Culture and Belief 11: “Medicine and the Body in East Asia and in Europe” – the course name alone is enough to put any self-respecting, adventure-seeking student into a narcoleptic coma.

Still, Professor Shigehisa Kuriyama has somehow managed to turn this humdrum-sounding course, which presents a historical survey of the comparison between body and medicine in East Asia and Europe, into one of the most popular ones at Harvard.

How? Replacing dreadful term papers and examinations with student-produced podcasts and films.

The Harvard Crimson reports:

Kuriyama said that while in his experience, students care very little about papers once they’ve been turned in—apart from their grade—his students have e-mailed their short films to friends, parents, and classmates. And every fall, there is public showing of the student-made movies.

 

“When the papers were written they were just for the professor, but the movies and podcasts are to share,” Kuriyama said. “It promotes one of the most fundamental aspects of composition—the idea of communicating with the audience.”

Kuriyama added that this model of communication, combining images and sounds, will become increasingly important in the Internet age.

Who would’ve thought that Harvard would be the first Ivy to welcome Web 2.0 with open arms? What’s next – attending classes via webcam?

One can only dream...