<p>Can we please have a discussion about the different humanities sequences? Pros and cons? And do first years get to choose their teachers?</p>
<p>here’s the skinny:</p>
<p>readings in world lit: heard good things overall, the balanced person’s hum</p>
<p>phil per: generally reserved for only the most insufferable of thatkids. don’t believe anyone who says otherwise</p>
<p>GTL: i took it and don’t regret it. some readings were interesting, some readings were pretty boring. it gave me a strong appreciation for the Iliad and Thucydides. didn’t feel compelled to take third quarter. highly depends on instructor</p>
<p>HBC: phil per for people who aren’t thatkids (probably more thatkids than average, still, though)</p>
<p>intro to Hum: I actually have never heard of this before i saw it on course catalog just now. could be cool</p>
<p>reading cultures: can’t comment on this because I know almost nothing about it</p>
<p>media aesthetics: some people take media aesthetics to get an easy A, but usually find that it isn’t an easy A. highly dependent on instructor. consider it if it genuinely sounds interesting to you, but otherwise man up and take a real writing class</p>
<p>language and human: could be interesting but I can’t comment on this one either</p>
<p>Your adviser is going to want you to pick sections based on time slots, rather than professors. You can look professors up on evaluations, but when I tried to pick based on professors I got tricked out of my top choice sequences. It’s just the way they like to run things. </p>
<p>As for which sequences to go for, I’d definitely take Phil Per, HBC, GTL, or Intro to Hum if you want a solid humanities experience. I took Readings in World Lit and there were too many people who obviously didn’t want to be there, though my professor and TA were both great. From what I hear, Language and the Human, Media Aesthetics, and Reading Cultures are all even worse in this regard.</p>
<p>Of course, some people like the “softer” Hum sequences because they have a strong interest in the subject matter (but don’t take language and the human if you’re into linguistics, just take intro linguistics). Understand, though, that this will come at the cost of strong discussion. </p>
<p>Above all, you have to know what you want from Hum before diving in.</p>
<p>I took GTL and really enjoyed it - if you want a typical ‘hum’ experience while experiencing various genres, you should give it a shot!</p>
<p>In terms of registration - for your own sanity, pick your top three sequences and then rank as many sections within those sequences as will fit in your schedule, so if your adviser tells you your favorite sequence is locked out, at least you have a list of good instructors in the other sequences. </p>
<p>But seriously, more than content matter, the professor will make or break a course, so spend time reading evaluations - they aren’t perfect, but they’re better than nothing. Also, don’t automatically assume that full professor >> grad student – the SOSC quarter I liked best was taught by a grad student</p>
<p>When will UChicago list the professors teaching the various Humanities core courses this fall on the time schedules? Currently the time schedules just say “staff.” Other deparments have already listed course instructors.</p>