<p>Hey there, to anyone that can help me. I'm more of a hard science person and not really into the humanities, so can anyone recommend a HUM sequence for me?</p>
<p>First off: </p>
<p>Hey! I’ll be attending school with you in about a month!</p>
<p>I can sort of relate to your position, because I more or less hated the “deconstructionist approach” in my high school literature class as a poor excuse to come up with the most outlandish interpretations of a text possible while attempting to maintain some semblance of coherence in an essay. I know, I know, there are people out there who love that sort of thing, and it’s probably going to be different at Chicago, and I probably have no idea what I’m talking about anyway - but whatever I did study in lit class in high school I wouldn’t describe as a blast. </p>
<p>That said, I’m actually quite excited about the HUM sequence at Chicago, given that I get into the class that I want. My first choice is philosophical perspectives, which I’m very excited about because I enjoy philosophy quite a bit. Here’s an excerpt from the course catalog that should get you excited: </p>
<p>Winter Quarter focuses on the questions and challenges posed by the scientific and philological “revolutions” of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. A central topic is worries about the possibility of knowledge, both of the self and of the surrounding world. Authors include Descartes, Hume, Shakespeare, and several others.</p>
<p>My second choice would probably be Greek Thought and Literature. I sat in on it during preview weekend and found myself in a very engaging discussion not limited to the text at hand but extending to Greek mythology, culture, religion, and of course, philosophy. </p>
<p>Human being and citizen also sounds very cool, haven’t really looked into it, but now that I glance at it I might be more interested in that then Greek Thought. I heard some bad stories about Media Aesthetics, even though it does sound very cool. The other HUM courses like your more typical “literature” class. </p>
<p>Of course I have no idea. Hopefully someone else comes along and corroborates/corrects my ideas.</p>
<p>The professor matters much more than the class- check the evaluations site when you get to campus (or when it starts to accept your cNet ID). I’d recommend Chris Wilde if he’s teaching next quarter, though I’ve heard good things about Aaron Johnson, and Larry McEnerny is a god of the humanities (fun fact: he’s also an RM for South Campus East).</p>
<p>That being said, the “real” hum classes are as follows: Greek Thought and Lit, Human Being and Citizen, Philosophical Perspectives, and the hardcore, biannual “Intro to the Humanities”. Don’t take Media Aesthetics, and Reading cultures is iffy (maybe someone here had a good experience with one of these, but I haven’t heard many). Even for a hard-science major (like myself), these newer Hum courses aren’t less work, they’re just less rewarding.</p>
<p>As far as HUM (and other Core) courses go, I’ve heard solid recommendations to try and find a teacher who’s a Harper Fellow. Apparently, not only are Fellows especially good teachers, but you also get to keep the same teacher for all two/three quarters that you take the course, which is of course helpful for continuity of study.</p>
<p>The key is to not get a graduate student or post-doc. Many of them are simply taking on section to pay the bills in an unfunded sixth or seventh year of study, and consequently don’t put in as much effort. Professors and Harper Fellows tend to be the way to go. Also, there is no requirement that you stick with the same professor throughout the year. I switched every term for SOSC between three different figures, and eminently enjoyed the diversity of perspectives. For some sequences in HUM and SOSC, it can be hard to find someone who wants to teach all three terms (due to the topical emphasis / authors varying). </p>
<p>I concur though that Greek Thought & Literature and Human Being & Citizen are the iconic courses.</p>