By Drew Roberts

With advising season just around the corner, building a schedule for the 2024 Fall semester is a chief concern for Montevallo students. On Monday March 5, the UM Registrar’s Office released a list of every course offered for the 2024 Fall Semester.

While the course list looks similar to previous years, those in UM’s Honors Program have the choice of several special topics classes.

Horror Movies and Modern Culture

Taught by Professor Logan Freeman in the Department of Communication, “Horror Movies and Modern Culture” seeks to not only get under your skin, but force you to question horror’s role in the media landscape.

Freeman hopes students come to appreciate the art behind the scares while enjoying themselves along the way.

“Horror is a great reflector of the times, showing us how we deal with the collective anxieties at different societal/ cultural levels,” Freeman said. “Horror helps us make sense of things we have a hard time verbalizing (anxieties and dread and un-told hopelessness and whatnot), at least until we give it a name, and a face, and it could be monstrous, or human like, or a ghost or demon…but it helps us see what we’re dealing with. Also, cause it’s fun. Monsters are rad. Chaos reigns.” 

Freeman not only likes to get “a little weird” in his classes, but hopes for his students to “get fearless with their weirdness.”

“I figured this class is a great first step towards that,” he said. “I’ve taught it at a few other colleges and I’ve gotten a great responses..a few ‘Ew this is gross’ or ‘Why did you do this do us?’ but mostly gooey, bloody, darkness-filled standing ovations by like-minded Deadites.”

The only requirements for this hybrid class are completion of an English 101 class, enrollment in the Honors Program, the ability to write your thoughts about scary movies and the stomach to watch them.

For students not in the Honors Program, they can sign up for the MC 450-501 cross-listed version of this course.

The Science of Superheroes

Sparked from the dialogues between Dr. Danielle Haskett Jennings and her students regarding the scientific background of superhero powers, “The Science of Superheroes” seeks to answer the many questions one may have after watching a Marvel movie.

Dr. Alex Beringer, who is co-teaching the class with Jennings, listed questions like “Can Batman really move like that? and “What can genetic science tell us about the X-Men?” as jumping-off points for a variety of lectures and discussions.

Much of Beringer’s studies focus on the medium of comics. In fact, he recently published a book titled “Lost Literacies: Experiments from the 19th Century US Comic Strip.” In the class, he hopes to delve into the deeper issues hidden in the panels.

“We’ll [try] to think about how an understanding of the science behind superheroes can help us think about the underlying themes, histories, and ethics of the comics themselves,” Beringer said. “For instance, we’re anticipating some fascinating conversations about how the fictional technology in ‘The Black Panther’ might offer commentary on the real life ecological and humanitarian disasters in Africa and elsewhere.”

Alongside spirited discussions, students will also prepare museum-style exhibits centered on the Science of Superheroes. Beringer noted that the project is perfect for those hoping to work in museums, libraries or marketing, emphasizing the need to “teach audiences about a topic through eye-catching imagery and sharp writing.”

Students wary of adding a science class to their course load need not worry. All levels of knowledge are welcome.

The Beatles: Culture and Consciousness

One could say that Dr. Jim Murphy has been preparing to teach this class since Christmas Day in 1978 when he opened up a copy of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” At least, that’s how he’d describe it.

Murphy’s class on the pop culture tour-de-force that was The Beatles will explore many aspects of the band’s success as well as its greater cultural impact. Though he emphasized the fun to be had in the classroom, he noted that it won’t be a time to passively listen to the band’s greatest hits.

“There’s a lot that’s stunningly beautiful and powerful [about The Beatles],” Murphy said. “But there’s also a lot that demands our highest critical thinking skills and an ability to understand human shortcomings, failures, overreaches and misunderstandings, as is the case with any great art in general. We’re going to look at and listen to it all.”

Murphy hopes that students can walk away from the class knowing just how big “Beatlemania” was in regards to politics, style, filmmaking and more, saying, “I’d like for them to see how that the times that formed them and that they helped to form, the 1960s, involved so much change in all these areas, how profound that change was and how the ripples from it are still felt today.”

Aside from these three classes, you can check out the full list of Honors special topics courses below.