Well-known universities adding meaning to ‘useless degree’
Classes were offered last year that would not have passed muster with most liberal universities in the last century. Examples of classes offered last year included addressing black queers in leather, how to be a b(beep), fat as the F word, queer Russia, unsettling whiteness, etc. These schools are expensive, ranging around $59,000 or more a year, not including additional costs. One of these universities is reported to have announced the coverage of abortion related costs.
From The Daily Caller:
A course titled “Unsettling Whiteness” was offered by Northwestern University in the 2023-2024 school year, according to the university’s course catalog. The course seeks to make the “historical, political, and cultural formation of whiteness in Western modernity visible” for analysis.
Students at Northwestern hosted a speaker in April that accused Israelis of eating the organs of Palestinians. Tuition at the school for the 2023–24 academic year was estimated to be nearly $65,000 and nearly $92,000 with all expenses including books, fees, room and board, according to the university’s website.
Davidson College offered a course titled “Latinx Sexual Dissidence and Guerrilla Translation,” according to the university’s 2023-2024 course catalog. The class seeks to mix feminist, queer, body positivity and leftist activism all into one class.
“Students will study the rhetorics and aesthetic strategies of feminist and queer activist collectives focused on social issues such as immigration, transgender rights, anti-racism, economic equality, anti-speciesim, body positivity, and prison abolition with a pro-pleasure, leftist perspective,” the course description reads.
The Daily Caller provides additional information here.
Category: SJW Idiocy, Society
As long as people keep attending these schools and paying the tuition, the schools have no reason to change.
As soon as the gravy train derails (gravy trains always do), people might begin the long (and yes, painful) walk back to normalcy.
Employers are beginning to shun college grads. Wonder why?
Nearly 4 in 10 Employers Avoid Hiring Recent College Grads (msn.com)
“Recent college grads are unprepared for the workforce and are entitled, employers told Intelligent.com.”
Thirty-odd years ago, gatekeeper-type folk felt selfish, impulsive loudmouth idiots who couldn’t mind themselves had “poh-tential” (if I pronouced that correctly) but, now, they’ve come to realize what such dorks actually mean for them.
How many of these courses are available at the nation’s service academies? As a wise man once said, “it is to weep”.
A little over a week ago TAH highlighted one such course at Annapolis.
https://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=151256
That’s what made me curious as to what else we’re teaching our future officer class.
Self-gratifying “woke”-ness is good?
Being responsible? Setting a good example? Naw, that’s “racist” and a drag.
The wife works in higher education. I hear daily stories of how unprepared for life these kids are. Colkege is a money making business. It’s no longer about educating.
Hated college, worst three years of my life– wished there was a College Equivalency Degree (CED) I just get and be out having a life being a responsible grown-up again.
These courses usually do not count toward a degree. They are usually created by a grad student or even at times an undergrad. They are generally worth a fraction of the course credit of a regular course. Most don’t even count as an elective.
They are taken sort of like a hobby or to break the monotony of the rest of a students coursework. They are also not particularly popular. Most students find non academic hobbies to pursue to break the monotony. Some students “relax” from studying by studying something else they are interested in beyond their degree requirements.
The right has hissy fit every year when they learn what some of these courses cover. It is low hanging fruit that right wing media exploits regularly for content.
There are some grad school classes in some areas of academic focus that you all would freak out about the titles of as well. Especially those that specialize in human sexuality at the graduate level. That is another ripe tree of content right wing media exploits.
How about a four-course “Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging” Leadership Graduate Certificate?
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging (EDIB) Graduate Certificate Program | Harvard Extension School
Harvard is such a shining example of academic excellence these days.
And a “certificate” is just something for folk who aren’t sharp enough to achieve the requirements and meet standards (such as they are today, I know) for an actual acredited degree, too.
You’ll run into folk out there who claim their graduate certificate in something is the same as the master’s degree in that. Oh no, it ain’t.
If that doohicky above don’t even have a comparable master’s (just no grades, thesis, etc.) it’s not even comparable useful info. (A Microsoft certification means more.)
