<p>I was wondering if it was mostly the same every year. Is there a different lsit of books every year? or are some like the illyad lockins annually?</p>
<p>I think my sat scores exempt me from writing 5 and in actuality im not an avid reader at all, so i was thinking that getting familiar with some of these books wouldn't be a bad idea.</p>
<p>Yes and no. I think at least two of the books we read this year, The Iliad (read in Hum 1, which traces the “Greek” heritage) and The Aeneid (Hum 2, the “Roman” line), are probably standard fare, but the professors are definitely free to switch things around. Fall term, we had two professors from the German department, so we ended up reading Goethe and Mann. Winter term, we had a French professor who undoubtedly had a hand in landing Racine and Balzac spots on the list.</p>
<p>I would think long and hard about signing up for Hum, though. If you’re not usually an avid reader, you might come to really resent the workload - we read 50-150 pages a night. Also, your experience depends entirely on the professor you get, since the class is 1/3 lecture (the three professors will take turns giving these) and 2/3 discussion (with ~15 of your classmates). Fall term, I fell asleep in class EVERY SINGLE DAY. Winter term (the class was scheduled for the same slot), I had a fantastic time in class and got to know my prof really well. It’s almost never a bad idea to crack open some of these classics anyway, but please, PLEASE look at the other seminar options before you set your heart on a two-term roller coaster.</p>
<p>thank you bubble tea, but i think i have no choice no? arent freshmans required to fulfill a first year seminar? and i think if u are exempted from writing 5, the classical tradition course is the one that fulfills the seminar. </p>
<p>did u get out of writing 5, or was this a selfmade choice?</p>
<p>Yes, as a freshman, you must take Writing 5 and a seminar. If you’ve tested out of Writing 5, you will have to make room for your seminar Fall term.</p>
<p>You WILL be given a choice, though, and The Classical Tradition is only one of several seminar options. Seminars are offered by many departments on numerous topics – one of my friends took a seminar on Irish short stories, and another took one on 1950s melodramas. They know that frosh sems can be a pain, so they try to base them off something that will capture your interest, whatever your background and passions may be. Your seminar will be capped at 16 students, so you’ll have to put down your top three choices. I’m pretty sure seminar assignments aren’t first-come-first-serve; just make sure you submit the form before the deadline.</p>
<p>The Classical Tradition does fulfill the seminar requirement, but you must take Hum 1 AND Hum 2 for the credit to count (coming in, I didn’t know this). It’s not necessarily a bad choice (we had some incredible discussions), but it does kind of render the exempt-from-Writing-5 head start useless. This is something else to consider.</p>
<p>Take the seminar unless you are willing to put in a lot of time for the Hum sequence (I heard it is a lot of work but very rewarding). They have a diverse selection of seminars on some of the most random so pick a topic that you know you will enjoy. Also read up on the prof, as that will largely influence your first year sem experience. most of all, evaluate your current writing/reading abilities and select a course based on that. There are seminars with reputably difficult profs who make their class have medians at B’s and then there are the easier ones taught by new profs who hand out A’s like candy…</p>