Freshman seminars

<p>So has everyone seen the 06/07 list? Which ones are you considering?
<a href="http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pub/fs/06/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pub/fs/06/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Umm I'm quite upset with the frosh seminar program this year! They got rid of some of the best seminars, including the oceanography one that went on a trip to Bermuda during fall break. However, many of them are very cool despite that. </p>

<p>Im really hoping I get my Writing Seminar in the Spring so I can take Prof. Gould's "The Animal Mind" but here are my frosh seminar picks for both semesters</p>

<p>Fall</p>

<p>FRS 117 - Evolutionary Anthropology
FRS 133 - Prague, Vienna, and the Cultures of Central Europe
FRS 157 - Economics of Environmental Protection</p>

<p>Spring</p>

<p>FRS 124 - Evolution and the Galapagos Islands
FRS 108 - The World in 1872–73: Through Japanese Eyes
FRS 126 - The Chemistry of Chocolate</p>

<p>Ooh I hadn't seen it yet. Thanks!!</p>

<p>Fall:
FRS 139 20th-Century Poems and Poets: Politics, War, Religion, and Art [LA]
FRS 169 Dying For God: Origins of Martyrdom [HA]
FRS 171 Ethics in Everyday Life [EM]</p>

<p>Spring:
FRS 102 Romani (Gypsy) Culture in Russia and Eastern Europe [LA]</p>

<p>I expect Ethics in Everyday Life to be pretty competitive, since Peter Singer is teaching it. The poetry class sounds absolutely fascinating, but seems kinda work-intensive (a 2-3 page paper every 2 weeks or so and a long one due on Dean's Date). I don't know anything about Shaw's class -- if anyone's taken it, how was it?</p>

<p>I actually kinda hope i get my writing seminar in the fall so that I can beg for 5 classes and free up another space in the spring. I'm such a nerd; I worry about not getting around to taking all the classes I want to take in these 4 short years.</p>

<p>Instead of a frosh seminar, with which so far I am not so enthralled, I might just take a writing seminar, if I get the spring assignment, and then take a really cool course called 'Life in the Universe' on astrobiology (AST/EEB/CHM/GEO 255) in the fall. The course is open to freshman and sophomores only, and they go on a trip to Yellowstone Nat'l Park during semester break. </p>

<p>However, I like frozen-tears idea too (because I also want to take my fill of courses), which will mean sneakily persuading my academic advisor to let me take 5 in the fall, but only as a last resort.</p>

<p>When do we find out whether we will be taking the Writing Seminar in the fall or in the spring? If we want to apply for a fall freshman seminar, do we send in the application before we hear about when we'll be taking the writing seminar?</p>

<p>Are there many courses that include trips? or is your only chance freshman year w/ the seminars?
Just wondering,</p>

<p>Actually, whichever semester you have your writing seminar in makes it harder for you to persuade your advisor to let you take five. My advisor only reluctantly signed off on me taking five with a writing seminar, and that was in the spring (which was pretty ridiculous, but at least she did it). Most advisors recognize that the writing seminar is going to be more work than a lot of your other classes, and in general they'll strongly advise against/won't sign off on you taking five classes with a writing seminar in the fall.</p>

<p>That said, um...you guys shouldn't complain. You have far better choices than '09 did with freshman seminars. Jeff Nunokawa (one of my favorite people at Princeton) is teaching a fall seminar. As is Kevin Kruse (the guy I want to advise me on my thesis). And Peter Singer (whose name speaks for itself). And Marguerite Browning (master of Wilson College and an amazing woman). Not to mention the fact that Cornel West and Robbie George (two of the biggest names at Princeton) are team-teaching a seminar in the spring. Yeah, you guys should look up some of these people instead of just dismissing them based on the topics. In my opinion, most of what makes a freshman seminar is not the topic but rather the professor.</p>

<p>That said, you have some great topics. Like I said, much better than what we had to choose from last year.</p>

<p>There are a few summer classes that are held abroad. This summer there was a Bermuda summer class, and language classes generally have accelerated courses in a country where the language is spoken.</p>

<p>Thanks, Phil! In that case, I'll just have to pray I have my writing seminar in the spring.</p>

<p>I like the spring frosh seminars a whole lot better than the fall ones.</p>

<p>I was glancing over that the other night and, much to my demise, the Cain and Abel seminar that I was looking forward to taking wasn't listed. I'll have to read through them and figure out which ones I would enjoy most, especially now that that's no longer an option.</p>

<p>Fall:
-FRS 135 “Good to Be Shifty”: American Swindlers and Impostors
-FRS 155 The Evolution of Language
-FRS 167 Money: Equivalent, Value, and Symbol</p>

<p>Spring:
-FRS 126 The Chemistry of Chocolate
-FRS 146 Underworlds
-FRS 148 Into the Woods! What Disney Didn’t Tell You About Fairy Tales
-FRS 152 Chemistry of Magic
-FRS 164 Great Books: Ideas and Arguments</p>

<p>The spring seminars definitely seem a lot more interesting to me. I really want to take the seminar with Cornel West and Robert Brooks; Great Books: Ideas and Arguements. Being able to take a class with Dr. West was one of the main reasons why I chose Princeton.</p>

<p>I have almost the same exact FS interests as bookfreak89</p>

<p>question: Can we only take one seminar frosh year, or can we take one each semester?</p>

<p>Choosing is going to be so hard!</p>

<p>Fall:
FRS 155 The Evolution of Language [EC]
FRS 131 The Problem of Suffering [EM]
FRS 147 Polarized America: Ideology, Inequality, and American Democracy [SA] </p>

<p>Spring:
FRS 140 The Ghetto as a Socio-Historical Problem [SA]
FRS 148 Into the Woods! What Disney Didn’t Tell You About Fairy Tales [LA]
FRS 160 The Idea of Black Music [LA]</p>

<p>Charlie brown said it best: Aargh!</p>

<p>yeah, I'm w/ phil, writing sems are a lot of work, and you'll probably be better off if you do 4 w/ one, esp. in the fall. also, pray for a fall writing sem, cause honestly, you're not gonna wanna be writing the big research paper when the weather's nice, it's way more painless when there's snow on the ground, lol. and, you can take a writing and frosh sem at the same time, so don't completely dismis that idea!</p>

<p>@jarmsh2006 - from the website:
"You may apply for freshman seminars in both terms; you will be notified about applying for spring term seminars in November. If you are not admitted to a fall term seminar, you will receive some preference for spring term seminars should you apply."</p>

<p>cool... thanks cball</p>