Under Discussion

4 Spring 2015 | Under Discussion Jamming to the Grateful Dead. Interpreting lyrical connections. Discussing concert performances. There's no way a course like this could ever exist, right? Wrong. Just ask Troy senior Gabrielle Sorge who recently enrolled in the religion course "Rock 'n' Roll and Spirituality." "Music can bring you out of a deep, dark point in your life," Sorge says. "Being able to come to this class and listen to music together and dissect it is very important for me personally." Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion H. Talat Halman teaches this class that explores mainstream rockers such as the Beatles, U2, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. It delves into lyrics, music, concert performances, fandom, subcultures and a sense of meaning in all the dimensions of spirituality and rock music. "It's very rewarding to see students learn about activities that are already part of their lives and see them open greater vistas of understanding about their cultural lives," Halman said of the course that will be offered again in spring 2016. Central Michigan University is working diligently to incorporate pop culture- related courses into its curriculum and provide students unique and modern forms of learning. In addition to rock 'n' roll, superheroes and zombies are among the pop culture topics you may find in CHSBS classrooms. Pop culture crashes CMU classrooms • B y J o e Si n g e r, '15 Comics, zombies and rock 'n' roll Photo by Dan Digmann, M . A . 15

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