An Exclusive Look at The New Harvard Class on The Wire (1 of 5)

ThatsMajor editor G.Valentino Ball was at the first panel regarding the introduction of this course into Harvards overall offering of curriculum to the incoming student body, and has provided an exclusive glimpse into the panel discussion that transpired.

As the New York Post reported, shortly there will be a sociology class revolving around HBOs hit television show The Wire. THE Wire, HBOs gritty series about life in the Baltimore ghetto, is about to become a course at Harvard. The announcement came at a panel discussion at the school featuring several of the shows stars, according to the Harvard student newspaper, The Crimson. The class will be taught by sociology professor William J. Wilson, one of the best-known African American history professors in the country, who has made no secret of the fact that he is a huge fan of the show. I do not hesitate to say that it has done more to enhance our understanding of the challenges of urban life and the problems of urban inequality, more than any other media event or scholarly publication, Wilson told the audience before poking fun at himself, including studies by social scientists. Sonja Sohn, who played Det. Kima Gregs, Andre Royo (Bubbles) and Michael Kenneth Williams (Omar Little) were on the panel talking about the shows unusual impact. The series ran for five seasons, starting in 2002. Each year, it took on a different aspect of urban life — from drugs to schools to the news media. Harvard will be not the first college course on The Wire. Other students commented on The Crimsons site that courses on the TV show already exist at Duke University and Middlebury College.

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[JT26508]

First......

I would ace this class.

[arshort2]

Best show ever but what's the point of the class. Trying to affect change. The show itself shows you that you can't change things. Season 3 was entirely about how reformation doesn't work at every level. Carcetti wanted to change how the city was ran. He was no different once he got in office. Stringer tried to change the drug trade and was killed for it. The towers were brought down and the drug trade just got more violent and spread out. I would have taken the class just to watch.

[globalforce]

@Hallgren95 You would learn how to spell?