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Classical Civilization 372: Sports and Daily Life in Ancient Rome (4 cr. HU)
It was taught by David Potter, and was pretty interesting because you learn that the typical ancient Roman stereotype is way off. We even watched Ben Hur, and laughed at how historically inaccurate it was.There's five on-line assignments due, one midterm and final exam. I think most people do end up with some sort of A or B, but you do have towork and do the reading. So, its not like one of those Rocks for Jocks mini-courses offered by the Geology department.
Cultural Anthropology 315: Native American Peoples of North America (4 cr. SS)
I liked it because this is a subject that I knew almost nothing about coming into the course, and I ended up learning a lot. It gave me a new perspective on US history.
Economics 340: International Economics (4 cr. SS)
If you love to read Wall Street Journal and ever wonder what all those
terms and happenings all about, this is the class for you. The class
is very interesting because it teaches the simple concepts behind
international economic activities, and relate it with the current
news. It will keep you updated on both past and current economic
events: US government policies, tariff, quota, outsourcing,
competition with China, IMF, World Bank... Also, it is more focused on
the lecture and newspapers, less on the textbook. The professor, Alan
Deardorff, is one of the best in the economics department.
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Consider this before taking the class: You are required to read quite
a lot of articles from wall street journal and publications, which can
be either entertaining or painstaking. Pre-req: Econ 101 and 102.
Economics 435: Financial Economics (4 cr., engineering gives SS credit)
Great if you are interested in the financial markets, very interesting
English 313: Topics in Literary Studies: Fantasy (HU) (with Dr. Eric Rabkin)
Overall, this humanities was extremely challenging. The lectures were enjoyable and very informative, sometimes even entertaining. The challenging part was not only the workload, which included at least a 250 page novel per week, but also coming up with "insightful" paper topics once a week. The subject matter is great, and overall the class is very rewarding, but I wouldn't recommend it if you aren't up for a pretty decent time commitment.
English 367- Shakespeare Plays(4-cr. HU) (with Ralph Williams)
The lecturer is very entertaining. He makes the often difficult task of
reading Shakespeare an illuminating experience.
History 161: United States, 1865 to the present (4 cr. SS)
It was a great class because the reading and the concepts were so much different from the usual Engineering curriculum. His lectures are given with such enthusiasm and that is sometimes rare to find on North Campus when talking about lectures. There is quite a bit of reading, but for the most part it is easy novel-type reading, not really textbook reading.
Latin 101/102/231/232/302 (Engin gives HU credit)
It took a while, but it was well worth it. The Latin department is excellent. Everything you need to know about Latin is introduced in the first two semesters, with the other semesters devoted to reading Latin poetry and prose. So, students could take only 101 and 102 and learn a great deal. I totally recommend that engineers take Latin
Music Theory 137: Introduction to the Theory of Music (3 cr. HU)
I had Nadine Hubbs as my teacher. It's a great class for anyone who likes music or participated in musical activities in high school, but is having a hard time fitting it in at college. It wasn't a very hard class, not very much homework (one short assignment a week), but I really learned a lot and had a great time doing it. It especially helped me because my school didn't have a very strong music program and as a singer I feel I'm always playing "catch up" to the bigger schools. This class started me off with the basics and I'm planning to take more Theory classes to finish my series. I know there were quite a few engineers in the class with me so it's a popular choice and I think we would all recommend it!
Musicology 121: Introduction- Art of Music(3 credit HU) (with Albin Zak)
Very interesting look at the history of music for non-music majors. Includes the study of many different genres of music from classical to rock to jazz. Lectures include listening to different kinds of music, watching opera clips, and live performances. Assignments include
attending 2 musical performances of some kind and writing a 2 page response to them, as well as a choosing a composer and listening to different pieces they have written. Grades are based on these assignments as well as 2 exams and a final. The exams are very easy as long as you attend class. I highly recommend this class for anyone who is looking for a fun, easy, and very interesting humanities class.
Philosophy 232: Problems of Philosophy (4 cr. HU)
That class is really cool... You just have to have a type of expanded thinking because some of the concepts seem like a stretch but it's interesting.
Philosophy 371: Phenomenology & Existentialism (3 cr. HU)
It was by far my most thought provoking class (outside engineering, of course) I have taken here. It is no longer taught by the same prof. which is a real shame because he was phenomenal, but I would find it hard to believe the class could ever be dull given the material covered. Two 5 page papers are all that are required, but a LOT of thought and energy must be put into these topics. The class deals with the rift between the self, and the outside influences that exist in our minds and environment. It tackles the age old question of what the meaning of life is and what it really means to have meaning anyway. It is not anti-religious, but it gives various alternatives (often opposing) religious thought. Philosophers studied are Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus, Heidegger, Doestoevsky, as well as other famous existentialists. I would recommend it to anyone like myself who loves to contemplate the meaning of life and the individual responsibility and existence of the self.
Philosophy 383: Knowledge and Reality - w/ Lormand(4 cr. HU )
The professor makes you think about stuff instead of just memorizing what a bunch of dead white dudes wrote. There is little reading and the class is based around constructing arguments defending various beliefs. No prerequisites, but logic is very helpful. Grade is based upon 7 "compact discussions," which are short arguments of less than one page in length.
Philosophy 423: Problems of Space and Time (3 cr., engineering gives HU credit)
The course covered philosophy of geometry, different dimensions of space and spacetime.
Psychology 122:Intergroup Relations (2 credits but can be taken twice, engineering gives SS credit)
It is a dialogue orientated class which meets once a week for 2 hours. It deals with current events and how we can understand the different perspectives of individuals the events influence. It also deals with mutual solutions to conflicts in these events.
Psychology 270: Psychopathology. (4 cr. SS)
It is a fairly easy course, but it was interesting too. It's abnormal psychology and gives an overview of all the major mental diseases and their treatments. We learned a lot of neat stuff in this course about how people interact with each other.
Sociology 455 / Religion 455: Religion and Society (3 cr., engin gives SS credit).
There is no prereq for the class and it is absolutely amazing. Terry McGinn teaches it. He is not a regular professor here. He is a Baptist minister and he owns a human resource consulting firm here in Ann Arbor. 447 is the only class he teaches. The basis of the class is to explore the influences that society and religion exhert on each other. It is an evening class that meets twice a week. Terry brings candy every lecture, and we learn through a variety of guest lecturers, videos and readings. There is not a heavy workload. Three papers and an in class presentation, but it was the only class I have enjoyed so thoroughly! I recommend it to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!
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