During my first year at McGill, all I cared about was taking easy, “bird” courses. However, as I realized throughout the year that I had absolutely no interest in any of these topics, my grades started to suffer. As I entered my second and third year, I took courses that were not only related to my major, but classes that I was actually interested about learning, regardless of whether it was an easy A or not.
Naturally, my grades went up because I loved going to every lecture, so it didn’t feel like such a chore to study and care about the class. To encourage you to take classes that you are actually interested in and show you some of the courses out there, I have picked out four of the best courses that I have taken at McGill.
SOCI 321- Gender and Work (Professor Candice Shaw)
This class is probably ranked #1 in my books, but I’m going to be honest – I originally did not want to take this class at all. But after just two lectures, I was hooked. As a feminist, and as someone who is very interested in gender topics, I went into this course thinking I already knew a lot about gender issues in society. However, this class opened my eyes to all aspects of gender inequality that I did not even think about. This class not only touches just on gender inequality, but it also touches a bit on inequality as a whole. This class was very discussion-heavy, and it was so eye-opening to hear peoples’ personal experiences and opinions. This class has taught me the deep impacts of gender inequality in and out of the workforce, how tasks and expectations exist depending on your gender or other characteristics, and most importantly, it has pushed me to be more aware of some of the common norms that have been deeply rooted in our society that I was never aware about. Whether you are a girl or a guy, I truly believe that everyone can benefit from taking this class.
MGCR 360- Social Context of Business (Professor Robert David)
Among Management students, this course may not be the most popular choice as it is quite different from a lot of other Management core classes. This is also a very discussion-heavy class, and it encourages students to think and reflect deeply about the role and function of businesses and how they interact with society. Whether you are studying business or not, I found this class to be very relevant and important to today’s society, with the increasing number of businesses and corporations on the news today. This course has allowed me to think about not just my role as a consumer, but I was able to see different perspectives from the government and the corporation itself.
CHEM 181- World of Chemistry: Food (Professors David Noble Harpp, Joseph Schwarcz, Ariel Fenster)
If you go to McGill, you have probably taken this class or have at least heard of it. I took this course fully as an easy elective, but I actually really enjoyed the course material. This class is not as thought-provoking or self-reflective as the other courses listed here, but it helped me gain a lot of knowledge and facts that I found very interesting and useful. It touches on a variety of topics, such as different additives found in foods, what foods are harmful/beneficial, food-borne illnesses, and even an entire unit on wine. Even if you are terrible at science like myself, this is a great option for anyone to take if you are looking for a fun, fact-filled class. Not only did I learn the real difference between champagne and sparkling wine, I noticed that I was much more aware of the foods that I was consuming after taking this course.
SOCI 312- Sociology of Work and Industry (Professor Barry Eidlin)
Regardless of what you are studying, I found this course to be very relevant to anyone near our age. This course taught me to think a lot about how work is organized, how vastly it has evolved and is currently changing, and what the future of work could possibly look like. As a university student about to enter the workforce, I could relate to a lot of the topics covered in the class, and it has taught me a lot about what to expect in the upcoming years. I also found that the readings required for this course were very interesting (which I cannot say for any other class, so this is saying a lot) which has helped me enjoy the class even more.
MUAR 392 – Popular Music After 1945 (Professor Farley Miller)
This course was completely unrelated to what I was studying, but I took it out of sheer curiosity and interest. And my gut instinct was right – this was probably the most fun and refreshing class I have ever taken. Music is we all listen to and appreciate. This class taught me a lot about different genres and styles of music, and some of the most notable artists from each genre. It was very interesting to learn and also actually hear for myself how music has transformed over the years. After this class, I found myself gaining a massive appreciation for every style of music as a form of art.
At McGill, it’s not easy to get an A. I think that scared me too much for me to try other classes, rather than just sticking to the easy ones. But it’s important to realize why we are even at university in the first place – we are here to learn things that we wouldn’t learn from basic education, and to challenge our thinking to shape our own perspective. These were just a few of my favourite classes, and some were easier, some were harder – but what I got out of each class was worth a lot more than the alphabet on my transcript. Not everyone will enjoy these courses, but my main message is to encourage all of you to step out of your comfort zone. As one of the best schools in Canada, McGill has so much to offer – take classes out of your major, your faculty, take courses that you know nothing about but would absolutely love to learn more about. Take a chance!
(Disclaimer: As much as I enjoyed these courses, I truly think that the big reason why I loved them so much was because of the professors that I took them with. All of these professors that were listed have been some of the most knowledgeable and engaging professors that I have had. Please keep that in mind when you are trying to pick your courses!)
Images Obtained From:
http://www.mcgilltribune.com/sci-tech/five-fun-science-electives-that-wi…
https://www.macleans.ca/schools/mcgill-university/