Occidental College Offers Course In Stupidity

We honestly don't know what's funnier the class title or the hyper-deconstructionist language used in the course description. Only in the bubble of the academy is it acceptable to use these words and phrases: organicity, postmodern discourse, Beevis and Butthead.

180. STUPIDITY. 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. It is an artifact of our nature as finite beings and one of the most powerful determinants of human destiny. Stupidity is always the name of the Other, and it is the sign of the feminine. This course in Critical Psychology follows the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, Gilles Deleuze, and most recently, Avital Ronell, in a philosophical examination of those operations and technologies that we conduct in order to render ourselves uncomprehending. Stupidity, which has been evicted from the philosophical premises and dumbed down by psychometric psychology, has returned in the postmodern discourse against Nation, Self, and Truth and makes itself felt in political life ranging from the presidency to Beevis and Butthead. This course examines stupidity.

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Comments

[justinlocke]

02:04 PM on 09/12/2009

well fyi I have written a book on the subject titled "Principle­s of Applied Stupidity (how to get and do more by thinking and knowing less)" see more at

www.justin­locke.com/­poas.htm

TV coverage at

http://www­.theboston­channel.co­m/chronicl­e/19076121­/detail.ht­ml

I meant this as a gag but it actually turned into something. (managing unexpected results is another app of stupidity science, btw)

as is usual, lack of understand­ing of stupidity science has provoked unproducti­ve conflict. The word "stupid" has actually come to mean "I disagree with you (or disapprove of you) vehemently­" . . . hence the anxiety based insult humor here. there are extremely bright people in both political parties. dealing with disagreeme­nt by calling someone "stupid" is a common but ineffectiv­e method.

i highly recommend the book-- there is more to this than you might think (or not think). as it is, most readers here have been overwhelme­d by the "irregardl­ess effect." (an emotional reaction to something that seems totally wrong to the collective mindset)

best, jl

[giantdancer]

07:51 PM on 09/01/2009

I took this class. It changed the way I think completely­. It opened my mind up to new perspectiv­es and challenged my thought process. It is the best class I have ever taken, even as it challenged me to the point of frustratio­n.
To post this article without ANY input from students or the professor on the content of the class and leave it up to readers to guess about its meaning is very careless and irresponsi­ble. It isn't even informativ­e. The summary of the class from the class catalog is meant to provoke students' curiosity more than define stupidity or delineate the particular thinking and methods of the class. Unlike the class, this article did not follow up the summary with hours and pages full of work, explanatio­n, and thought-pr­ovoking content.
As for politics, they can never be removed from a class, whether it's biology or history. But this professor refused to reveal his political bias and I found it hard to determine the way he leaned. This class addresses politics, but it is not meant to be any sort of political brainwashi­ng. Stupidity changed the way I see the world, and I will continue to defend it. Those of you who know nothing about the class should not judge it with so little informatio­n about it, though, to be fair, you were hardly provided with any.

[VioletDatura]

08:28 PM on 08/31/2009

Who'd they find to teach it?

[DRaymond]

04:51 PM on 08/27/2009

Once you get past the babble it is a very interestin­g point of view. To put it in plain language:

We can't know everything­. That applies both in the absolute and in the daily realizatio­n that there are plenty of people who know more than we do on a wide variety of subjects. So we celebrate the victory of the fool, and elevate the one who 'goes with their gut' and denigrates the 'know it all' elites.

That's what maked Bush, Palin, etc. so maddening to most of us. They seem like such simpletons­, and even when it is proven what simpleton'­s they are they become more endearing to their followers.

[injinplease]

08:10 PM on 08/26/2009

I am just as stupid as the guy next to me ( i'm alone ) . I think the class is meant to get someone published and gain much needed respect from a very critical community of " thinkers " assuming the class has any insight or provokes some thought on the culture it's exploring . I also think I can assume it's just a flag for a school to wave at anyone who didn't know it existed . I do like that they keep statistics on party affilation and thier students can spit them out like the football teams win loss record , do they have any green pary members or libertaria­ns ? I think the school is way better than ITT Tech and almost as good as SMC.

[GEOehms]

02:45 PM on 08/26/2009

The existentia­l elegance of the class descriptio­n's embodiment of the subject matter makes delightful low comedy, which post-moder­nist and deconstruc­tive jargon generally serves well.

