How tough is Humanities 110 for int'l student?

<p>I read the syllabus of 110 and slightly felt intimidated by the number of books to read in the course. (four times as many books as I read in my English class.) Even though Reed offers many demanding courses, this course seems to be the toughest for me, since I'm pretty weak only in humanities due to both my indifference in the subject and my incompetence in English as an int'l student compared with other domestic students but heavily science-oriented. </p>

<p>How tough is this class compared with others classes? Any opinion about this class as a student who took the class in spite of own weakness in humanities or English language? </p>

<p>I think I can read as many books in the list as possible during the summer break to prepare for this course. But I need to know exactly what the course will be like. Are there many quizzes about books and many in-class essays? </p>

<p>I was slightly concerned too, but I asked internationals around, including @Ghostt, and from what I’ve gathered, HUM110 is not something to be worried about at all. Since all students have to take this course, professors try not to make it very demanding, i.e manageable for everybody (and trust me, even though the texts look daunting–even more so when you actually start reading them–professors will probably dumb them down a bit, or at least you’ll get used to them after the first few pages.) Also, as you were admitted to Reed, I’m positive the admissions office has ensured that you have the potential to succeed in this course. You’d have to actually try very hard to fail, apparently. So really, don’t worry. I actually did start to gather all the books listed in past syllabi, but then I heard that it is absolutely doable… * le me enters into complacent zone* lol.</p>

<p>Your will be evaluated mostly on the out-of-class papers you have to write. Ask @Ghostt for other details.</p>

<p>Also, I’m 100% sure that this course is less of an intense humanities class than it is a tool to help you understand how to write. Frankly, after going through what is available on the Reed website, I know that I already have the skills required to write the kind of papers that this course demands, all in thanks to the demanding literature course I took in high school.</p>

<p>“Also, I’m 100% sure that this course is less of an intense humanities class than it is a tool to help you understand how to write.” And think. And present your thoughts during a small seminar with your peers. It is your introduction to the world of Reed. </p>

<p>Heh, it is not something to be unduly worried about, but I think @International95 is a tad too optimistic in saying the professors dumb down the source materials. They don’t. However, they try very hard to ensure everyone in the classroom is following the discussion. There will be people in your conference who are familiar with philosophy and critical theory and who bring that knowledge to the table, as well as people for whom Hum 110 is the first serious writing/reading-intensive class they’ve ever taken. The professor’s job will be to ensure the tone of the conversation is such that these people can all contribute to and benefit from the class equally.</p>

<p>As a person who is weak in the humanities and struggles to write academic papers in English (I’m assuming based on your fears, not judging your post), you will have to do all the reading. You will have to edit your papers more heavily than your classmates. You may not get a high grade at the end of the year. But as long as you do the work, make sure your professor is aware of your struggles, and read the assigned texts and think about them seriously, I think you should get something out of the experience.</p>

<p>One thing I’ll advise you based on my observations of other science/math-oriented internationals who came to Reed with a weak humanities/writing background and struggled in hum is to go into it with an open mind. Don’t judge it, don’t compare science to the humanities, don’t claim it’s all ‘■■■■■■■■’ and refuse to engage with the material seriously. Also don’t assume that going to all the tutoring and office hours you can sign up for and memorizing quotes for a certain number of hours or whatever is the way to get a good grade. Just think. Think about the reading and think about what your classmates are saying. That’s ultimately the point of hum, and the sooner you get into the habit, the sooner you’ll come to enjoy yourself in class.</p>

<p>If most of the grades in the course comes from out-of-class papers, then I’m fine because of my competence in writing creatively, logically, and critically. In that sort of assignment, I always did the best in regular English classes of my high school in the U.S. If I have to write an essay within a short time (like SAT essay,) I turn to be the worst writer who cannot even finish writing the entire essay due to my inability to write without pondering enough. </p>

<p>I asked the above question not because I usually got B or lower grades in my English classes but because I did terribly in SAT CR and essay (yet excelled at writing multiple questions.) Therefore, if Hum 110 isn’t like SAT but focuses on the works which I do outside of the class, my anxiety is meaningless. Even though my speed of reading and writing is slow, I have respectable level of critical thinking. So, if I begin to read the required books from this moment, only things to worry about are probably tests. Since it seems that Hum 110 doesn’t have any take-home test, I may have to struggle with in-class essays which I probably have to write in the tests. </p>

<p>I have no idea how the quizzes in Hum 110 are like, but I wish they would be like the ones which I did in high school. If so, then this is also tractable for me. I’m familiar with the type of vocabulary which I saw in SAT but unfamiliar with the type of vocabulary which appear on old English literature, such as Scarlet Letter and the works of Shakespeare. Since I did well in a class which focuses on Shakespeare’s works by reading both original version and translated version of the works, I wish this sort of countermeasure would also work in Hum 110 as well. </p>

<p>It interests me that you’re considering Reed over Brown and Swarthmore. Have you already enrolled?</p>

<p>Hum 110 has two semester exams which may give you some trouble. You’re usually asked to identify 10-12 quotes from the texts you’ve read during the semester and write 2 or 3 (I don’t remember, possibly 3) short essays, all in the space of 4 hours. The essays aren’t supposed to be like SAT essays at all, but they may trouble you. I’m not particularly good at timed writing assignments either, and I didn’t do brilliantly well on those exams. However, the hum final is not particularly important, or at least it wasn’t for my conference leader. Your term papers and conference participation largely form the basis for your evaluation.</p>

<p>I didn’t apply for those schools, but I was quite interested in Swarthmore for its similarity with Reed and its prestige. I haven’t enrolled in Reed, but I will most likely do so this month. </p>

<p>Thanks for your advice, Ghostt. I believe I cannot do so well on those exams as you felt you did, so I will prepare for them as hard as possible by trying to facilitate my speed of writing. Your caution will work for me profitably. I’m also relieved to hear that most grades come from conference participation and term papers. </p>

<p>@worry123 You’ve been given some good advice here. Hum 110 is demanding, in terms of the amount of reading. But keep in mind that is counts as 1.5 courses (1.5 “credits” in Reed’s system of accounting) each semester. But one of the “saving” aspects of this course is that every single one of your first-year classmates will be taking exactly the same course, attending the same lectures, doing the same readings, writing the same papers.</p>

<p>This is one of the great things about Reed’s curriculum: all students develop a common language of discourse, are exposed to core ideas and readings. (But you get to draw own interpretations and inferences from these readings.) And so whether you major in physics, or biology, or political science, or Russian, or art, you are going to have a central common experience with all other students. In effect, you have a common enculturation.</p>