Some USC classes you won’t believe actually exist

The University of South Carolina offers more than 4,000 courses to students with varying interests.

The business-minded might get excited about “Survey of Federal Taxation,” and a biology major might think “Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology” sounds intriguing.

The rest of us may think you’re weird if those sound fun to you.

Some classes may pique curiosity. Like how can “Controversies in American Politics” possibly be taught in one class? And how can you teach “Snow Skiing” in Columbia?

Among the thousands of courses taught at USC, and any college, there are many – well, how should we put it? – boring classes.

Courses that make students change majors.

Subjects that make students lose sleep.

Subjects that put them to sleep.

Or make them have nightmares.

But hidden among those thousands of courses are some hidden gems.

We skimmed through the course catalog for USC’s fall 2017 semester – which officially gets underway with the start of classes Thursday, Aug. 24 – and found some of those.

Several can be found in the Hotel, Restaurant, Tourism Management college – so many in fact that it makes you want to go back and get that degree even if you have no intention of working in the industry. Some of the fun classes include:

Craft Beer

Class description: “Study of craft beer through exploration of current trends, countries or origin, beer styles, flavor profiles, food flavor pairings and best business practices.” (HRTM476)

Why it sounds fun? You drink beer for class credit. This is a dream come true for generations of coeds.

Tailgating 101

Class description: “Hands-on training in the basic foundations of classic tailgating dishes, including grilling, frying and braising, basic food safety and new techniques to crest personalized dishes.” (HRTM168)

Why it sounds fun? Are you kidding? Can this be a major?

Advanced Topics in Wine

Class description: “A viticultural and enological study of wine and wine regions around the world; from the vineyard to the table including grape varieties, wine regions and wine service. (HRTM575)

Why it sounds fun? What do “viticultural” and “enological” mean? Who cares, you drink wine.

Here are some courses offered by other colleges that sound fun, even though alcoholic beverages and food are not involved in most of them.

Forensics of Sherlock Holmes

Class description: “Forensic methods of Sherlock Holmes within the context of modern forensic science. Aspects of forensic science including history of the discipline, forensic pathology, entomology, print analyses, crime science analysis, forensic anthropology, early scientific theory and anthropological theory of Holmes.” (ANTH362)

Why it sounds fun? Kind of like “Elementary” partners with “CSI” and Indiana Jones.

Introduction to Comics Studies

Class description: “Scholarly study of the formal and aesthetic evolutions of graphic novels, comic books and other related forms.” (ENGL350)

Why it sound fun? Comic books! And maybe Tony Stark will guest lecture?

Video Games and History

Class description: “History in video games; comparison of selected games with historical scholarship, to assess the validity of the games’ presentations of historical developments and the value of games to the understanding of history.” (HIST314)

Why it sounds fun? Well actually, the class description doesn’t. But surely at some point in the semester, you’ll get to actually play video games.

Flying Disc Sports

Class description: “Fundamentals and strategies of disc golf, ultimate (Frisbee) and various physical activities using flying discs in recreational and competitive situations.” (PEDU134)

Why it sounds fun? You know what they say if you have to ask…

Tantra: Sex, Power and Bliss in South Asia Religion

Class description: “Investigation of the Buddhists and Hindu religious ideas and practices known as tantra. Topics include tantric views of the human body, freedom and consciousness; tantric use of sex, imagination, visualization and manipulation of bodily energy; role of tantric traditions in south Asian religions and cultures.” (RELG349)

Why this sounds fun? Blushing just thinking about how to explain.

This story was originally published August 9, 2017 at 12:38 PM with the headline "Some USC classes you won’t believe actually exist."