DeKALB | The name is Bond … James Bond, and this spring semester the English department will offer a class on the James Bond phenomenon.

Christoph Lindner, an assistant professor of film and literature who will be the teacher, said there are many reasons for offering this course.

“One of the reasons is that the entire James Bond phenomenon has been going on for over 50 years,” Lindner said. “It started off as a literary phenomenon and then became a film phenomenon and now it’s also expanded to the other forms of mass media … it is a hugely successful mass media phenomenon.”

The course will take a kind of feminist approach to the examination of the Bond phenomenon, looking into the racism, sexism and class snobbery of the character.

“One of the biggest things we are going to do in the course is to address the way the Bond films conflict sex and violence in a very problematic way,” Lindner said.

It will combine literature, film and multimedia, making it an ideal course for the English department, as it allows students to use all of their critical-thinking skills.

This discussion-based course will chronologically follow the world of Bond, hitting on major points throughout Bond’s existence. These points help illustrate major cultural turning points in the world.

“The Bond films are kind of a barometer for the pressing cultural anxieties and concerns in our world,” Lindner said.

For example, the Bond films in the 1960s will tell you much about the homophobic, sexist-upsetting attitudes of society at the time. The 1980s films focus on gender relations, sexual politics and cultural politics, and the 1990s films look at anxieties of living in an information world.

“Looking at the Bond novels and films allows you to look at the world that produced them,” Lindner said.

While many Bond fans are anticipated to sign up for the course, knowledge of the James Bond series is not required. The course is for anyone interested in how popular cultural phenomenon works and anyone interested in exploring the links between film, literature and James Bond.

Jessica Wedemeyer, a senior English major, said she would not take the course because she finds the series extremely sexist, but she does see the value of a course in popular culture because it will hold student attention.

“I think the value is seeing how the book transfers to film and how the films reflect the books,” she said.

Stephanie Kohl is a Campus Reporter for the Northern Star.