Depends on the certificate and where you get it
I can offer a very “similar” certification course for half the price to interested parties. For ease of use it will be citation free. I promise it will cover all the same material and be just as useful.
That will never work out for you Big 5, Frank Visconi already has the market cornered.
He is still rocking the hat but the resume has a big nuclear impact crater in it.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-j-visconi-5377085
Squidward’s Bezerkeley can’t be far behind.
You remind me so much of my favorite line from Dickens. In A Tale of Two Cities the French Revolutionists’ attitude was, “What is is good, what was was evil.” You should just admit that this is your attitude concerning the glorious revolution you so fondly desire.
(no one has led Kommisar to the guillotine?)
You wrote “There are some grad school classes in some areas of academic focus that you all would freak out about the titles as well. Especially those that specialize in human sexuality at the graduate level. That is another ripe tree of content right wing media exploits.”
Yeah, except normal people have an aversion to having sexual relations with others of the same sex, children, animals, food, people who are incapacitated, furniture, or the deceased, and otherwise avoid those courses that teach deviant behavior.
Yes, normal people are oppressive “racist” fascists. Until, of course, the Revolution takes over and someone like Che has all the deviates who supported it shot. Then, the normal people are told to accept the Free Sh*t that has been taken from and resdistributed equally to them by the Revolution and enjoy it (or they go to the gulag).
The “Useful Idiots” who go about supporting such “revolutions” always end up occupying mass graves as soon as they’re no longer deemed useful.
The “useful idiots” wouldn’t know that, because that would be covered in a history class that no longer exists because it’s white supremacy.
Math, receiving grades for performance, and biological proof there are only two genders are also symptoms of white supremacy, misogyny, and are concepts reinforced through colonialism…or so I’ve heard.
Two fellows named Beria and Stalin are exhibits A and B to that propensity after the revolution succeeds.
Fuck off, Lars.
And just how did you acquire this alleged expertise in college curriculum?
IOW, a pretty stupid comment. Having just taken one of those courses (Modern Masculinities”) this fall, I think I have a bit more expertise than you, and I disagree.
“Hobby” my ass, more like they’re used to propagandize and indoctrinate as the Late Great Rush Limbaugh always said, “Younk skulls full of mush”, and you bought into that shit hook, line and sinker!
Just to be a nit-picker, I think Rush got that line from the John Houseman character in “The Paper Chase”.
(at about 1:30)
I never saw the original movie but I did watch the series on Showtime. I enjoyed the show at the time, but I recently rewatched a couple episodes and while I still like Professor Kingsfield and Miss Nottingham, I find that the other characters are either whiny, entitled douche canoes, annoying bitches, or insufferable, self-important eggheads.
Fortunately, my years in law school only slightly resembled what is depicted in the movie. Thankfully, my school focused on learning the law without any political or social indoctrination. But that was over 40 years ago, before the lefty lunacy set in.
This is just the continuation of clinton’s legacy, college is a “right”. As a result, colleges realize they can continue to suck up that federal student loan money by making classes to appeal to the liberal woke idiocracy. It’s all about the almighty dollar. Provide the distraction the masses want in the guise of education rather than simply bread and circuses. The colleges just want the money, the fact that they are providing a useless service is not their problem.
Caveat Emptor.
I would disagree.
The colleges want to spread their message. The Fed will make sure they get their money one way or another. But the message must be spread.
With “who you know” and/or the right skin color nowadays, who needs to know anything but have a piece paper showing you’re safely “woke” and one of team, eh comrade?
Colleges and universities have devolved into institutions that produce “smart” people, rather than knowledgeable or skilled ones. It used to be that you’d attend post-secondary education to become a lawyer, doctor, engineer, scientist, or other occupation that falls under what we now call STEM. Then the social sciences and arts degrees took hold, which still have some merits (my degree is in Criminal Justice, so I can’t talk like I’m above those majors). I recall a time when people would consider a Political Science degree or a bachelor’s in Psychology to be useless. An associate’s in General Studies is more useful than many of today’s bachelor’s, though, depending on electives. What knowledge do you really gain above and beyond the basic classes in that degree plan if you major in Gender Studies for a four-year diploma?
