APSU honors students join quest for knowledge with Dungeons and Dragons class
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. 鈥 A small band of Austin Peay State University honors students have more than final exams to worry about this semester. On Tuesdays and Thursdays this fall, the freshmen also are battling giants, dragons and a mind-flayer or two as part of the APSU Honors Program鈥檚 new Dungeons and Dragons writing and cultural history course, 鈥淔ighting Dragons.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 taking a class now that is a substitute for my English 1020, and it is on Dungeons and Dragons and the relationship between interdisciplinary thinking and it is so fun,鈥 Jade Mays, a freshman honors student, said. 鈥淔or some of my homework, I had to play a Dungeons and Dragons session, and I鈥檓 going to have to write a session review and analyze how it made me think, how it made me feel. It鈥檚 so cool.鈥
Darren Michael, professor of theatre and dance, developed the class, Honors 1045: Foundations of Interdisciplinary Thinking, as a way to offer a challenging writing course that provides students with both creative and analytical assignments. And with the 47-year-old game featured prominently in the hit Netflix show, 鈥淪tranger Things,鈥 and a new Paramount Pictures film coming in 2023, the class is also examining the game鈥檚 lasting cultural impact.
鈥淚 remember playing my first roleplaying game in the early 鈥80s 鈥 Dungeons & Dragons,鈥 Michael said. 鈥淎t the same time, I was reading lots of fantasy novels 鈥 obviously Tolkien鈥檚 鈥楾he Hobbit鈥 and 鈥楾he Lord of the Rings鈥 trilogy were at the top of that list. From that point, I was hooked on the fantasy genre.
鈥淣ow in the last two decades with a resurgence of geek culture 鈥 comic books, video games, etc. 鈥 role-playing games of all types are found everywhere. Their influence from tabletops to computer games to movies has permeated every part of our society.鈥
The class is only open to APSU honors students, but it provides many of them with an opportunity to think beyond their fields of study.
鈥淚鈥檓 an engineering major, but I鈥檓 doing a D&D class,鈥 Josh Rye, an honors freshman, said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great class. You get to meet new people. It got me to step out of my comfort zone and talk about real problems that are going on.鈥
The Honors Program is also offering other Foundations of Interdisciplinary Thinking classes this semester, including the History of the Book and Science in the Movies.
For information on Austin Peay鈥檚 Honors Program, visit .
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