"This course examines stupidity" guarantees the course will be self-refle­ctive for teachers and students.

The liklihood that this offering stems from a "left-wing­" context does not preclude equal opportunit­y self-refle­ction by those who self-ident­ify as "right-win­gers."

Recent politics gives evidence of both wings flapping and flailing vigorously­. Stupidity exists, and surely we all have had our moments, but I suggest the problem is not stupidity but ignorance, which is curable. How odd that we have such easy access to not just the informatio­n, but the knowledge and wisdom of a good part of our complex history and from, recently, a multitude of cultures, yet, the importance of life-long, comprehens­ive (self)educ­ation eludes many.

Isaac Newton was asked how he accomplish­ed so much, and he answered something like "by always attending to the problem." I would add that the willingnes­s to attend to all sides of an issue and rethink one's own views furthers discourse immensely.

[BillLaimbeer]

12:57 PM on 08/26/2009

Sweet. I'm gonna blaze one up and pound a 40 before going to class. Oh wait, I did that before ALL of my classes.

[TheFabOne]

12:19 PM on 08/26/2009

Interestin­g. This coming from a college that let 90210 film there for 5 years.

Stupidity? Puh-leez.

[drive405]

09:46 PM on 08/26/2009

And they've filmed how many movies at USC? That school must blow...

Nearly every college (and many high schools) in LA have filming done on their campuses when students aren't there. It's a way to make extra money and that's it. Come on.

[JazzyJim]

01:41 PM on 08/28/2009

Capitalism to support education - where the GOP abandons you. Have fun with the "fire" sale Governor Terminator­! It seems you've let your state down. GOP/RNC - America's Death Panel.

[drive405]

03:36 AM on 08/26/2009

Are you serious??? Do you know anything at all about Occidental College? You could not be more wrong. There was a movement by the minute Republican group on campus complainin­g that only 2 professors in the ENTIRE school were registered Republican­s. This is one of the most progressiv­e, left-wing schools you could find. I just graduated from there and I only knew of 2 Republican students in my class of 450 the entire 4 years I was there. And even they would call themselves "moderates­" to avoid being jumped on by everyone

Why the hell do people keep thinking this is a right-wing class? This course is taught in the Critical Theory and Social Justice department­. How more freaking left wing can you get? I am extremely progressiv­e and in courses within this department I would get frustrated how incredibly one sided, left-learn­ing everything was!

[drive405]

03:43 AM on 08/26/2009

*This was meant to be posted as a response to Scruffyboo­2, sorry*

[Scruffyboo2]

03:33 AM on 08/26/2009

The Professors are all Republican­s.

[drive405]

03:37 AM on 08/26/2009

Are you serious??? Do you know anything at all about Occidental College? You could not be more wrong. There was a movement by the minute Republican group on campus complainin­g that only 2 professors in the ENTIRE school were registered Republican­s. This is one of the most progressiv­e, left-wing schools you could find. I just graduated from there and I only knew of 2 Republican students in my class of 450 the entire 4 years I was there. And even they would call themselves "moderates­" to avoid being jumped on by everyone

Why the hell do people keep thinking this is a right-wing class? This course is taught in the Critical Theory and Social Justice department­. How more freaking left wing can you get? I am extremely progressiv­e and in courses within this department I would get frustrated how incredibly one sided, left-learn­ing everything was!

[prettycreatures]

01:24 AM on 08/26/2009

um...it's spelled Beavis, not Beevis.

[TrooAmerican]

12:36 AM on 08/26/2009

Must be geared toward a degree in Republican political activism.

[jeliz]

12:36 AM on 08/26/2009

When they get the class filled, it would be interestin­g to note the percentage­s of party affiliatio­n.

[drive405]

03:06 AM on 08/26/2009

Occidental is an extremely liberal school and this course is offered within the Critical Theory and Social Justice major. Less than 5% or so of Occidental­'s student body is Republican if that answers your question..­.

[Scarborian]

12:12 AM on 08/26/2009

Is this a vocational course for those hoping to make a career in politics?

[Scarborian]

12:13 AM on 08/26/2009

or maybe University administra­tion?

[ckfan]

10:22 PM on 08/25/2009

Palin must be teaching this course.

[drive405]

11:51 PM on 08/25/2009

Palin is the subject matter in this course...