Weird as it may sound it is happening… Harvard University will be doing a sociology class on the popular HBO series “The Wire”. Above is some exclusive footages taken from the class itself for those who are interested, and for those of you who think this class is about selling crack or heroin don’t get it twisted but more importantly they wish to discuss poverty and the different social aspects brought to attention by the show. Shouts to Donny Andrews who is actually the real live person who they based Omar’s character on, read up on him here.

‘THE Wire,” HBO’s gritty series about life in the Baltimore ghetto, is about to become a course at Harvard.

The announcement came at a panel discussion at the school featuring several of the show’s stars, according to the Harvard student newspaper, The Crimson.

The class will be taught by sociology professor William J. Wilson, one of the best-known African American history professors in the country, who has made no secret of the fact that he is a huge fan of the show.

“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 scientists.”

Sonja Sohn, who played Det. Kima Gregs, Andre Royo (Bubbles) and Michael Kenneth Williams (Omar Little) were on the panel talking about the show’s unusual impact.

The series ran for five seasons, starting in 2002. Each year, it took on a different aspect of urban life — from drugs to schools to the news media.

Harvard will be not the first college course on “The Wire.” Other students commented on The Crimson’s site that courses on the TV show already exist at Duke University and Middlebury College.

[VIA ThatsMajor]