fire bad, tree pretty

Buffy herself may have not been all that book smart, but the show was. More than just clever, Buffy the Vampire Slayer explored some really deep, and deeply academic, themes. There were even major University courses surrounding issues in the Buffyverse. I almost enrolled in one as part of my Master's coursework for television and film archiving. (Although I can't find links to those courses now.)

Check out the Wikipedia entry for Buffy Studies if you're interested.

I mention this only because of this notice from Alert Reader Paul Day:

'Buffy' goes to college (again)

The blond heroine of the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," as well as other works by creator Joss Whedon, will be the focus of a three-day academic conference beginning Friday at Henderson State University. The show starring Sarah Michelle Gellar won cult fame and critical praise during its seven seasons on The WB and UPN networks.

Since it ended, the series has spawned enough academic books on the philosophy surrounding the roles of friendship and feminism to fill a 15-foot-wide bookshelf at the college in Arkadelphia, said Kevin Durand, an associate professor of philosophy.

The AP article continues.

And would you believe (yes, you would), a sampling of the "Buffy Studies & Whedonverse Bibliography."

And oooh, I just found this at Salon (2002):

Deconstructing "Buffy"
Scholarly Buffy-philes gather at an English university to discuss the "morphic resonance" and "perlocutionary acts" of TV's favorite ghoul-killin' gal.