College “Courses” and “Majors”

When my wife was ready to go to college many years ago her father had some very sage advice. Actually it was more than just advice, as it was his sine qua non requirement. “Your major must insure that you can get a job when you graduate.” Unlike today, back then there were very very few college graduates living in their parents basements, and his wise advice would be even more apropos now. The unemployment rate for recent college grads, defined as grads ages 22 to 27, is 3.8%,  according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s latest report on the labor market for recent college graduates. So even in today’s awesome job market, some college graduates cannot find a job.

But what’s worse than having no job prospects in your field of study upon graduation, is having no job or a poorly paying job and having a lot of student loan debt. Ouch!! (FYI: The average student debt is $33,310 according to the U.S Department of Education as of Sept., 2018 with 42.9 million student loan borrowers as of Feb, 2019.) In some situations this sort of ominous situation could have been predicted because of the P.C. major chosen in college. However the colleges are also to blame as many, many colleges offer courses that are similar to that tempting aroma just outside a coffee shop that lures the unsuspecting inside.
Since 1995, Young America’s Foundation has released “Comedy and Tragedy” to document the intellectual abuse and flat-out indoctrination happening by way of the appalling curriculum at our country’s most (so-called) prestigious institutions of higher education.
The following is a very small at-random selection from that list of colleges and some of the “unusual” courses that they offer, which to my perspective cannot ever lead to anything but a future in their parent’s basements for the for the naive students who take any of them:
Vanderbilt UniversityAADS 2294—Insider/Outsider: The Genealogy of Black LGBTQ PeoplesInterdisciplinary engagement with the history, culture and politics of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) communities during the 20th and 21st centuries.

Mississippi State University SO 4403—Sociology of Gender & SexualityChanging character of gender and sexuality and significance in various social institutions. Intersection between gender, sexuality, and other forms of inequality.

Auburn UniversityPHIL 1120—Introduction to Environmental EthicsEthical inquiry into environmental issues such as non-human animal welfare, environmental justice, global climate change, resource use, and conservationism versus preservationism.

Pomona CollegeAFRI144A—Black Women Feminism(s) and Social ChangeIntroduction to the theoretical and practical contributions of African American feminists who maintain that issues of race, gender, sexuality and social class are central, rather than peripheral, to any history analysis, assessment or strategy for bringing about change in the United States.

Purdue UniversityANTH 48200—Sexual Diversity In Global PerspectivesThis course focuses on anthropological and interdisciplinary research in the study of sexuality with particular attention to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender identities. It explores historical, theoretical and ethnographic work on sexualities and genders in the US and globally.

Ohio State University WGSST 3101—Food & GenderIf you are what you eat, then food is a means for understanding gender, sexuality, culture, society, race, and socioeconomic class. This class explores feminist studies of food. By thinking through good, we explore such topics as vegetarianism, diets, pleasure, farming, hunger, fat studies, boycotts, eating disorders, waste, and culinary heritage. This class is literally food for thought.

University of NebraskaWMNS 288—Exploring Love, Sexuality and Femininity in the History of Arabic CultureConcepts of love, sexuality and femininity as studied in their historical, religious and sociological contexts.

Keep in mind that the courses listed above are but only microcosm of what is out there, and do not seem to fulfill the sine qua non of: “Your major must insure that you can get a job when you graduate.” 

BTW, just as an aside, the best college major is Actuarial Science . . . so if you smell this aroma and like it, go into that coffee shop!