Phish fans wanting to get a bit deeper during the band's upcoming summer tour will have a new outlet to explore their favorite jams. As long as they're willing to do some homework. Oregon State University is offering a course this summer called "Philosophy School of Phish," taught by Dr. Stephanie Jenkins, an assistant professor in the School of History, Philosophy and Religion and self-professed Phish fan.
"We're more connected through technology than we ever have been, but in terms of the connections people have to their community - they're dwindling," Jenkins tells Billboard from Oregon State's home in Corvallis, Oreg. "But the Phish community is a huge anomaly to that."
The course is open to OSU students and as well as other universities and taught completely online. Dr. Jenkins will follow the band for their entire summer tour, which kicks off July 1 at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Mass. Discussions will be held at gigs and online, with required reading including heavy-hitters such as Tolstoy, Nietzsche and Foucault. Students can either take it pass/fail or get an A-F grade and Jenkins will be creating content, holding lectures and discussions and interacting with students while "on tour" with the band.