Travel Through Space And Time: Professor Offers ‘Dr. Who’ Course At Syracuse University

Anthony Rotolo, a professor from Syracuse University is offering the Dr. Who (Un)Class, an adventure for students who want to go through space and time exploring the cultural impact of the BBC series Dr. Who.

Rotolo calls the course an “un-class” as it is not officially a course offered by the university, although students can register the course as an independent study if they want to receive credit for taking it.

According to CBS News, the course is open to all Syracuse University students free of charge and free of homework, too. However, spots are limited, and since registrations opened, more than 100 students already signed up for the class.

Rotolo also taught the Star Trek class at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications. The popularity of the course prompted him to start a course on Dr. Who.

He told Syracuse how he was inspired to do it.

“I was inspired to put this course together because it is my belief that learning can and should be fun, and while not all courses can be about television series, some can! My ‘Star Trek’ course has been a tremendous success, and I am proud to say that it has inspired countless students to find their path in media and even science and technology fields.”

When requests of a Dr. Who course came flooding in a few years ago, he started researching and accumulated a library of Dr. Who content spanning 50 years. It includes restorations of older episodes, rare episodes and the latest episodes from the series, which now stars Peter Capaldi as the time-travelling doctor.

The course is scheduled to begin in January and will end in April. Rotolo’s website discusses the course outline, which consists of screenings, lectures, Twitter discussions, food, trivia contests, and surprises. Contest winners are said to get fabulous prizes including comics, collectibles, books, toys, and a bunch of Dr. Who memorabilia.

All are welcome in the class including long-time Dr. Who fans and newbies who are interested in the doctor’s travels. Although the Dr. Who class is not yet an official course at Syracuse University, Rotolo hopes to change that in the future.

Dr. Who currently airs on Saturdays at 9:00 pm in the U.S. on BBC America. It follows the adventures of Dr. Who, also known as a Time Lord, as he travels through space and time in his TARDIS to go on different adventures.

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