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UC VIDEO: Dr. Ghoul, a Dancing Bill Clinton and the Personalities of Halloween
Photos By: Ashley Kempher
A University of Cincinnati “Chiller Thriller Halloween Personality Class” blended a psychology lesson into a spooky costume ball, as Associate Professor Ken Ghee, “Dr. Ghoul” on this day, revealed how the superheroes and the goblins that roam the streets on Halloween also reflect the light and darker sides of the personality.
The id, the ego and the superego were examined as Dr. Ghoul showed clips from cartoons, horror films and music to explore the personalities of Halloween.
After Dr. Ghoul finished the lecture and tossed candy to the crowd, students took an active role in the lesson. Some of them came to class in costume and shared how the costume reflected their own personality. Among them was a dancing Bill Clinton – criminal justice major Travis Kelce.
The class is an aspect of Ghee’s innovation in higher education series, a three-year pilot project linking psychology to pop culture. In a large classroom setting such as this Psychology 101 class, the lesson is geared toward building an active, cooperative learning environment and enhancing student experiential and cooperative learning, as students audition and present for extra credit.
Ghee highlighted the class at an Oct. 24 presentation at the International Society of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning annual conference at Indiana University.
From the reaction of the class, the lessons hold a great impact. “This class is fantastic,” says Jason Alinsky, a neuroscience major from Boston. “Dr. Ghee brings an amazing energy to the classroom.”
UC’s Psychology Department is in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences.
