Seniors Katie Contess (left) and Dayna Uyeda (right) with O.C. actor Ben McKenzie
In November of last year, Seniors Dayna Uyeda and Katie Contess crossed “Go viral” off their bucket list. The house course they taught at Duke this semester captured the attention of national media outlets including Huffington Post and New York Post. Must be some class, huh? And some pretty great instructors too.
It all started when Ben McKenzie, actor from the O.C., came to campus this fall to support the Obama campaign. Dayna and Katie could not have been more pleased. Ecstatic, in fact! You see, Dayna and Katie aren’t your typical O.C. fans; they are so in touch with the show that this fall semester, they taught a house course called “California, Here We Come: The O.C. and the Self-Aware Culture of the 21st century.” A class about a tv show? Sign me up!
Meeting McKenzie at Duke was a dream come true for both Dayna and Katie. Little did they know, the house course they had planned at Katie’s house last spring break was about to GO VIRAL. The seniors gave McKenzie a copy of their syllabus, which he forwarded to creator of the O.C. and Gossip Girl, Josh Schwartz. Kinda a big deal. With a tweet from Schwartz saying “This is a class offered at Duke! Think I could pass,” their class went from being only known in the Duke community to being nationally-recognized within hours.
Schwartz tweeted about the course November 8th and that same day, Dayna and Katie’s course was recognized by both the Huffington Post and the New York Post. (View the links for yourself at the end of this story.) “It was our 15 minutes of fame, and it was fabulous!” Dayna said.
So what exactly did their class talk about this semester? A whole lot. They have discussed California exceptionalism and singularity in history, suburban revivalism, girl culture, teen sex and consequences, nerd culture, fashion on The O.C., and more. Each week, students have required readings and over the course of the semester, must write either three short papers or one long. Dayna and Katie agree that reading these papers is one of their favorite things about teaching the class. “These papers allow us to see where our hard work is going and acknowledge that the students, as much as they are having fun, are thinking critically about The O.C. and we love that,” Dayna said.
The class met once a week in Keohane 4D Room 201 where they had all they needed: 14 happy students, a projector, a cozy discussion table, and of course, each other. Dayna and Katie seem to be the perfect match for teaching such a class. Their faculty sponsor Tom Ferraro even calls them the “dynamic duo,” which the two accredit to the fact that they are both around 5 feet tall, usually come in a pair, and exhibit a lot of eccentric- but fun- passions like The O.C..
So you can turn your passion into a class? You bet ‘cha. Dayna and Katie had to get a faculty sponsor, two professor recommendation letters each, and create a 10-page syllabus to teach the class, and just like that, they became the teachers.
“We learned what it’s like to be on the other side of the classroom which is a totally weird experience,” Dayna said. “We also learned throughout the semester how to craft lesson plans that facilitate conversation, allow the students to interact with The O.C. as a visual and narrative text, and lead to the main topics we want to get across to our students about the readings. It’s hard being a professor!”
But with it all coming to an end as they left for winter break, Dayna and Katie said that this is one of their biggest accomplishments yet. Teaching a class with your best friend about something you both love? What could be better? These girls show us what it means to shape your academic experience here at Duke around what you love and with the people you love. Happy Holidays!
View the articles published by Huffington Post and New York Post: