For Brian Mulholland, a longtime fan and an assistant teaching professor of math at Notre Dame University, it meant collaborating with Vanessa Chan-Devaere, an assistant teaching professor of psychology, to create a game theory and social cognitive neuroscience course called Outwit, Outplay, Outlast: The Dynamics of Survivor.
Like Dawson’s class at Northwestern, the course does not instruct students on how to play the game. Rather, it uses the TV competition as a case study where theories from their respective fields—as well as ethics and theology—can be applied.
In his view, it’s all part of what more broadly unites higher education and the long-running TV show.
“Higher education is sometimes reduced to a credential that allows you to get a job. But I think the idea of a university is the pursuit of something higher. One of the main questions that a university is supposed to ask is ‘What does it mean to be human?’ And Survivor mirrors that in some ways,” he said.
For more details, see the article on 'Inside Higher Ed' by Jessica Blake