<p>ok...by now, i'm well aware of the wonderful prospect of obtaining a free ipod. so, what class should i take to get an ipod? i heard that the educational purpose of ipods is limited to certain classes.</p>
<p>iPods are most common in language courses, and you can check out Duke's website under something like Duke Digital Initiative to find out which classes have had them in the past. However, I think it is really foolish to choose to take a class simply because it offers an iPod. Your Duke tuition can by you about 146 $300 iPods each year at your local Best Buy instead of just 1, so I really think you might want to rethink how you are going to select courses. IPods are, of course, an excellent plus to any class that you do want to take.</p>
<p>I took a class to get rid of some requirements . . . and get an iPod. Everyone has to take classes that have certain "codes" to fill general education requirements, so you might as well find one in which you will get an iPod. I actually ended up liking the class a lot.</p>
<p>haha, you're absolutely right dukestudent2009, and i don't intend to base my decision on "which class gives out free ipods." i was just curious.
...that's awesome though. since i'll be majoring in chinese language,,,good for me.</p>
<p>You're majoring in Chinese? I'm almost certainly doing a Chinese/Econ double major (I'm actually going to Beijing this summer for intensive language training). Sorry to break the news to you though, Chinese courses this year did not receive any iPods. However, all of the current Chinese students this year have written excessively on the evaluations that each professor gets from each of their students that iPods should be integrated into the course. Hopefully, that will make a difference next year and allow you to get them.</p>
<p>hey dukestudent2009, major in econ AND chinese? lo, that's exactly what i'm gonna do. how's your impression so far? good? fair? deplorable? </p>
<p>i sure hope that you '09ers pushed the professors enough to sign up for ipods.</p>
<p>Both the econ and Chinese departments here are outstanding. With econ, you, of course, will be facing large lecture classes initially, but the professors are really great. You'll probably have Lori Leachman if you start out in Econ 51 (the first one) - she is incredibly knowledgeable and has a personality like spitfire. She is quite the theatrical show at 8:30 in the morning - I really enjoyed having her this past semester. Her area of expertise is international macroeconomics - which was nice because I"m really interested in that. She also takes the time to have lunch with her students (as many of the 300+ as she can). I was lucky enough to be one of them.</p>
<p>The Chinese department here is also outstanding. It's pretty small in terms of number of faculty, but you really do get to know your professors. If you're starting in Chinese 1 like I did, you'll have class 5 days a week - MWF are drill sessions and TuThurs are lectures. Carolyn (Kunshan) Li or Li Laoshi as you will come to know her will be your head professor. She is pretty strict and will push you pretty hard. She truly expects you to do all of the homework, and there is no tolerance for slacking in that class. All the same, it's a great class, and you will have a great foundation of the language. Furthermore, your Chinese classes will be really small - 12 or less people for drills and 24 or less for lecture. This, however, means that you have to know your stuff - otherwise, you may face some tough questioning in front of the whole class particularly in Li's lecture sections. Overall, though, if you do your best, you will have no problem getting a good grade (the grading system is set up really generous - however, it's a bit vague so it really scares you initially when you continually fail quizzes for the first two months (you have quizzes twice a week) but things get better and you'll get a good grade) and also, if you really do put the effort in, Li will really like you and really will be an advocate for you in the future.</p>
<p>Chinese course sounds awesome. But when I visited Duke on the 17th, a large number of students--all but one, in fact--were absent. But the drill itself was fantastic. So I guess if I just show up, I'll get the most out of the course.</p>
<p>A bit of concern about the econ class though. I personally do not like a large class with a top-down lecture style (or at least I think I don't like it). Since I have my AP Micro/Macroeconomics completed, I think I'm heading directly to higher level classes, such as Intermediate Economics 105. Do you know how large these classes are?</p>
<p>105 and 110 are still large (the other two required econ courses) but after that the electives become much smaller (20-40 students depending upon the class).</p>
<p>By the way, which Chinese class did you go to? Was it a pseudo-Chinese class like Chinese history (where you would expect a larger lack of attendence) or a Chinese language class? I would be shocked if it was Chinese 2 because Prof. Li really doesn't tolerate anyone missing class even in drill sessions. Other Chinese teachers may, however, have different policies.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info.
Um...let's see. The Chinese class I attended was not taught by Prof. Li, but by Prof. Ziang (?). He was a middle aged Chinese guy with a thick accent. I'm pretty sure that was a language course because Prof. Ziang and one student were having a conversation in Chinese. The professor would correct the student when he was not pronouncing correctly. I think they were talking about random subjects using specific sentence patterns. The name of the class was, I believe, Intermediate Chinese.</p>
<p>That makes sense - it was probably Jiang Laoshi. He is one of the most laid-back Chinese teachers you will find. He is also a drill instructor so he is not quite as intense as a regular prof. Generally, I think he gives his students much more leeway in terms of attendance etc than any of the other instructors would.</p>
<p>Can freshmen choose their professors? If they can, do you recommend Prof. Jiang? And what professor/course do you recommend in Economics and Chinese?</p>
<p>You will be asked to take Econ 55 regardless. Trust me - i know it's a lecture component, but it's well worth your while.</p>
<p>Plus, don't forget that all classes larger than 35 break up into sections of no more than 12.</p>
<p>Jiang is a great teacher, but so are all the others so it really doesn't matter who you get.</p>