Some of us enter college knowing exactly what we want to do after we graduate, but the rest of us are not even sure if we should major in English or Biology. The students who are unsure of what classes to take are really the lucky ones. These students are giving themselves the chance to explore different subjects and classes they otherwise might have never taken. Many Juniors and Seniors probably wish they had taken a greater variety of courses, but didn’t because it didn’t fit in with their college plan. Take a minute and don’t think about classes in terms of where and what they will get you after college, but in terms of what subject sounds interesting to learn about. The Her Campus™ Lawrence Team thought of a few classes that might make all the difference in a Lawrentians experience during his or her four years of college. In our search for interesting, challenging, and exciting classes we came across Chemistry of Art, Introduction to Film Studies, and Nutritional Anthropology.
Chemistry of Art:
This course is a lab class that is two hours long and meets twice a week. An upperclassman male senior told us that it definitely counted as one the more exciting classes he has taken at Lawrence. He told me, “Every week we are always doing something in the lab and it is practical.” The lab course is taught by Professor Mary Blackwell, who also teaches other Chemistry courses. When we asked what kind of projects the class will have to do during the term the student told us, “We are going to make paint, paper, and ink. I like to do stuff and see results instead of being lectured about how things are done. It is hands on and brings a crowd of students from all majors.” This class not only fulfills the lab requirement that students must have before they graduate, but students also learn how to do and make things using chemistry they otherwise would probably never do.
Introduction to Film Studies:
The film studies department is a relatively new department, but it is quickly growing. Professor Alison Gunether-Pal helps head the department and we were fortunate enough to get a little insight into what is wonderful about film studies classes, specifically Introduction to Film Studies. She told us, “I enjoy it most when students come to class perhaps not particularly liking a film or thinking there’s not much there to discuss and leaving class with a much deeper understanding of how its stylistic and narrative elements can work in very sophisticated ways to produce meaning.” Professor Alison Gunether-Pal went on to say that even films like “Twilight” can be read as complex texts that tell us quite a lot about our culture through filmmaking. According to Professor Guenther-Pal the type of student that should take this class is “any kind of student who wants to think about film in a more critical way.” Film Studies gives students the opportunity to become more culturally aware and literate, while enjoying a new area of study at Lawrence!
Nutritional Anthropology: This course is mostly made up of established Anthropology majors, but as Emily Hallock ’12, a senior, explains, “this course is cross-dimensional. While a lot of Anthropology majors take this class, so do Biology majors and then people who are exclusively interested in nutrition.” At Lawrence we are very aware and concerned with health and eating well, so this course fits perfectly into the Lawrence community. When we asked why she enjoyed the class so much Emily told us, “we did an experiment where we wore an armband that measures your energy output. Each person in the class had to find two more people who weren’t already in the class to wear the armband. It was interesting to see how their lifestyle effected their energy output.” This experiment helped students see what type of activities were most effective and it makes you more aware of how we eat and what we do to eat healthier.
You owe it to yourself to try at least one of the courses, if not more. The sooner, the better. Many upperclassmen only end up taking courses like Film Studies later in their college careers but wish they had done so sooner. We hope that you have the chance to fit one of these classes into your schedules while you are at Lawrence University. Who knows, you might even change your major because you liked the class so much!
Photo Credit: http://www.onlinegardenertips.com/images/Cucumber-Nutritional-Value.jpg
http://www.chabotcollege.edu/Library/subjectindex/film.jpg
http://i.treehugger.com/images/2007/10/24/GreenChem.jpg