Strange pop culture classes are popping up all over the news such as The University of South Carolina’s sociology class on Lady Gaga and NYU’s class on Lana Del Rey.

Throwing its hat into the ring, UCA’s School of Communication announced its very own viral-worthy course, “Depp v. Heard: Media, Memes and the Law.”

The mastermind behind the course, Dylan McLemore created the class after watching students in his Media Law class become engrossed in the trial. 

“I’ve mentioned Depp and Heard’s ongoing defamation battles for years in my Media Law class. But last year, my students were glued to the televised trial in a way they’ve never paid attention to a media law issue in my 12 years of teaching.”

On the first day of class, nearly every seat was filled by students from a broad range of majors, including public relations, journalism, communication and legal studies.

Senior Morgan Trent said she decided to take the class after seeing her peers engrossed in the trial.

“I remember almost every person I talked to kept up with the case —  from livestreaming during class to watching memes about it on TikTok. It was a major talking point and was honestly like watching a movie unfold,” she said.

Outside of the spectacle, Trent also signed up because of her interest in law.

She said she wanted to see how the case may “set the precedent for future cases like it.”

The class’s star quality was no doubt a draw for many students, according to McLemore.

“The trial was a circus starring your favorite movie stars. I assume that’s why many students signed up,” McLemore said. 

Trent said she has “never taken a class before that seemed so fresh and relevant.”

“To me, it’s important that college is about being truly interested in what you’re studying — otherwise you shouldn’t be in that major. This class holds my attention with not just its relevance to my own interests, but also its mainstream feel,” Trent said.

McLemore said the trial encompasses many academic disciplines. 

“The trial was so much more than communication law. It was everything our School of Communication is about: reputation management, news coverage of celebrities, social media virality, communication habits of fandom … just for starters.”

All of these facets of the trial fuel the course’s main assignment — a research project, of which hardly any research exists due to the trial’s freshness.

Students are researching the effect of social media on the verdict, body language in the courtroom, the journalistic practices used in covering the trial and even the fandoms of Depp and Heard.

The trial itself offers insights into American and social media culture.

“I think Depp versus Heard holds up a mirror to some really ugly tendencies. We turned sexual assault into memes for our entertainment. We got so caught up in our fandom for celebrities — or maybe just our thirst for tea — that we celebrated suffering,” McLemore said.

“And a lot of bad actors in activist media capitalized on our base desires to make a buck or enlist us in their culture wars. Many students are investigating those darker themes for their research projects and I think the results are going to be fascinating.”

The course’s interdisciplinary nature approaches the trial from many angles, with each student bringing their own field of expertise to the conversation. McLemore said this makes the course challenging, but rewarding.

“The biggest challenge of the class is also my favorite part. We have students earning credit in four different degree programs: public relations, journalism, communication and legal studies. We have students majoring in Psychology and Biology taking a senior-level public relations seminar.

“Facilitating conversation and understanding between such a diverse group of students entering with different bodies of knowledge and approaches to inquiry is difficult, but so important, and so rewarding when it works.”

The initial class offering said that course is “meant to explore the communication aspects of a spectacle that drew our attention last summer. It’s also meant to serve as a jumping-off point to look at those communication concepts more thoroughly. Finally, it’s an opportunity to engage many of us from many different programs in discussions that will hopefully enrich understanding of our overlapping fields.”

Although McLemore has taught special topics classes before, this was the strangest one has offered. However, he doesn’t shy away from quirky assignments.

One of his student’s favorites is “#McLemoreMemeWar,” where students make and post memes relating to the subjects learned over the semester in his courses.

For fans of the assignment, don’t worry, McLemore said that “Depp v. Heard” will have a meme war finale as well.

The class most likely will not be offered again, as McLemore says, “It’ll very quickly be old news.” However, he said he’s always open to suggestions for courses on unique topics.

“I’ve built special topics courses because students tell me they want a particular experience, or to do a deep dive on something we don’t normally teach,” he said. “But my colleagues and I are always listening for new ideas.”

“Depp v. Heard: Media, Memes and the Law” will wrap up at the beginning of May. To see the memes generated by students, be on the lookout under #McLemoreMemeWar on Twitter. For more information about the School of Communication, visit https://uca.edu/communication/.