Harvard To Offer Class On 'The Wire'

"The Wire," HBO's critically-acclaimed drama about the dark underbelly of Baltimore's mean streets, is about to become a course at Harvard.

William J. Wilson, a sociology professor, self-proclaimed fan of the show, and one of the country's most well-known experts on African American history, announced at a recent panel that he will be dedicating a whole syllabus to the show.

The New York Post reports:

"I do not hesitate to say that it has done more to enhance our understanding of the challenges of urban life and the problems of urban inequality, more than any other media event or scholarly publication," Wilson told the audience before poking fun at himself, "including studies by social scientitsts."

According to Harvard's school paper, The Crimson, the Ivy won't be the first university to cover "The Wire"--courses already exist at Middlebury and Duke.