Kalamazoo College Now Offering a ‘Star Wars’ Religion Class

I feel like I did enough studying of Star Wars when I was in college. At that time, there were only six movie out, but there was plenty of lore and mystery to study, and analyze. But now, the Star Wars universe has grown exponentially, and it can feel like you're practically taking a college course to keep up with it all.

When actually, you CAN take a college course on Star Wars, at Kalamazoo College, AND, it's 100% real.

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Assistant Professor of Religion, Sohini Pillai, has introduced a new course at K-College called "Jedi, Sith, and Mandalorians: Religion and Star Wars," that follows the religious, and spiritual aspects of the Star Wars Universe that make it so in triguing.

In a recent article from the K-College News/Star, Pillai described how studying the faiths in Star Wars, could also shape how people better understand religion in real life.

"There are so many themes in the Star Wars Universe that are applicable to the study of religion. Just in the first week, for example, we're going to be talking about orientalism and the exoticization of the Eastern world. The world of Tatooine (in Star Wars) wsa filmed in Tunisia, and the whole planet is essentially based on the Middle East. The Ewoks speak in high-speed tibetan, and many of the characters have names based on Sanskrit words."

Pillai said the idea for the class came to her when she was teaching about "Epic Epics," and The Odyssey of Star Wars was part of the curriculum.

And as strange as it seems to be teaching a course on a fictional story from a Galaxy Far Far Away... the K-College Staff has been very supportive and accepting of the idea.

"I remember in the faculty meeting when we were voting on new classes that about 10 people all at once seconded the motion to adopt te course."

She even has other professors who want to sit in on her course, which... I for one don't blame them.

You can find more on the course through Kalamazoo College's course listing, and Pillai says she doesn't intend on this being a one-off scenario, and will likely teach it again.