Professors use hobbies to develop new classes

Nobody said taking conventional classes was the only way to get through college academics. There are a handful of teachers that have formed classes to spark a little more intrigue.\nStuart Davis, professor of LING-E 103, a topics course through the Department of Linguistics about the Ebonics controversy, was inspired to start this class in 1998 by a national commotion brought on by the Oakland California School Board, which recognized the legitimacy of Ebonics in late 1996. \nThe main confusion surrounding this topic was whether recognizing Ebonics as an official language would pull kids away from learning and using the standard English language. Some argued it wouldn't elevate the "language pattern" (as Jesse Jackson described Ebonics in 1997) to an official language but, rather, use it to support and to compare it to standard English. \n"I think the issue is widely misunderstood, even by highly-educated people," Davis said. "So offering a class that deals with the issue is highly appropriate." \nFor those who might be wondering if terms are learned in the Ebonics Controversy class, the answer is no.\n"We learn about Ebonics and language and their different ideologies," said freshman Ashley Williams. "Really, the main issue is if Ebonics is considered bad English or bad grammar. Is it an actual language, or slang?" \nThe main texts for the class consists of a course packet containing many articles on the issue, and also a 1999 novel by Connie Rose Porter, titled "Imani All Mine." \nWhile Davis finds importance in Ebonics, other professors speak a different language.\nWhat inspired Professor Mary Jo Weaver to start her class, REL-R 222, "Star Trek" and Religion, was a joke between her and one of her students.\n"We were thinking, 'How can we get people in?'" Weaver said.\nUsing "Star Trek" was the bait to lure students, although it's not a complete scam (Trekkies take note). Students in the "Star Trek" and Religion class, which meets twice a week, watch a "Star Trek" episode at least one of the days and then take a quiz on the episode or are a assigned reading about one of the philosophers they study. Some of those philosophers include Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, along with well-known scientists such as Charles Darwin and Sigmund Freud. \nAccording to the course syllabus, the class progresses through religious issues as "Star Trek" characters struggle with their own religious beliefs.\n"Critical study of religion is really an interesting thing. I hope that through this course students will take other religious studies courses," Weaver said. \nBringing things back to earth, Professor Lucille Bertuccio has come up with a class that helps students use their environment. \nLLCL-100, Edible Wild Plants, a course offered through the Collins Living-Learning Center, meets twice a week for an excursion to nearby woodsy areas.\n"I teach the students how to identify plants to see if they are poisonous or not," Bertuccio said. \nTo identify whether a plant is poisonous, students in the class learn to recognize flower parts, numbers of leaves and color, using their texts as references. Students even draw pictures of plants in order to help them recognize in greater detail the parts of a plant.\nBertuccio, who believes "food is always a comfort," said she encourages the students to taste a plant once they identify that it is not poisonous. \nHer students often taste and eat plants, and Bertuccio, who makes salads with plants grown in her own garden, often makes food for the students and teaches them how to use wild plants that can be found on campus to cook for themselves.\n"People are so divorced from the environment that they don't know how to take care of themselves anymore," Bertuccio said. "My goal in this class is to teach students how to use their environment and to be knowledgeable enough to know how to feed ourselves rather than depend on others." \nThese classes are just a few of the unconventional courses offered at IU. \nAlthough some might not fall directly in line with an intended major, many students find them to be enjoyable just for their mere interest in the course. \n"Many have tunnel vision, but you can't just concentrate on four years," Bertuccio said. "People aren't one-dimensional -- you are a whole person who has other interests and hobbies."\n-- Contact staff writer Anne \nPurcell at apurcell@indiana.edu.