“Smart” people are those who feel socially superior, are focused solely on their beliefs, and rest on the laurels of formal education. These are people whose worldview must be correct because they were told it was by people “smarter” than themselves. Knowledgeable people continually learn, attempt to understand opposing views, and realize that education can come from anywhere…especially life experience.
In my unsolicited opinion, the last bit is what a lot of college grads lack these days–life experience. They’ve spent their lives in an echo chamber, hearing and knowing one side of things. Mommies and Daddies (have to stay inclusive, Emma might be upset if I don’t) push them to go to college, they’re introduced to new societal “norms” in primary schools before beginning pre-radicalization in secondary schools, and then it’s off to expensive colleges full of people with fancy degrees teaching classes like “Founding Fathers and Fanaticism: How America Influenced the Nazis”, “NAMBLA’s Fight Against MAGA and How Your Kids Can Help”, or “Afrocentric Studies in Gender Equality During the Roman Period”.
An Associates degree is normally considered inferior to a Bachelor’s degree (two year requirement vs four year).
Until the end of the 18th century, most Western universities offered a core curriculum based on the seven liberal arts: grammar, logic, rhetoric, geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music. Students then proceeded to study under one of the professional faculties of medicine, law, and theology. Final examinations were grueling, and many students failed. (Britanica.com)
While some degrees of study still hold relevance in society, many a University has a need to cater to its student population and society as a whole. The ones that do not become irrelevant and eventually fail. Public institutions more than private have raised their fees continuously due to the “availability of student loans”, the problem with those loans is no one is checking at the bank to see if the degree of study will allow them to repay the loan. One might say that an “unchecked tap floods the field!” What the US needs now are Technical and Trade students (most of which pay a salary while you learn the trade)!
I understand the differences, but my point is that core knowledge gained from taking basic math, science, English, along with a handful of electives for an associates will be at least nearly what would be gained from some bachelor’s programs. If you have 60 SH’s in the above courses, then 60 in your major of Genderqueer Identity Theory, you’ve effectively only added the “knowledge” of studying and writing longer and longer papers on genderqueer identity theory, which would itself be heavily debated on multiple fronts.
The piece of paper is what matters, though, which is why I got my online bachelor’s while still serving. I knew that military education wouldn’t count for much, and even if I went back to turning wrenches, my 25-year-old GM School diplomas are basically meaningless. If I could breeze through a PhD in Applied Anti-Whiteness, I’d do so in a heartbeat and then teach the class, because unless your degree is in a high-demand field, the paper itself is what matters to some employers, including most colleges themselves.
Gotta cross the finish line and get the piece of paper. As Bluto said:
“The piece of paper is what matters, though”
Yep. The job may not require a college education, but requiring a college degree makes it a lot easier for the HR department to filter applications.
The only worth an Associate’s has now is as a product of DeVry, Univ of Phoenix or some other for-profit college. If it ain’t a Bachelor’s, it’s just “some college” on your job application.
Only the military lets you be a WO1 or even 2LT with one… and if a 2LT, you best complete a BA/BS in 3 years or you’re on degree completion (and do nothing else career-enhancing) until you do.
I agree. Soon enough, a bachelor’s degree will probably hold the same weight. Hard to believe that I was able to get into a good career path without even a GED or trade school back in the ’90s, but times have changed.
I guess those are what one would call “Electives”…not required for a degree but “helps” to round out the education!
Over indoctrinated, under educated, soon to be no longer useful idiots. They’re just waiting for their worthless “degrees” to be paid for by the taxpayer. Phuque ’em.
The title talks about degrees but then only covers a few weird elective classes. What degrees? I want to know about those.
My college offered (in the 90’s) a class “introduction to wine”. Mostly to business students in the MBA programs.
They were criticized for offering a useless degree in wine tasting.
It really sounds like the title should be “well known universities offering meaning to useless classes”
Edited.
AW1
Top Kone: The title talks about degrees but then only covers a few weird elective classes. What degrees? I want to know about those.
