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“Underwater basket weaving” is a term used to describe useless college courses, but some universities now offer it as a legitimate class. The phrase originated in the 1950s and was used during the Vietnam War to mock students who took easy courses to avoid being drafted. It can also be used to make fun of student athletes or refer to simple lectures. Reed College offers actual underwater basket weaving lessons as part of its Paideia festival. However, the phrase is mostly used negatively and some colleges have posted syllabuses for the course as jokes.
Underwater basket weaving is a term that denoted an imaginary or useless college course. It is mostly used in a derogatory context to classify useless courses that students take to avoid other obligations. Now, however, a handful of universities actually offer this class, making the connotation of this idiom dependent on the context in which it is used. The phrase has been around since the mid-1950s, while the very first non-credit informal course on the subject was offered in 1980 by Reed College in Portland, Oregon.
During the Vietnam War era, large numbers of young men took useless courses to avoid being drafted. The phrase was then used in the media to highlight the situation, making disparaging comments about how many young people were opting for underwater basket weaving and other similar courses. The phrase can also be used in a number of other contexts, such as making fun of the course load taken by typical student athletes. For example, “Robert, this year you need to study advanced chemistry, baseball theory, and underwater basket weaving to keep your grades up.”
Overall, it is mostly used in a satirical sense to refer to worthless or impractical college courses, a course taken to avoid working too hard, or extremely boring courses. The saying can also show how stupid a person can be; for example, “Shiela is so smart that she won the underwater basket weaving contest this year.” The phrase can also refer to a very simple type of college lecture, perhaps one that is not required for a person to graduate or sometimes even answer questions in a humorous way. For example, when asked “Do I need to get a forensic science degree for this job?” one might answer, “If you have the right backing, can you have a degree in underwater basket weaving for all that matters? .”
These days, the phrase can legitimately be used to refer to actual underwater basket weaving lessons. Reed College offers this course in its seven-day festival known as Paideia. The class teaches students the traditional Inuit way of weaving baskets after dipping the reeds in water. This is done to allow the canes to become much more pliable, making it easier to weave into a basket. Mostly though, the phrase is still used in a negative sense, and some colleges have posted syllabuses for this course on their websites as jokes.
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