<p>Anyone know about this class? My son enjoys Science Fiction and thought he would sign up for this class to meet the category VI requirement.</p>
<p>My D took the class last fall and I know she liked it. I'll ask for more details when she wakes up - noonish perhaps.</p>
<p>Puzzled88: Thank you so much for your help.</p>
<p>She's awake! She says she really liked the class. They watched Star Trek and bunch of Sci Fi movies. She says there wasn't really much reading for the Sci Fi part but more for the writing part. She says the teacher was "really nice and really weird" and she means that in a good way, as in interesting and quirky. She says she found the philosophy part very interesting but that other students complained that it was boring. To sum it up she says that if your son really likes Science Fiction, she thinks he'll like the class. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>I took the class in the Fall with Professor Mills and enjoyed it.</p>
<p>In class, there were some days of lecture, and other days where we would watch a movie (lots of Star Trek). The professor was engaging, but it was difficult for me to sit through the entire 2 hours. I missed many of the lectures (probably half) and still ended up with a decent grade (B+).</p>
<p>There was a lot of discussion about various philosophical topics, Plato, Artistotle, animal ethics, political philosopy, etc. The topics were really interesting. </p>
<p>Grading consisted of weekly assignments which were graded on a scale of 1-3. There were also 2 papers (I think) and an in-class midterm exam and a in-class final. Both were essay format.</p>
<p>Most kids take this along with Writing-140 which was BRUTAL for me. Lots of reading, lot of papers, and very harsh grading. I ended up with a C in that class.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>To sfgiants: Do you think this class is unique on being so hard for the Writing component? Philosophy can be tough so I was wondering if your friends found Writing 140 difficult across the spectrum of various classes or was it just this class which was so hard? Thank you.</p>
<p>Hi mdcissp,</p>
<p>That's a good question. My impression is that Writing-140 is pretty difficult regardless of which Social Issues class you take along with it. I am actually pretty comfortable with philosophy papers - I took another Philosophy class for my Arts and Letters GE and got an A on each of the 3 papers. These skills didn't really come in handy in Writ-140 :)</p>
<p>Writ-140 has its own distinct style of writing, and you more or less have to conform to their rubric. There isn't much room for different writing style, in my opinion. Others may have had different experiences, however.</p>
<p>Is this class good for Diversity? There is an m in it but it isn't in the diversity list.</p>
<p>I was also confused if this class counts for the diversity requirement.</p>
<p>I think it's a new diverstiy class, but I'm not sure. Here's a PDF of the 2008-2009 course catelogue and on Page 63 of the entire catelogue (or page 19 or 30 of the file) it lists PHIL 137gm under diversity classes.</p>
<p>Also in the 2007-2008 course catelogue it lists Phil 137gm as satisfying the diversity requirement starting in Spring 2008.</p>
<p>USC</a> Catalogue: Undergraduate Education: USC Core : Diversity Course List</p>