I’ve you’ve gotten a college degree, you’d understand that there are requirements needed prior to getting that degree. There are required classes for a 4-year degree or associates (2-year degree). Fail to successfully complete these requirements and you will fail to get that degree. Whether these are electives or not is beside the point of the bigger problem, schools engaging in indoctrination versus education.
Top Kone: My college offered (in the 90’s) a class “introduction to wine”. Mostly to business students in the MBA programs. They were criticized for offering a useless degree in wine tasting.
Not applicable to the title of this thread. Many of the folks taking the above classes, or classes like them, aren’t usually the ones going for the classes that require hard thinking and application, like the STEM disciplines, or those that require a lot of practical application such as business courses.
Top Kone: It really sounds like the title should be “well known universities offering meaning to useless classes”
Nonsense. The title that I chose is very applicable, given the deteriorating condition of American university, by extension public, education. Universities have been offering meaningless, useless classes, for decades, there would be no point to using that as a title. The changing nature of these useless classes, and even degrees, reflects a wider PSYOP campaign being waged against our current system in favor of a “fairer, more equitable” system.
Note points 24, 25, 26, 31, 32, 40, 41, from the 45 Communist goals for America. These are the most applicable to this article, while others play an influencing role. Many of those who post here see this.
“I’ve you’ve gotten a college degree, you’d understand…”
LOL
Typical. Start off with a condescending insult while avoiding the point. Or, possibly, just not comprehending the point.
timactual: LOL
Nope, you’re not laughing. Just finding an excuse to settle scores as you have problems letting go.
timactual: Typical.
Nope, not typical. There is a purpose behind every word, sentence, paragraph, image, etc., that I use in response to people.
timactual: Start off with a condescending insult
Wrong. That was not a “condescending insult”, but accurately pointed out the fact that he missed the point.
timactual: while avoiding the point.
WRONG! I did not miss the point, but was dead center mass with my response. Top Kone completely missed my point and addressed something that I wasn’t communicating. I brought him back to the topic.
timactual: Or, possibly, just not comprehending the point.
Again, wrong. I clearly understood his strawman argument. He, on the other hand, failed to understand the point that I made in the above post. Hence, the response that you erroneously label as “condescending.”
Your next response to me is getting deleted. You’re too old to keep having a chip on your shoulders.
“I brought him back to the topic.”
That topic being what? The title of the article certainly implies that the topic is “degrees”, yet the body of your article talks about classes/courses.
“Just finding an excuse to settle scores”
Nope. I don’t keep score.
“Your next response to me is getting deleted. “
I would expect nothing less.
timactual: That topic being what? The title of the article certainly implies that the topic is “degrees”, yet the body of your article talks about classes/courses.
FALSE! The title: “Well-known universities adding meaning to ‘useless degree'”
Key words: Adding meaning
The lead of the article expands on “adding meaning.” How, pray tell, are well-known universities adding meaning to “useless degrees“? The addition of the availability of the listed courses. The title does not lend itself to the implication that the title is about degrees, but about what is being added to the “useless degree meme.”
Two things that the reader could infer:
1. The argument already exists that there are universities offering useless degrees…
2. That something else is occurring that bolsters that argument.
That “something else” is what the lead of the article, and the following quote, addresses.
Reading comprehension, it’s a drug.
timactual: Nope. I don’t keep score.
Your actions show otherwise. When you have to take me out of context just to argue, given the backdrop of our previous arguments, you’re “settling the score“.
timactual: I would expect nothing less.
I ran it by admin, and it was not approved. So, what you should expect is what I’ve done in the past when you did the exact same thing… I will keep hammering you for as long as you respond, and I will do so until I am well past your current age.
Amazing.
I suspect you may do well in your defense of your thesis, given the standards prevailing at universities, like Harvard, these days. “Piled higher and deeper”, indeed.
Just one question. Why use the word “useless degrees” in the title if you meant “useless courses”? In quotes, no less.
timactual: Amazing.
You’re not finding anything amazing. Just filler until you could figure something out to post.
timactual: I suspect you may do well in your defense of your thesis,
The term that we use is “presentation of the findings.” “Thesis” does not show up as any of our tasks or milestones. That’s something you’d find with a masters degree program.
timactual: given the standards prevailing at universities, like Harvard, these days. “Piled higher and deeper”, indeed.
