College Courses on Mad Men

by Liz Colville

Unfortunately it’s not taught by Natasha Vargas-Cooper, but the latest course centered on AMC’s Mad Men to make itself known to the world, Northwestern’s Consumerism and Social Change in Mad Men America 1960–1965, still sounds pretty appealing. There is also a course at UC Berkeley taught by two seniors, and there must be others! Come forward and reveal your syllabi!

The Northwestern course’s instructor, Professor Michael Allen, says, “Mad Men provides a good understanding of how ordinary people participated in history and produced change in politics broadly conceived. In class we’ll discuss the ways women got involved in second-wave feminism, how they decided to enter the workplace, as well as the emergence of civil rights activism, which often occurred in commercial settings, such as lunch counters and drug stores.” But will the tiny baby freshmen be ready for this seminar? And will Allen be ready to just lie down and take a nap while the class discussion devolves weekly into an argument about Megan?

Photo via TheProgram101