<p>I would take the class as a way to fulfill my social-science breadth requirement. Does anyone know anything about this class/professor? All the reviews on ratemyprofessor say that this professor (Zook) is a very fun guy. Is this class appropriate for a freshman to take? I won't lie; I don't know much about politics, in fact I probably lack a lot of common sense, but I have a lot of time to catch up on some reading this summer so hopefully I'll catch up with the rest of the world. Does anyone encourage/discourage me from enrolling in this class?</p>
<p>I've only heard and have good experiences with Discovery Courses. I give a mild encouragement, if you're prepared to keep up with this upper div class, and don't have a heavy load otherwise.</p>
<p>Thanks DRab. I didn't realize this was an upper division course. I'd try my best to keep up, but I don't want to fall behind in my first semester. I'm trying to take as minimum a load as I can, so I can get acclimated.</p>
<p>As of now, I'm planning to take Chem 1A, Math 1A, and a 1 unit history seminar. That leaves me at 9 units. I wanted to take Psychology initially, but that wouldn't get me the minimum 13 units. Do you (or anyone else here) have any suggestions as to how to fill out my schedule? I'm looking for something away from the math/science mold.</p>
<p>I think this poli sci class is doable. If worse comes to worse, you could take it pass/not pass. I would just advise you take whatever sounds interesting to you and has a good professor. I find linguistics interesting, anthropology, philosophy, rhetoric. Look into music or theter if that interests you, maybe a film class, although some of these require large time commitments for viewings. I say fill it out with anything you find interesting, trying to satisfy a breadth. There are so many classes- look through the schedule of classes and all the departments and think if something in it would interest you.</p>
<p>I think if this is something that interests you the upper div label shouldn't scare you off. I've found that a lot of them are even easier than some of the pre-reqs and lower divs because there isn't the competition or weeding out. And if it seems hard, you can always change to pass/no pass. I'd be more concerned about math and chem than this class.</p>
<p>Alright, thanks a lot. Taking both Math and Chemistry my first semester isn't unheard of right? I'm still looking to only take the minimum 13 units. I enjoy chemistry a lot, and I've taken Calculus twice (once at a JC and once in HS.)</p>
<p>Would taking Rhetoric (as DRab suggested) provide an appropriate courseload? I'm considering being a journalist as well and taking a writing class sounds interesting.</p>
<p>Sorry about all the "overload" questions; I'm naturally a paranoid person.</p>
<p>Soooooo many people take the chem/math route that you really shouldn't be worried. I just meant I wouldn't worry about being overloaded with the upper-div b/c math/chem will take up most of your time. My roommate took math 1a and chem 1a her first semester and she did fine in both. </p>
<p>Rhetoric can be really interesting as long as you aren't taking it for R&C credit (the class has NOTHING to do with rhetoric, so I'm told)... Take the classes that interest you :) Good luck!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Sorry about all the "overload" questions; I'm naturally a paranoid person.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You CCer.</p>
<p>:p</p>
<p>Relax.</p>
<p>Some rhetoric classes are about what you think of when you hear the word "rhetoric," some are not. If you want to really understand writing and language, some rhetoric courses would be perfect, but it really depends on the course and the teacher. Work for the Daily Cal- that's where Berkeley's future journalists often get their training.</p>