By this definition, you’d do well, given the fact that you pound male bovine manure into the table to make up for the fact that you don’t have relevant facts supporting your argument.
You have to use fact, reason, and logic, based on a saturation of the data points, to address your research questions in front of a panel of people who not only have doctorate degrees, but who have published peer reviewed academic journal articles.
The standards are stringent, they’re tough, but something I’ll easily do. Arguing based on fact, reason, and logic, based on a saturation of the data points that allow for making projections, is second nature to me.
timactual: Just one question. Why use the word “useless degrees” in the title if you meant “useless courses”? In quotes, no less.
Go back and read the post that you just responded to, to my response to Top Kone, and to all my responses to you. I clearly spelled out why I used the above title. The title is what I meant, as I broke it down above. As I said to Top Kone, there would be no point in the above title, or article, if I just wanted to focus on the courses. My responses add context to why I generated the above post.
“I ran it by admin, and it was not approved.”
In other words, “I tried to run and hide, but they wouldn’t let me”.
timeactual: In other words, “I tried to run and hide, but they wouldn’t let me”.
WRONG! I’ve pulverized you in this argument, just as I have done in every single argument that you and I had. I don’t run and hide from these arguments. However, I explained my reasoning for why I wanted to delete your responses:
“Nope, you’re not laughing. Just finding an excuse to settle scores as you have problems letting go.” – thebesig
“You’re too old to keep having a chip on your shoulders.” – thebesig
You’re arguing not because you have any point, you don’t… Not because you have a valid argument, you don’t… But because you’re driven purely by ego, anger, and control issues.
I don’t run and hide from these debates… My conscience would eat me alive for the rest of my days if I did that. You, on the other hand, need to learn to let go; hence my intent to delete your responses.
Your statement makes you come across the way Baghdad Bob came across:
“You, on the other hand, need to learn to let go; hence my intent to delete your responses”
LOL (again)
I see. I “need to learn to let go”, and because you are such a nice guy you are going to help me do that, by deleting me (and, presumably, anyone else who dares to disagree with you).
Thanks for your help. I think I can let go now.
Response to timactual, January 8, 2024, Part 1A
timactual: LOL (again)
Nope, you’re not laughing. Your responses indicate that you have anger rushing through your veins as you read my responses.
timactual: I see.
Nope, you don’t see. You have too much ego issues, anger issues, and control issues, to see the situation that you’ve rushed into without thinking about what you are doing.
timactual: I “need to learn to let go”,
Yes, you need to learn to let go. Every time you’ve responded to me, you did so without thinking about what you were doing. You read my posts with anger flowing through your veins, then bent over backwards taking me out of context, or addressing a strawman argument, just to have something to say.
Your ego blinds you to the reality that not only are you wrong, and have consistently been wrong, but you’re getting your rear end handed to you. The smart/wise thing for you to do is to abandon the argument and move on. Your actions show that you’re driven too much by ego, control, and anger to do this.
timactual: and because you are such a nice guy you are going to help me do that, by deleting me
By deleting your responses. You’re wasting your time fighting a losing battle, attempting to “argue your way to being right” rather than having the integrity to simply back down from an argument you’re getting destroyed in. The others appear to have moved on from their anger towards me. You haven’t.
Response to timactual, January 8, 2024, Part 2A
timactual: (and, presumably, anyone else who dares to disagree with you).
False. Just you. You’re the only one that holds a grudge at this point. The others are not doing the same thing that you’re doing right now.
Understand that I don’t engage in argument unless two conditions are simultaneously met: I have extensive knowledge on the debate topic and those who disagree with me have little to no understanding of the topic. Both of these conditions have been met here. My response has been the same throughout these 20 years of online debating… Indefinitely dismantling the opposition.
I would not be surprised if you’ve been banned from multiple forums in the past and have experienced well above the average number of times of being blocked on social media.
timactual: Thanks for your help.
