I am a university professor, and we are currently designing freshman courses that cover everything from film to podcasts. I was thinking of designing a course that used the yoyo as the “hook” for the course. It would involve having the students learn yoyo tricks and teach the tricks as a “communication” component. Additionally, we would spend time looking at the physics underlying the yoyo, the economics surrounding the early yoyo marketing paradigms, the mythology associated to the origin of the yoyo, the implications of yoyoing as a performance art, etc. I have read Neil Feser’s book, “The Book of Yo” and some basic yoyoing books that talk about the Yoyo fad. I was wondering if you guys know about any other resources. Clearly this group is an excellent resource, and I plan on having them report on various posts (so you guys will receive scholarly citations…that’s intimidating, huh?) But I was looking for other components that might make this really useful. I personally think that the sense of accomplishment of mastering a new trick mirrors the sense of accomplishment one receives from mastering problem solving techniques in many areas. I guess I’m just looking for some advice on what should be included.
The yoyo physics books are pretty neat if you can find them
There’s a couple yoyo documentaries out there as well
Some old Duncan commercials would give you a general idea also please don’t say the Yoyo is a ancient warrior weapon its not a it was propaganda Duncan created to sell their yoyos. Also Yoyo news has some past articles in there archive that would help you out with the project.
Source?
Also I’m not sure if this is good idea, being forced to take up a hobby makes it a lot less enjoyable.
I don’t think college courses are supposed to be that enjoyable 
You should look for some documentaries.
my friend used to actually teach a summer course learning yoyo tricks and it was pretty popular
Full steam ahead! I would have loved to take this course for my phys ed credit.
This is a brilliant idea- and no more outlandish than these courses:
Haha. I would actually like to take some of these…or at least look at the syllabi. This course would be a one hour course designed to acquaint the students with university resources and start building a sense of community. The idea has been really successful at The University of Texas in Austin. We are trying to come up with classes that teach some basic freshman skills in a non threatening environment. I went through and gave individual thanks, but I do want to repeat, “thank you” to all of you for your help. The truth is, yoyos are fun. I enjoy yoyoing, and I hope to pass that on. Plus, the art is somewhat under-represented around here.
Completely agree. I’m hoping that I won’t make it less enjoyable. That would ruin the whole point oy yoyoing, and the course for that matter.
Ummm, no. While you got the part about yoyos not being ancient weapons right, it was also not any kind of Duncan propaganda, they would have to be stupid to spread that rumor. I bet every parent wants their kid playing with an “ancient weapon”. Creating a myth like this wouldn’t help sell. This rumor probably was created by a few people who just had too much time on their hands, and was popularized by a certain Mountain Dew commercial.
Where is “around here”. Just curious 
Angelo State University. San Angelo, Texas.
And just what would you do with that degree.
well first off it’s a class so you probably won’t get a degree. Now if you were to get a degree it would be just as useful as a degree in latin.
Hahaha. Who wouldn’t want a degree in yoyoing? No. It’s just a course. And to be real honest, it might be a more valuable course then some I’ve seen. Look back at some of the previous posts in this thread for some of the courses that are being offered by universities. The course is using the yoyo as a tool to explore all kinds of university resources. Well…ok…it’s about the yoyo, but you get the idea.
Hahahaha.
Hey, I heard some college gives a course on batman I mean this is way more enjoyable, fun and useful than a batman course…I like it
-Dylan
Man there are some weird college classes…