To Take Or Not To Take: A Comprehensive List of Classes Taken by Her Campus Contributors

Not sure what classes to take next year? Feel like you never hear a bad story about a class until you’re too far into it to drop? Read the most up-to-date, real-time reviews of several popular Brown classes by actual Brown students below! The following information was taken from a survey of six Brown undergraduate students ranging from freshmen to sophomores. Some responses have been edited for clarity.

*Thank you to Caleigh Aviv, Kerry Harrington, Nora Woodruff, Annika Rogers, and Erin Gresalfi for their thorough responses, which made this article possible!

Classes Taken

• ANTH 110: Anthropology and Global Social Problems

• CLPS 10: Mind, Brain, and Behavior

• CLPS 700: Social Psychology

• ECON 110: Principles of Economics

• ECON 1130: Intermediate Microeconomics

• ECON 1210: Intermediate Macroeconomics

• ECON 1620: Introduction to Econometrics

• CSCI 170: Computer Science: An Integrated Introduction

• CSCI 180: Computer Science: An Integrated Introduction

• CSCI 1300: User Interfaces and User Experience

• ENGN 90: Management of Industrial / Nonprofit Organizations

• ENGN 30: Introduction to Engineering

• ENGN 900: Managerial Decision Making

• ENGN 930A: Appropriate Technology

• ENGL 900: Academic Essay

• ENGL 100W: Literature Reformatted

• ENGL 100P: Love Stories

• RELS 90K: Christmas in America (First Year Seminar)

• HNDI 100: Beginning Hindi or Urdu

• MATH 100: Introductory Calculus: part II

• NEUR 10: The Brain: An Introduction to Neuroscience

• POLS 220: City Politics

• POLS 1150: Prosperity

• POLS 1120: Campaigns and Elections

• HIST 150G: History of Law: Great Trials

• HIST 270B: History of the Environment From The Columbian Exchange to Climate Change

• HIST 1235A: Making A “Second Sex”: Women and Gender in Modern European History

• HIST 150 C: Locked Up

• PLCY 100: Introduction to Public Policy

• FREN 400: Intermediate French II

• FREN 500: Writing and Speaking French I

• FREN 600: Writing and Speaking French II

• LITR 710: Writers on Writing Seminar

• GNSS 90C: Reproductive Health: Science and Politics

• SOC 10: Perspective on Society: Introduction to Sociology

• SOC 1311: Micro-Organizational Theory: Social Behavior in Organizations

• EDUC 1090: Adolescent Literature

• EDUC 1740: Academic Freedom on Trial

• EDUC 860: Sports in American Society

• VISA 100: Studio Foundation

Classes Highly Recommended To Others

• HIST 0150C: Locked Up: A Global History of Captivity

  • As seen on the Critical Review: “Many referred to her as ‘the best lecturer at Brown’ and commented on how effectively she presented information during class. One respondent summed up the way reviewers felt about Professor Remensnyder by saying, ‘You should not leave Brown before taking a class with Professor Remensnyder. She is one of the most engaging, informative, passionate, and effective lecturers I’ve had the pleasure to work with.’”

• POLS 1120: Campaigns and Elections

  • One Her Campus contributor described Campaigns and Elections as a “chill class” where she “learned a lot”, which is always a good combination.

• NEUR 0010: The Brain

  • The Critical Review states that “although it was a lot of work, students loved the class”. It is noteworthy that this class involves a substantial amount of memorization.

• RELS 0090K: Christmas in America

  • “Christmas in America has a great professor, Daniel Vaca, that makes the class worth taking for First Years looking for a fun FYS.”

• ENGL 0900: Academic Essay

  • “I had Ilan Ben Meir as a professor and recommend this section to anyone looking to take Academic Essay.”

  • “I had Carol DeBoer-Langworthy as a professor and also recommend this section to anyone wanting to take Academic Essay. While I found the class could be a bit repetitive at times, it was a really nice way to ease myself into the process of college writing, learn how to use the library resources, and practice writing long papers in a relatively low pressure situation. I wish this class wasn’t mandatory S/NC because I would have gotten an A.”

