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Are zombie courses creating mindless, debt-ridden students in higher education?
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From English to Anthropology, professors are producing revenue for departments with fun pop culture courses that may not pay off for students. - photo by Eric Schulzke
With college costs rapidly escalating, student debt growing, and the real-world applications of some college degrees increasingly questioned, NPR is raising questions about zombies in the classroom.

Metaphorically speaking, the concern seems to be that charging students exorbitant tuition to fill their minds with pop culture might produce a generation of mental zombies with poor job prospects.

NPR visited Amherst College in western Massachusetts, which, like many colleges, in the 1960s replaced its core curriculum with an open proliferation of choices with few if any requirements.

You don't have to study science at Amherst, not even in general education.

"It's all good stuff as long as it's taught in a rigorous way," Catherine Epstein, history professor and dean of faculty at Amherst, told NPR as she defended several seemingly obscure courses.

NPR also spoke with a more skeptical Michael Polikoff, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, who listed off a series of dubious courses from around the country, such as "Video Games and the Boundaries of Narrative," "Disney for Grownups," and "Knowing Television."

And then there are zombies. You can, in fact, study zombies at many prominent institutions of higher learning.

At Ohio State University, you can take an anthropology class on zombies from Professor Jeffrey Cohen, who notes that the mythology of zombies has deep roots in many cultures.

"Looking at past societies, we note how the zombie has developed," Cohen writes. "We also explore the parallels and connections that link cannibalism, disease and witchcraft to the undead as well as social rules and rituals. Finally, we explore the place of zombies in contemporary life."

George Mason University in Virginia also offers a zombie anthro course, which "explores how human beings across cultures have historically expressed social anxieties through references to the one particular manifestation of the undead: zombies, figures representing a state in which human beings are animate and affective in the world around them, but lack consciousness or free will."

And don't worry about this being a time waster: the syllabus helpfully notes that the course "fulfills the college requirement in non-Western culture."

At the University of Pennsylvania, you could study zombies through a medical lens if you are Health and Societies major. It is not clear from the department website if the course is offered regularly.

"Using more than a century of 'zombie culture' as a lens, this course surveys the history of western medical knowledge and practice from antiquity to the present, with a particular focus on the technologies that have been used to manage bodies," the syllabus reads, which suggests it may be trying to sneak nutrition in alongside the cotton candy.

At Marylhurst University near Portland, Oregon, you can take a Zombies in literature and film course from Professor Jesse Strommel, who argues that the current obsession with zombies and other forms of grotesque violence reflect a disconnection from our own bodies, a kind of technological living death.

"The zombie is part and parcel of this cultural obsession, but it is also the antidote," Strommel writes in his syllabus. "The zombie threatens to deconstruct us (to eat us), but in an altogether different way from the machine. Whereas machines devour our flesh, the zombie just chews, turning us into zombies, which are the epitome of flesh. Machines take our flesh away. Zombies proffer it back."
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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