1. The Unbearable Whiteness of Barbie – President Barack Obama’s alma mater, Occidental College, is now offering a mandatory course for freshmen called, “The Unbearable Whiteness of Barbie – Race and Popular Culture in the U.S.” The course tries to “explore ways in which scientific racism has been put to use in the making of Barbie” and includes academic literature from Sandra Kisneros to Karl Marx.

2. The Theology of Eating – Loyola College thought it might be interesting to explore the link between God and eating. In this course, students learn “complex religious aspects associated with eating by exploring the texts to expound the intricacies of etiquette in a canonical context.”

3. Stupidity – Occidental College also offers its freshman a course in stupidity. The course uses the research Friedrich Nietzsche and Gilles Deleuze to clarify that stupidity is neither ignorance nor organicity, but rather, a corollary of knowing and an element of normalcy, the double of intelligence rather than its opposite.

4. The Joy of Garbage – Santa Clara University tries to change the negative impression of garbage with their science course for non-science majors, “The Joy of Garbage.” In this course students discover the difference between garbage, discard and waster along with performing research and learning how to work with data.

5. The Art of Sin & the Sin of Art – The Rhode Island School of Design attracts aspiring artists and designers with their course, “The Art of Sin & the Sin of Art” in which students analyze the moral dimensions of the works of classical and modern artists.

6. Philosophy & Star Trek – Georgetown University offers a course on philosophy and Star Trek which discusses and dissects philosophical questions that come up in the science fiction entertainment drama, Star Trek. The works of Aristotle and Kant among others serve as the foundation of the course that also serves as an introduction to metaphysics and epistemology philosophy.

7. Zombies – The University of Alabama has a new course focused on zombies. The course draws parallels between zombies and the American consumption patterns. English professor Sean Hoade says, “Zombies act as a mirror for Americans, not only as we see ourselves but also as the rest of the world sees America in the time of George W. Bush: a roaming, voracious killer turning its victims into soulless creatures like itself.”

8. Maple Syrup: The Real Thing – Alfred University is now offering an unconventional course studying the production of maple syrup. The course analyzes the production techniques that were initially invented by the Native Americans along with visits to local producers, restaurants and festivals augmenting the process. The course asks that students be willing to work for long periods of time in the cold, snow and mud.

9. Phallus – Occidental College makes the list a third time with their course that analyzes the significance of the phallus and the “relation of the phallus to masculinity, femininity, genital organs and the fetish.”

10. The Art of Walking – Centre College debuts a new class dedicated to the ideas of Immanuel Kant that discusses the “understanding of intelligible and sensual design in inner and outer nature.” This untraditional class includes walks in the park (literally) in addition to freelance assignments for students to appreciate the subtleties of walking.