• HIST 1235A: Making A “Second Sex”: Women and Gender in Modern European History

  • The Critical Review gushes about this class, reading: “Professor Kelly Colvin received glowing reviews from every respondent. Described as ‘a ray of sunshine…witty and full of knowledge,’ she was praised for her interesting lectures, funny or sarcastic commentary, and entertaining anecdotes throughout the semester.”

• CLPS 0700: Social Psychology

  • “This class is controversial because you either love it or hate it. The grading is harsh and the assignments are pretty unstructured compared to how harshly they’re judged, but the material is super interesting and lectures are engaging. Professor FeldmanHall talks about her work in the lab a lot which is intriguing.”

• ENGN 0090: Management of Industrial and Nonprofit Organizations

  • “This class is super popular and chill among freshman, and it’s recommended if you want something a little more low-key first semester” (see least favorite classes for another perspective on this).

• CSCI 1300: User Interfaces and User Experience

  • “Guest lectures are a highlight of this course.”

  • “I appreciated that the work was similar to what is done in the industry.”

Classes That People Hated and/or Do Not Recommend

• ECON 0110: Principles of Economics

  • “It seems to be a general sentiment that people are not a fan of this class. Before I took it, several different Econ concentrators told me it was the most difficult economics class at Brown, partly because it combines Micro and Macro into one semester, classes that students at almost every other school take in two semesters. The tests were close to impossible given the level instruction about their material, and the  course is a huge turnoff for the entire concentration. Plus….it’s at 9AM MWF!!!”

  • “Personally, not a fan of Econ so I did not enjoy principles. If you’re not an Econ person I recommend taking it S/NC.”

• ENGN 0090: Management of Industrial and Nonprofit Organizations

  • “I didn’t hate ENGN 9, but it is definitely not as much of an easy A as people think/say it is, and it’s only interesting if you’re interested in business.”

• MATH 100: Calc II

  • “Ew.”

• CSCI 0170: CS: An Integrated Introduction

  • “The pacing could make the lectures dull at times.”

  • The Critical Review says, “Some students remarked that they would have liked to see more live-coding examples in class. Reviewers also noted that the timing of the lectures could have been better synchronized with the material needed for homeworks and projects.”

Favorite Class At Brown

• HIST 0150G: History of Law: Great Trials

  • “This was a survey course about all of the best trials in history, ranging from the Trial of Sophocles up until the trial of OJ Simpson (homework was to watch the Netflix documentary about the trial). It was a lecture course and I loved the professor’s humor and bluntness. The assignments were weekly response papers to the readings and then exams/longer papers.”

• NEUR 0010: The Brain: An Introduction to Neuroscience

  • “I loved Neuro 10 because I learned a lot of interesting and difficult information that I feel like I can now apply to the real world.”

• VISA 0100: Studio Foundation

  • “I love VISA 100!”

  • I’m taking it right now so it’s only been 3 weeks but it’s great!”

• HIST 1235A: Making A “Second Sex”: Women and Gender in Modern European History

  • “This class talked about women’s roles in society in europe from 1400-present. Covered the witch craze, both of the feminism waves, beauty standards during wwii. readings were super interesting which made discussion sections pretty captivating. Really cool class overall would recommend to anyone.”

• GNSS 0090C: Reproductive Health: Science and Politics

  • “It was different than any other class I’ve taken, and it was a seminar with a really cool professor. Weekly discussions were super interesting and we talked a lot about current events while also learning about the biology behind reproductive health.”

Favorite Professors At Brown

• “I loved Holly Case, who taught HIST 0150G: History of Law and Amy Remensnyder who taught HIST 0150 C: Locked Up”

• “I really enjoyed Professor Ashok Koul who teaches HINDI 0100 (and all the higher level classes). He has been my favorite professor because he makes learning the language fun and non-stressful. He provides support and help for those who need it and the environment in the classroom is always positive and encouraging.”

• Daniel Vaca taught my FYS and he was very encouraging about our first semester at Brown.

• “Professor Hackey of Intro to Public Policy (PLCY0110) is super engaging and fun.”

• “Professor Malle, who alternates teaching Social Psych with Professor FeldmanHall depending on the year, is super cool”

• “Professor Kolvan taught Making a Second Sex: loved it”

• “I loved Professor Fox from my reproductive health seminar. She’s an OBGYN who teaches the seminar on the side so she has a lot of personal stories and knowledge to offer.”

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