Florida governor and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has come out four square against…..”zombie studies.”
Who knew?
Over there at CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/
DeSantis is taking aim at ‘zombie studies’ on the campaign trail. It’s a real thing
You read that right. And yes, “zombie studies” are in fact a real thing. DeSantis was making the point about hard working Americans having to bail out college kids up to their oh-so educated heads in student debt as they earn degrees in abstruse, exotic subjects that have no productive earning power. He posed the question this way:
“Why should a truck driver have to pay for somebody that got a degree in zombie studies?”
Before you dismiss this jibe as an exaggeration made to make a point – hold on. CNBC reports:
“ ‘To my knowledge, there are no academic majors in zombie studies,’ said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
There are, however, several colleges that offer classes on zombies, as well as a growing body of academic research, CNBC found. Scholars in the field defend the subject, pointing out that zombies are an important symbol in our culture, with ramifications for the U.S. criminal justice system, the history of slavery, neuroscience and more.
‘The figures that haunt our popular narratives are a society’s way of working through shared experiences and problems,’ said Sarah Juliet Lauro, an associate English professor at the University of Tampa. Lauro edited a collection of zombie scholarship, ‘Zombie Theory: A Reader,’ in 2017.
…Meanwhile, at Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Tatiana Tatum, a science professor, teaches a class called “Biology of Zombies.” She said the topic helps her explain how the human body works.
…“The figures that haunt our popular narratives are a society’s way of working through shared experiences and problems,” said Sarah Juliet Lauro, an associate English professor at the University of Tampa. Lauro edited a collection of zombie scholarship, “Zombie Theory: A Reader,” in 2017.
…..But, she said, ‘If any of your readers want to hire me to start a program in zombie studies, they can look me up: I’m about ready to leave this state until we get a new governor.’”
In other words, DeSantis, whether he knew it or not, was actually accurate that there are, in fact, academics out there who spend their time teaching and writing about “zombie studies.” And doubtless there are kids out there who need to have their student debt paid for because they have been cramming up for a degree in zombie studies.
As said, who knew?