I help you by dismantling every single last one of your responses, as well as every last future response that you intend to give me. The question that I have for you is this… Feeling lucky old man? I will gladly hammer your responses until you’ve naturally reached the end of your lifespan.
timactual: I think I can let go now.
You do that through actions, not through words. Your attitude is such that I predict that you’re going to respond, failing to let go. When this happens, you would prove that even when it comes to what you would do, I am right and you are wrong.
Common sense tells you to take your defeat and move on, but your ego overrules it.
All these schools should cover the costs of abortion, making it mandatory. It’s for the children.
Might as well. All college students do is f*ck and drink, and many don’t have the sense to use birth control.
“…schools should cover the costs of abortions…”
Reminds me of this: https://youtu.be/FMEe7JqBgvg?si=0DCsVAYClPj8IrAd
Not suggesting you’re an internet troll. Just sharing some humor.
The money for most of this septic-tank product is through Federally Insured Student Loans.
We were talking with #1 Granddaughter – who is currently in college – about what our college fees and expenses were 50 years ago, and she was flabbergasted. Even her father had fewer “fees and expenses” when he was going to that same college.
The professors and adjuncts are still being paid the same as they were back then. The FISL money is going to bureaucratic bloat which is mostly for lib-tard programs.
The college students don’t know any different. To them, this is the way it has always been.
The administrations of the various universities have become a bunch of pus-filled boils on the body academic. They need lanced and sanitized ruthlessly.
I’m in the research phase of my doctoral program. At the university that I’m with, I get a special military tuition rate of $300.00 per credit hour, which amounts to $1,500.00 per semester (14-16 weeks) plus technology fee, which brings that up to roughly $1,7500. That works out to roughly $5,500.00 per year. During the classes phase of the program, I was taking just one more credit hour than what I’m taking now. Prior to my GI Bill running out, I was paying zero out of pocket costs. I still will have zero student debt as I could easily pay the above fees out of pocket.
I do remember starting out and taking my first college courses. The annual tuition during that time was dirt cheap compared to the same institution in today’s environment.
A good book to read is ProfScam, Professors and the Demise of Higher Education, by Charles J. Sykes. It was published in 1991, but still applicable today.
The Latinx course mentioned anti speciesism which is best known for Extinction Rebellion calling for extinction of mankind.
Shit like that is why I talked A Proud infidel®™ Junior into going to Tech School to learn a skill where he will handily out-earn those indoctrinated meatheads from four-year universities.
Yeah.
I know a lot about this nonsense w/ higher education.
The only positive thing I can say is that some of the courses are electives.
Joe
Graduated with a 4-year degree in Gender Studies.
Thinks that those without College Degrees are stupid.
Cannot find a job in the Gender Study field.
Is $120,000 in debt from student loans.
Is part of the “forgive my loans” crowd.
Tom
Graduated from a 4-year Internship in the electrical field.
HAS NO student loan debt whatsoever.
Has a Job Skill that is in high demand no matter where he chooses to live.
Can easily make a six-digit income.
Is on his way to Joe’s house to disconnect his electricity for nonpayment of his power bill.
Or, earned a two-year certificate and passed a ceritification test(s) at his local community college at a fraction of the cost of a four-year “degree”, perhaps even paid for by a company like CISCO. Just finished a CISCO class where most of the students were apprenticing and paid no tuition or fees.
Absolutely, one can graduate from about ANY Vo-Tech School with headhunters at his or her beck and call like you don’t see at four-year universities. Just get a good useful shill, Plumbing, HVAC, Electrician, Refrigeration, Welding, … and you’ll be starting off earning more than most four-year grads. One other option is to take some Business Courses while in Vo-Tech and then you know how to start your own and be part of the American Dream!
Now, that’s a “certificate” actual worth $$$… not some BS an HR bigwig did at “name” university because they couldn’t cut it for a real degree.
The community college I attend has business and “entrepreneurship” courses. Given the track record of that department, however, I would place them in the “do as I say, not as I do” category.
I got a “certificate” in Ball Scratching.
From All-Points Logistics.
Sounds about right…
Close that clown college and turn in into an artillery range.
Harvard would be more useful as a smoking crater.