NIU Offering a ‘Game of Thrones’ Class

Seriously, you can get college credit for the class based on very popular HBO show at NIU in DeKalb.

CBS Chicago is reporting the hit HBO show “Game of Thrones” is the focus of a college class at Northern Illinois University. No, the class is not just about sitting around and talking about TV. NIU is offering this class to to teach about media and history.

NIU professor Jeff Chown told CBS:

We’re not giving credit for people to watch TV, we’re giving credit for people to read, and to write, and to criticize, and to think creatively. I want to stress that these students are really doing a lot of work. They’re reading a lot of stuff every week, we’ve given them very detailed papers that we want them to write, and they have a quiz each week on the readings.

The class is an honors seminar offered by Dr. Chown and professor Valerie Garver and focuses on topis such as binge-watching, the business of television, how much sex and violence should be included, and how much culture and history impact what the audience sees on the screen.

The Daily Chronicle reports that the class syllabus requires:

• Weekly readings
• Watching episodes of “Game of Thrones” in order through their first four seasons
• Presentations on the show and how it relates to modern cable technology
• Understanding history and current events

You can read more here.