![College courses today are different from the traditional ones years ago [Image: flickr.com]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2017/9/2/660x290/b_502x220x82/college-courses-today-are-different-from-the-traditional-ones-years-ago-image-flickrcom_1545625.jpg "College courses today are different from the traditional ones years ago [Image: flickr.com]")
On Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017, the weekend hosts of the "Today" show on NBC discussed unusual Courses that are being taught or have been taught in colleges recently. They are quite different and less traditional than the ones taught years ago. Universities are offering unique courses to stand out among other schools and to entice students to apply.
Entertainment
Classes are taught on various college campuses with the focus on iconic singers. For instance, there was once an elective at Rutger University that focused only on Beyoncé. It was revised to include her "Lemonade" video that went viral.
Other colleges have electives about singers as well. Skidmore College offered the Sociology of Miley Cyrus. It was about how the singer rose to fame from being a child actress to being a talented and successful singer.
If you like the way Judge Judy argues her cases on television, you can learn more at the University of California Berkeley. Students aren't taught about the legal system. Instead, they examine how people in court go about answering simple questions.
About foods
There is a real course at Alfred University in New York about not just any syrup but about maple syrup. The lessons focus on the history of the production of maple syrup. Along with in-class instructions, students visit factories to see how maple syrup is made.
They also get to sample it.
Florida Southern College in Lakeland offers a complete degree program on not just oranges in the Sunshine State but all citrus. This school is the only one in the country that offers a citrus curriculum.
Superheroes and other electives
The Science of Superheroes is taught at the University of California Irvine by a physics professor who discusses the powers of fictitious superheroes.
Students become acquainted with heroes such as the Incredible Hulk bursting out of his clothes and Superman's X-Ray vision. A bonus is that students get to design their own superhero.
The American Vacation is a course offered at the Univerity of Iowa. It is about the dynamic of American families on vacation whether they are traveling in cars, staying in cabins or hotel rooms.
It is a study of how people plan their vacations and what they do while on their getaways.
The Art of Walking is a course offered at the Centre College in Kentucky that focuses on the importance of walking rather than traveling in vehicles. The instructor discusses what people do while walking. Participants are advised to take notice of the beauty of nature around them.
The Joy of Garbage is offered at Santa Clara University in California that explores why people throw things away. Special attention is given to the environment and recycling.
If anyone is interested in the above courses, check with the colleges to see if they are still available. The curriculum changes from time to time and the courses listed in this article might not always be current.
