<p>There are the Autumn '06 IHUM Courses:
*The Art of Living
*Freedom, Equality, Difference
*The Human and the Machine
*Journeys
*The Literature of Crisis
*Race, Gender, and the Arts of Survival
*Technological Visions of Utopia
*Visions of Mortality</p>
<p>I don't know if all of these are the same or not, but I believe at least some are and I was hoping those of you that have taken them can share your experiences. I don't know if this is accurate, but I envision IHUM as like the archetypal college experience. With that in mind, I think that the professor and the course is probably just as important - if not more important - than the material that is discussed. So, what did you think? Thanks in advance... :)</p>
<p>The Human and the Machine was just a big mess. A lot of the texts we read were really bizarre (like Crash, a novel about a man who is aroused by car crashes) or didn't really match up with course themes in a convincing manner (like Plato's Republic). Having three profs meant that there wasn't any overall structure to the course. Even within each prof I'm not sure there was an overall structure. One of the profs was fun to listen to (as in the manner in which he spoke was entertaining) but his lectures weren't that great. Another prof's lectures were way above our heads. The material we read wasn't all that great and the profs didn't really know what they were doing. It might be better now that they have some feedback... but maybe not. Most people did not really like this class. I loved my TF and my section which made it a much, much better experience, but not really a class I'd recommend. </p>
<p>Visions of Mortality is taught by Bobonich. Bobonich is an amazing lecturer. I highly recommend taking a class with him. If you know you hate philosophy, then maybe not the best class to take. </p>
<p>Journeys I think is supposed to be pretty good and one of the easier IHUMs, lighter on the reading. </p>
<p>The Art of Living and Technological Visions of Utopia sound like new courses. I don't know much about Freedom, Equality, Difference, The Literature of Crisis, or Race, Gender, and the Arts of Survival. </p>
<p>If there's a way to figure out which TFs are TFing each course, it might be worth it to take classes just for amazing TFs. I believe Robert Jones is going to be a TF next year and he's amazing, everyone loves him. (He has his own facebook group, Robert Jones is God) I don't think my other TFs will be TFs next year. Anyone else know if good TFs who will be around?</p>
<p>A TF (Teaching Fellow) is your discussion section leader.</p>
<p>Visions comes very highly recommended. Assuming Bobonich teaches it, you'll have a great time. And it gives you a great chance to do some philosophizing.</p>
<p>Could some current students ask their friends if they took freedom, equality, difference and what they thought about it? I assume its not a very popular IHUM because noone seems to know anything about it. However, it really interests me and I want to get some feedback on it! Thanks!</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure that Robert Jones should be one of the Freedom, Equality, and Difference TFs. He's awesome. </p>
<p>The Human and the Machine has changed a bit from last year, they got rid of one of the really odd texts (Marinetti's poetry, weird stuff) and another odd text (Crash, the book, totally different than the 2005 movie, about this guy who is aroused by car crashes, pretty revolting). I loved just listening to Shanks talk, his style (ok, his accent really) is just fun to watch/listen to. Lowood really cares about doing a good job. He specializes in the history of video games if remember correctly, so if you're into that you might enjoy what he has to say. I'm not really a fan of the texts that one would read for the class and it didn't really all connect together well enough for my tastes. It sounds like it will still be a pretty light courseload, possibly a tiny bit more but most likely not. You only have 4 main texts that you read, one is a film, the lynn hershmann stuff I think should also be films.</p>
<p>There's a 1996 movie called Crash, apparently based on that book. I was flipping through HBO channels last night and browsed through it en route to the Batman movie.</p>
<p>I love how much vital info I contribute to the Stanford 2010 board.</p>
<p>Visions of Mortality and Journeys are widely said to be the best fall IHUMs. I had Journeys and liked it a lot; the reading was indeed the lightest as well (I thought getting classes with easy reading loads would be a cop-out before coming to Stanford, but boy, how I've changed my mind). Like others have said, The Human and the Machine is just weird. The others are also either terrible, immemorable, or new, as far as I can tell.</p>
<p>I'd warn against choosing an IHUM just because the course description and reading sound interesting. Your professor, who you have to see 2 hours a week, and more importantly your TF, who you'll see and talk with for 3 hours a week, will make or break the class no matter what the subject. I've had professors make what I thought were interesting subjects just terrible, and vice versa.</p>
<p>*The Art of Living- new so don't know
*Freedom, Equality, Difference- i didn't hear good things about it, but also didn't hear anything specifically bad either
*The Human and the Machine- i took this one. it sucks. material is boring and the teaching was horrible. however, like previously mentioned, it was easy as hell. i mean, i would take it again just because its soooo easy, and 1st quarter IHUM courses really aren't gonna change your life or education. seriously. maybe visions of mortality, since i heard it was good. i actually wanted to take it but couldn't b/c of conflicts with other classes i was taking.
*Journeys- i heard it was really good w/ light reading.
*The Literature of Crisis- i believe this one sucked big balls with boring reading.
*Race, Gender, and the Arts of Survival - same as freedom, eq, and diff
*Technological Visions of Utopia - new
*Visions of Mortality - best ihum i've heard. i wish i could've taken it.</p>