<p>Hi, I'm looking for a literature course where a small class size sits and discusses issues and ideas in their texts. Not the type which consists of lecture halls. For me small can go up to 20 people maximum. And an interesting professor who gives a lot of input but lets us think for ourselves. Please if you know of such a college or you attend one, please inform me :)</p>
<p>Just about any small liberal arts college should satisfy that need, more or less.<br>
The most selective private research universities, and public honors colleges, also have many small discussion classes. You can find average class size information in each school’s Common Data Set file (section I), or in the “academic life” section of each school’s USNWR entry. Example:
[Bates</a> College | Academic Life | Best College | US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/bates-college-2036/academics]Bates”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/bates-college-2036/academics)</p>
<p>Few if any schools cap all classes at 20 students. However, at a few small colleges, most classes have no more than 20, and all or nearly all classes have fewer than 50. Examples:</p>
<p>Davidson
Claremont McK
Vassar
Grinnell
Washington & Lee
Hamilton
Colorado College
Agnes Scott (women only)</p>
<p>At the University of Chicago, less than 5% of classes have 50 or more students. More than 75% have 20 or fewer. Many humanities and social science classes there would approximately fit your description.</p>
<p>[Visit</a> to the University of Chicago | A Reasoner’s Miscellany](<a href=“Private Site”>Private Site)
<a href=“https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/academics/core.shtml[/url]”>https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/academics/core.shtml</a></p>
<p>chimmi, even huge universities with large lecture courses offer exciting discussion sections. So I wouldn’t rule out selective but big schools. I would base my selection on students’ overall level of intellectual achievement/involvement. It’s the caliber of students at the discussion group, not the number of students at the lecture, that determines how interesting/challenging your discussion is. The other issue is access to professors: even at big schools professors have office hours and you’d be surprised at how few students take advantage of this access.</p>
<p>Bard College.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot! I’m assuming by your info at least one of you has gone to or is currently at a liberal arts school. What kind of discussions do you guys have? What sort of topics? Because in my high school class we’re under 20 student and we pick up all of these bits of info. Not only facts, but understanding human behavior, and reasoning behind popular notions and when we put up our points we bring in a lot of our interactions, experiences, observations and such. And our teacher gives us a lot of input as well. So how different is it in college?</p>
<p>College literature courses are going to be focused on an examination of the assigned text itself rather than your reactions to it or its connection to the students’ personal lives. You will focus more on literature as an art form, and literary and philosophical history, etc. and not on your own “interactions, experiences, observations and such.” You will be encouraged to analyze literature rather than evaluate it. </p>
<p>But you can still have good discussions.</p>