<p>Well... </p>
<p>To remain on track, students must complete the appropriate critical tracking courses, which appear in bold. Students are required to complete HUM 2305 The Good Life (GE-H) in semester 1 or 2.</p>
<p>So what is that class? Because I didn't see it on the major requirements a few months ago, but, now it is. So i'm curious, what exactly is "The Good Life" (pun may or may not have been intended)?</p>
<p>Course Description: This course examines the enduring question What is the Good Life? from the perspectives of the humanities. Topics include the cost of the good life, how people have chosen to live as members of local and global communities, and conceptions and expressions of beauty, power, love, and health.</p>
<p>Here is the link to the most recent syllabus which will give you an idea of what the course is: <a href=“http://undergrad.aa.ufl.edu/Data/Sites/9/media/good_life/finkel-syllabus-hum2305-fall-2011.pdf[/url]”>http://undergrad.aa.ufl.edu/Data/Sites/9/media/good_life/finkel-syllabus-hum2305-fall-2011.pdf</a></p>
<p>This is the first year that this class has been required, but I took it as an elective last fall. There are several different professors and each chooses their own required readings, so everyone has a different experience. The class is easy, though. You write three essays (two 500 words and one 1000 word) and take a midterm and a final for the bulk of your grade. The class can get very boring. I had it with Stuart Finkel and he was the most boring lecturer ever. EVER.</p>
<p>Thanks, do you know why it’s suddenly being required?</p>
<p>what if I already have all the required humanities classes (through dual enrollment/AP) do I still have to take this?</p>
<p>seems like a waste of time and money -__-</p>
<p>Unfortunately its required now, so even if you have the credits you still need to take it. Like in some other universities I know of, I think UF is really trying to expose students of the arts and humanities especially when so many of these programs are in danger of being cut while there is more support for the sciences. I don’t think its fair you guys have a requirement now, but I’m glad I dont have to worry about taking it.</p>
<p>By the way this link could explain a bit more
[Interdisciplinary</a> Humanities Course - Office of Undergraduate Affairs](<a href=“http://undergrad.aa.ufl.edu/hum-course.aspx]Interdisciplinary”>http://undergrad.aa.ufl.edu/hum-course.aspx)</p>
<p>here’s another link that will answer Kattsthename’s question</p>
<p>[Provost</a> Task Forces - General Education Task Force - Humanities](<a href=“Fora - Provost's Groups”>Provost Task Forces - General Education Task Force - Humanities)</p>
<p>Here is UF’s explanation for this class:</p>
<p>“Seeking to give first-year students the chance to reflect on the human condition, their personal lives and their roles and responsibilities in a globalized world, UF has launched a general education humanities elective entitled What is the Good Life? The course draws on art, music, literature, history, religion and philosophy to encourage students to examine and discuss how to live well both as an individual and a member of the global community responsible for making reasonable, ethical, and informed choices. The course involves faculty in thirteen departments, three centers, the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, and the Phillips Center for Performing Arts.”</p>
<p>However, I think in reality, it has been really hard to accommodate every single UF Freshman in a single course. UF is just too big. Plus, you have students that have come in with all their Gen Ed requirements pretty much met through AP, IB or Cambridge, and now they have to take another one …for no real reason. It really goofs up the schedule for people who need to concentrate on taking a lot of specific courses to meet strict requirements, like students planning on applying to the Junior Honors Medical Program.</p>
<p>So, I hear that it will not be required for UF freshmen next year.</p>
<p>Who is a good prof for this class?</p>
<p>I had Dr. Richards. He’s amazing! In fact, most people who took his class didn’t think that it was as awful as others claim it to be. So, take him if you can!</p>
<p>I took it in Fall 2012. </p>
<p>I’m sorry to be downer, but you are more than likely going to hate that class. Since it’s a general requirement, I know a lot of people who have taken it or are currently enrolled, and all but 1 hate the course. Here’s my experience with HUM 2305:</p>
<p>It was created by a professor named Andrew Wolpert. My friend had him and still hated the course. I had Ferdinand Lewis & Donna Cohen as professors. Lewis was somewhat better than Cohen at the beginning, but his message became completely distorted by the end of the semester. Cohen always tried connecting things to architecture, and none of her connections ever made sense. I only attended lectures because there was an attendance policy (3 absences allowed before grade penalty) at the time, which has since been repealed. I never paid attention in class, but luckily, I didn’t have to. Since I was in one of the 2 largest HUM 2305 sections, I could buy Smokin’ Notes for the exams. During class, I just goofed off on my laptop and conversed in hushed tones with friends. Also, the performances and lecture we had to attend were confusing and boring, but the Harn Museum exhibit was kinda interesting.
The only thing that made the class bearable was my TA, Kiren Valjee. His take on the class material was somewhat interesting, and he was pretty generous when it came to grades. He never gave any quizzes, so everyone got full credit in that category, and I barely spoke in class and still got full credit for participation. Since he also graded essays and exams (which were also essays), I finished the course with a pretty easy A (99.1%). At the end of the semester, he told us the changes that were to be implemented for the following semesters and he asked us what we truly thought about the class. Obviously, all of my classmates and I were grateful for the opportunity to vent. Seriously, why was I, a pre-medical biology major, being required to take what seemed like a nonsensical pseudo-philosophy class created by a classics professor (the guy specialized in teaching about ancient Greece) and taught by 2 professors from the colleges of Design/Planning/Construction & Architecture? </p>
<p>There will be some difference between my experience and yours. You won’t have attendance, but you will have oral presentations and less performances to attend. However, don’t be surprised if you get a professor who’s field is completely unrelated to the class (which is supposed to be about defining and attaining happiness…I think). If you can get Kiren as your TA, you should definitely do so. He’s a nice guy who’s generous with grades and much more interesting to listen to than the professors. He’s probably more qualified to the teach than them, since at least he’s an English Ph.D student, and so much of the course is literary interpretation. </p>
<p>Now you know what you’re up against. On the bright side, you do get 3 humanities credits. The course used to give 2k words for Gordon Rule as well, but that was removed before Summer B 2012. </p>
<p>Prepare for the worst; hope for the best. Brace yourself, good luck, and no, I’m not being overdramatic because the course did actually suck that much.</p>
<p>I’m just kinda irritated that I have to take this when I already suffered through Humanities I and II at my Jr. college (doing Humanities II now), but oh well. I have to look back at my degree requirements but UF may require more than 6 hours of Humanities anyway.</p>
<p>Yeah, UF requires 6-9 humanities credits. If the credits from your jr. college transfer over, you’ll be done after taking Good Life.</p>