The UT School of Communication Studies will add a “Star Wars”-themed communication course for the upcoming fall semester.
The course will look at communication theories at practice in the world of “Star Wars” in order to introduce non-communication majors to the field through familiar subject matter.
“Whether you’re in a galaxy far, far away or one very, very near, people communicate. They make meaning of their worlds through their interpersonal and group relationships,” Ryan Beaty, the professor who will teach the course, said.
Adding a class with unique subject matter is a “new approach” for the department, according to Beaty. After seeing the success of similarly focused courses in other departments, such as the department of history’s Grand Theft Auto-centered class, the School of Communication Studies chose to add the “Star Wars” course to appeal to a larger audience.
The class will fulfill the social sciences VolCore requirement for students and is set to run each fall semester for the next three years. With up to 230 spots in the mass-lecture style course, Beaty has big plans for his class.
“We will have guests from time to time, so students should expect stormtroopers in class every once in a while,” Beaty said.
Students who enroll in Beaty’s course can expect to watch “Star Wars” content in each class while enjoying a fun, energetic environment.
“(Beaty) is a uniquely good person to teach this because he’s got a strong interest in that area, but he also just has a really good way of connecting with students,” Jon Hess, director of the School of Communication Studies, said.
In the future, the school plans to add more class opportunities like this to help engage students with the field of communications.
“I think students will have a lot of fun with this class,” Beaty said. “It will be very high energy. It’s a college course, so there will be work that they have to do as a part of the class, but I think that it will be a very unique way for us to cover topics that are very relevant in our world today.”
