<p>I got the Kenyon College packet in the mail today, and on one of the pages there are sample courses listed:</p>
<p>The Psychology of Race and Ethnicity
Alternative Narratives: The Role of Storytelling in Video Art
Socialism at the Movies
Roman Literary Obsessions
Meanings of Death
etc.</p>
<p>and it all sounds AMAZING because...they're so focused and, I don't know how to explain it, I'd simply be willing to take any of them because they all sound like so much fun and I feel like I'd learn so much.</p>
<p>Do all colleges (especially LACs) have courses like this? Did Kenyon just choose the ones they'd think prospective students would find most appealing? Or is Kenyon something special?</p>
<p>I guess what I want to ask is: do colleges generally have the same courses (within say, a major), and if not, is it something that I should take into consideration when selecting colleges?</p>
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Do all colleges (especially LACs) have courses like this? Did Kenyon just choose the ones they'd think prospective students would find most appealing? Or is Kenyon something special?
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<p>I'd say "yes" to your first two questions. You'll probably find detailed course catalogs with course synopses at various LAC websites, and that might help.</p>
<p>I don't really know for sure when it comes to the humanities and the arts. There are various approaches. Even at my school, Williams, for instance, a drawing class has 4 different sections taught by 4 professors who have different syllabi. And so, experiences are vastly different for the same class even in the same college.</p>
<p>I was speaking to a girl from Amherst, a potential physics major like me. We're basically taking the same classes, except, the order is sometimes reversed.</p>
<p>There are very many unique classes at Williams. And yes, I studied the course offerings closely before choosing. So I think that no two colleges are quite the same, and for me, Williams just had the best courses to offer. So yeah, scrutinize as many catalogs as you can.</p>
<p>Oftentimes, the type of specialized courses you're mentioning are the pet projects of a particular faculty member at the school, at that time. But that's the beauty of some school's offerings. I doubt that "The Meaning of Death" is a core requirement for every Philo or Psych dept in the country.</p>
<p>But just in general, do most colleges have - what you call "pet projects" - or is that something reserved to a select few? I know that Kenyon is especially known as a writer's college, and so wondered if there was a connection between that and the fact that it appears to have fascinatingly interesting courses.</p>