While you might not be able to major in Star Wars quite yet, you can take a course on it.
George Backen, 41, has seen the Star Wars films hundreds of times. An associate professor of philosophy at Adams State University in Alamosa, Colo., he’s finally got a chance to study them critically. In 2011, he taught a “Star Wars & Philosophy” workshop, examining the six iconic films with 15 undergraduate students.
“You can either address the issues within Star Wars, or use it as a springboard for issues in our world,” Backen said. “… [We dealt with] broad, metaphysical issues.”
Backen tackled a variety of concepts in his course, ranging from the ethics of cloning to the relationship between religion and the Force. He’ll soon have more subject matter as well — three more films were announced this week, the first to be released in 2015. The films are tentatively being called Episodes VII, VIII and IX.