Your homework is video games. You come to class and you talk about video games: How did it make you feel? What makes it work? You become a critic, a scientist, and an artist all at once.” – Shayne Bailey, Illustration student

The video game industry is worth more than $100 billion worldwide. A medium with that kind of reach requires critical analysis of its cultural and societal impact. You'll dissect video games and explore topics like sexism and bias in the industry and the difference between big corporations versus indie companies.

Image: Field Journal Excerpt, Christopher Rohrbeck, Cinema Art and Science student

Paleontology Field Observation and Methods: Honors

“It's such a good mix of science and the arts. I went for the beautiful views, but the class ended up inspiring my artwork.” – Emily Gibson, Illustration student

You don't have to be a PhD candidate to take this paleontology course. For two weeks of this five-week course, honors students from various disciplines head to the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona for a field expedition. (That means almost two weeks in tents!) You’ll keep a field notebook as you identify and collect early dinosaur and other fossils, learning about the paleontology and geology of the park.

Interested in these types of courses? Columbia College Chicago takes a creative approach to everything in our catalog—from liberal arts and sciences core classes to pop culture electives.

We offer more than 100 bachelor's degree programs in visual arts, performing arts, media and digital arts, music and sound, business and management, and communication and writing. Whatever your major, you'll have the chance to take courses that push boundaries and shape the dialogue.