Up, up and away

Superman -- a power fantasy, a symbol of truth and justice and the American way -- is an example of what some people would like to be.

In 1938, two sons of Jewish immigrants invented a character that would eventually become an icon not only to America, but to the whole world. They scraped by on $10 per page when creating the comic for what would become the superhero Superman. While creating that fictional character, they were also creating a story of their immigrant experience -- one on which America is built. Superman is from another planet, he's an orphan and he has to adopt a culture different from his own - much like an immigrant.

Superheroes like Superman stand for more than people would expect, said Sean Hoade, who teachs of the UA honors course "Superheroes: Power and Responsibility."

"Superman was only created in 1938, yet his symbol is the most recognized icon in the world," Hoade said.

Why are people so attracted to the idea of a superhero? Why is something that doesn't exist so popular? Why was something seen as a good thing for young people now so demonized in the 1950s?

Hoade's class explores the answers to these questions. The 15 students who meet once a week define the role of the fictional world in which they live. They look at a superhero's role in the real world and the purpose superheroes serve in our culture.

Going along with Spiderman's famous quote, "With great power comes great responsibility," Hoade's class explores the relationship between power and responsibility, he said.

"It sounds silly on the surface," Hoade said. "But we touch on some of the most important issues and archetypes of our culture in this class, and it's fun to do."

Right now, there are people in the world with the greatest power, who are exercising it with no responsibility whatsoever, Hoade said. With superheroes, Hoade said he tries to show his students the possibility of balancing power and responsibility.

"People say they would do things differently if they were in power, but, often times, superhero stories show that we don't know how we'd handle our power until forced to use it," Hoade said.

Hoade said he shows college students that having power can be applied to anything from being the president of the United States to driving a new car. College, he said, is an example of this because students are on their own for the first time and must learn how to balance responsibility with their newfound power and freedom.

"We might be talking about Superman and The Hulk, but who we're really talking about are the college students and their experiences," Hoade said.

Often, college students are expected to sit through boring-but-necessary classes, in which they don't have the opportunity to bring anything to the table. In honors classes such as this, students' reading and knowledge is respected and is used as the meat for the class, Hoade said.

"Superhero stories have been the bread and butter of what they've read and have been exposed to since childhood," Hoade said. "All of our discussions and ideas come to conclusions based on material they're intimately familiar with already."

But while students bring their ideas and knowledge to the roundtable discussion each week, they are also expected to do work in the class as well.

Hoade's students are expected to write two papers and design their own superhero.

"Superheroes: Power and Responsibility" will be offered during the second summer session Monday through Thursday from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Hoade said he hopes it will be offered again each spring semester.