<p>So, I'm a current junior and I'm visiting Swarthmore tomorrow. I'm following the standard tour and possibly meeting a writing professor my father knows. BUT I'd like to sit in on a class, and I was just browsing the class schedule for Tuesdays, and I have to admit-- it's pretty overwhelming. I was wondering if some students/alumni could recommend a particular class or two that they feel is wonderful/indicative of Swarthmore's teaching philosophy. My interests revolve around english, anthropology/sociology, philosophy, and history. </p>
<p>Thanks so much, guys. I appreciate this! Remember, the class has to be on a Tuesday. Oh, and here's the link to the spring schedule:</p>
<p>The "strongest" classes at Swarthmore are honors seminars, but attending any of those will not be a good idea - most probably you will have no idea what they are talking about, and they are often 5 hrs long.</p>
<p>You should try to sit on one of the freshman seminars, or first year intro classes. Here are some that seem like potentially a good choice:</p>
<p>ENGLISH:
FYS: Nation and Migration
Mani, B
09:55am-11:10am
Kohlberg 230</p>
<p>FYS:Battling Against Voldemort
Finberg, M
09:55am-11:10am
Kohlberg 201</p>
<p>FYS: Black Liberty /Literature
Foy, A
11:20am-12:35pm
Trotter Hall 315</p>
<p>FYS:Ways of Seeing & Telling
Blum, A
09:55am-11:10am
Lang Perf Arts Ctr 201</p>
<p>PHILOSOPHY:
PHIL 001 04
Intro Phil:Knowledge/Morality/Politics
Oberdiek, H
09:55am-11:10am</p>
<p>Why don't you list some classes that sound interesting to you, and maybe get some feedback? It'll be easier if things already strike you as interesting! That said, I'd recommend most of the sochanth classes (I'm taking one of them currently, Comparative Perspectives on the Body), but can't speak for many other departments. :)</p>
<p>I can definitely understand why you would want to see a freshman-level course, but when I visited, I actually wound up attending a very intense, high-level constitutional law class, which completely took my breath away. It was probably at least 30% of my decision to apply ED. So it might also be in your best interest to find the best of Swat, not merely what you can relate to most easily (although I can imagine you wouldn't want something that went entirely over your head).</p>
<p>My daughter sat in on Battling Against Voldemort last fall and loved it. Probably more enjoyable if you like the Harry Potter series. (she applied and was accepted ED1)</p>
<p>It's possibly not representative of a typical Swarthmore class at all, but Intro to Psychology (tomorrow afternoon 2:40-3:55) is a whole lot of fun. The class is well over 100 people--one of Swarthmore's biggest classes, period--because the professor, Andrew Ward, is such an amazing lecturer. We're talking about memory tomorrow, I think. That said, a smaller class would probably give you a better idea of a typical Swat academic experience. </p>