UNC-Wilmington is offering area residents the opportunity to be students for a day–no tuition, textbooks or tests required.
The campus will offer to the general public a variety of courses–from the modern impacts of Shakespeare to the rise of global trade and lots more in between–during its annual College Day on Oct. 25.
“In a nutshell, it is the best of college,” Richard Olsen, chairman of the Department of Communication Studies, told Port City Radio morning host Aimee Bowen. “So, you get a variety of cool topics taught by passionate scholars but no homework and no roommates. It’s all of the good stuff with none of the bad stuff.”
The event, which began 13 years ago, arose out of the College of Arts and Sciences’ general mission to “serve for the betterment of the region and the state through enrichment,” Olsen noted.
Participants can sign up for four classes, all taught on campus by UNCW professors, from a number of offerings in each department and discipline. The deadline to register is Oct. 20.
“We start right off with Shakespeare and popular culture–all the stuff you might have thought you knew about Shakespeare is going to be updated. And also there is going to be a really insightful look at popular culture and how Shakespeare still lives on in cartoons like Doonesbury or shows like “Sons of Anarchy…,” Olsen said.
There are hands-on courses in digital animation, he added, as well as religion, history, math, global and local issues and politics.
“We hope young and old will come. We hope parents who have children who are contemplating college but don’t know what to major in might drop in for one day,” Olsen said. “They would get exposed to the arts, the social sciences, the hard sciences and the humanities…So,it’s a great opportunity for everybody.”
Registration is through UNCW’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) but is open to general the public. The cost is $45 ($35 for OLLI members) and includes lunch.
Click here to register and select classes.
