This Class is Out of this World!

Otherworldly Arguments is a course deep diving into the research and theory of fringe scientific communities, which deal with theories and subject matter closer to the paranormal than established reality. 

As the class involves the supernatural, it is the job of the students to rationalize how information about it is presented to the general public. 

Brittany Ramirez Carter, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley writing and language studies lecturer, said they are in the position to think critically about the why in how people react the way they do about mythical creatures and the unexplained. 

For course material, students recently read through through a publication about Bigfoot, along with audio and video recordings of alleged sightings. They looked not through the lens of the content itself, but how the content was presented, and how it was curated for a public facing audience. 

Randall Monty, a Rhetoric, Composition and Literacy studies associate professor, said the point of the class is to rationalize why people research phenomena and their reactions. 

“It is our business to be more understanding of what different groups of people think the things they do, how they do, how they write the things they write,” Monty said.

The professors have thought about personal biases and how they could be hard to avoid in research, so the two class co-professors urge students to look beyond them and form their own opinions about the material. 

“This class is not about proving or disproving any of this phenomenon, it’s about listening, understanding,” Ramirez Carter said. 

The two class co-professors for Otherworldly Arguments have been working on collaborations with several groups for assignments outside of the classroom. 

This includes working with Revenant Watch Paranormal, a local paranormal investigative group for an excursion into the UTRGV Library on the Edinburg campus. Or in other words, a ghost hunt. 

On the trip, the students were able to use the equipment and tools used by the paranormal investigative group for means of gathering evidence. The ghost hunting trip is part of an initiative by Monty and Ramirez to curate firsthand experiences for the students.

Along with the Bigfoot material in class, the course also plans to travel to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville to study primatology, the study of primates. In addition, they are also working with the Comparative Psychology Lab, whose psychology program offers animal behavioral classes. 

The origin of the course came from a dynamic between the two professors. Ramirez likens the pairing to one of the most popular science fiction show of the 90’s: The X-Files. She sees herself as Agent Mulder, the believer, and Monty being Agent Scully, the skeptic. 

On Monday, Revenant Watch Paranormal visited the class to give a presentation on their experiences going on expeditions in the Rio Grande Valley. The group showed off their gear, demonstrating tools ranging from motion detecting pyramids to camera equipment.

The group originated in 2022, with three years of exploring under their belts so far. In terms of their methods used, they first interview clients about their situation, followed by getting base recordings of the locations, ending with finding and tagging evidence. 

Alisha Puentes, co-founder of Revenant Watch Paranormal, said while they approach every case with a healthy amount of skepticism, they are perfectly fine with skepticism in their clients. However, they have noticed a lack of conversation about the paranormal in the Valley. 

“People only like to talk about the stories,” Puente said.

Later on in the week, Revenant Watch Paranormal helped the class in a proper “ghost hunt” which was conducted in the University Library on the Edinburg campus. This was an opportunity to place students on the field in an actual paranormal investigation. 

Held on the fourth floor of the library, the lights were dim and the air was cold. Students were able to use Revenant Watch’s tools, such as EMF readers, noise boxes, and motion detectors. 

During the ghost hunt, students gathered around a desk setup and asked questions about the ghosts presence, gender, and possible annoyance with all the ghost detecting technology that they most likely would be confused by. 

Jenner Moya, an English senior enrolled in Otherworldly Arguments, said she found herself having an active conversation with the spirit, who seemed to respond to her the most. One of the tools used in the hunt were a pair of copper wires that would either cross and move apart depending on what question was asked.

“I was excited, but also very scared because you always hear not to interact with them or they’ll follow you,” Moya said. 

Otherworldly Arguments prides themselves on finding rationality in the strange. 

“When convention and science offer us no answers, might we finally turn to the fantastic as a plausibility?”

• FBI Agent Fox Mulder, episode 1 of “The X-Files”