Posts Tagged ‘chalkboard’
How to navigate course registration websites
Registration opens up again on Monday, and with it comes hours of planning and prepping—probably why you’re still signed up for 27 credits but can’t figure out which classes to drop. To help you sift through the tangle of information to find that perfect class, we’ve examined the pros and cons of the three places you can go. Still haven’t even decided what to take? Check out our previous coverage on spring 2012 registration. More »
Best sections: Spring 2012 edition
Registration for spring 2012: it’s happening. Right now, in fact. And choosing which courses you’ll take can be a tricky game—especially when it’s for one of those generic “basic requirements” classes that have 30 million sections (all of which seem to fill up three minutes after registration opens). The extremely sophisticated selection method is to go to SSOL and click “add” on the first open section. The results? Predictably mixed. So, here are the best sections for some of the most commonly offered courses this spring. Decisions were made based on CULPA reviews of the professors. When CULPA reviews weren’t available, I googled professor names. When that turned up a blank, I made stuff up went with the most convenient class times. Art Hum and Music Hum don’t have instructors listed; when/if they ever do, I’ll work on that. For now we’ve got foreign languages and calculus. Here we go. More »
Hold the phones, there’s another update to the Global Core list
Oh yes lades and gents, it’s that time again. With registration coming in fast and furious this week, if you haven’t worked out your spring semester schedule with iCal just yet, you better get started! Just before the fall semester, we showed you all the Global Core classes offered in the fall, and lo and behold we’re doing it again. However, before you go back into the archives to look at that post, we’re here to let you know that the list of approved courses has been updated as of 11.10.11. But if looking at that list doesn’t tickle your fancy, you can click past the jump to see all the Global Core classes that will be offered in spring 2012. More »
Be taught by a Senior Scholar
Some people just don’t quit. While that might be the case with that annoying girl in class who keeps asking stupid questions, the same holds true for the dedicated—though retired—members of the Society of Senior Scholars, whose story by Ana Baric is in today’s paper. Founded in 1988 by Provost Emeritus William Theodore de Bary, CC ’41, MA ’48, and Ph.D. ’53, the group’s 33 members chose to stay at Columbia teaching throughout their retirement, often leading Core classes that other professors might not want to take on.
As sociology professor Allan Silver said, “We are re-energized by young people who are encountering these great texts, almost in all cases for the first time. To experience this great material through the eyes of those reading it for the first time is extraordinary … it’s rejuvenating in the literal sense.” Katherine Sorin, CC ’13, and a student in Society Executive Director Douglas Chalmers’ CC class, agrees, “I’ve had grad student teachers who have been just as passionate and dedicated but I think he can bring a different perspective,” she said. “He shows the overall importance of the Core and how it will affect us later in life and how it can be taken with us past college and grad school.”
As registration approaches, we’ve put together a list of classes taught by Society members this spring (at least the ones that are up so far! Be on the lookout for more offerings):
- Richard Brilliant, Art History and Archeology – Contemporary Civilization
- Douglas Chalmers, Political Science – Contemporary Civilization
- Robert Pollack, Biological Sciences - Independent Clinical Research
- Jennings Mason Gentzler, East Asian Languages and Culture – Intro to Major Topics in East Asia, MW 1:10-2:25
- Conrad Schirokauer, History – Intro to Major Topics in East Asia, MW 11:00-12:15
- Michael Holquist, Comparative Literature and Slavic Studies – Literature Humanities
- Peter Pazzaglini, History – Contemporary Civilization
- John D. Rosenberg, English and Comparative Literature – Literature Humanities
- William Theodore de Bary, East Asian Languages and Cultures – Colloquium on Major Texts, M 2:10-4:00
Which classes are the most likely to break your piggy bank?
Being a college student in the city has its incredible pros, but there are also some pocket-emptying cons. There’s the cost of tuition, a meal plan, books, and excursions around New York, which are all expected, but when one of your classes costs two or three times more than your others combined, you’ve got yourself a problem. With the shopping period nearing its end, read on to see what classes will clear out your already empty pockets as a college student. More »
The ReSSOLute: Class registration success stories
Registering for classes is tricky. Students draw out strategies and game plans, tactful like Odysseus. When registration day arrives, they flock to SSOL, armed with endless stickies of call numbers and fantasy schedules. And so, the race to claim the best classes begins.
When some see that their dream class is full, they wallow in defeat and whine like Achilles. Taking personal offense from this online registration system, they vow to leave the class registration race forever. More »
This semester’s gold nugget professors
CULPA lists nearly a hundred “Gold Nugget” professors, but which ones are actually teaching this fall? We’ve combed through the list and trawled through Directory of Classes so you didn’t have to. If your schedule is still looking a little lackluster, check out our full list after the jump.
African-American Studies:
Topics in the Black Experience – Farah Griffin
Arabic:
First Year Arabic II – Ouijdane Absi
Second Year Arabic I – Ouijdane Absi
Arabic for Heritage Speakers – Youssef Nouhi
Center for Study of Ethnicity and Race:
Native American Representation – John Gamber
Introduction to Latino Studies – Frances Negron-Muntaner
Comparative Literature:
Special Topics in Literary Studies – Nicholas Dames
Computer Science:
Advanced Programming – Jae Lee
Computational Linear Algebra – Anargyros Papageorgiou
Introduction to Computational Learning Theory – Rocco Servedio
More »
Wait, WHAT? It looks like the Global Core list got updated
Given the 8.30.11 timestamp on the new Global Core list and the fact that the old Global Core link doesn’t work anymore, it sure seems like it. In February, we reported that the Global Core Committee was looking to add more seminar-like classes that fulfill the Global Core requirement. Given the added classes on the list, most of which are seminar-sized classes, it looks like that push happened.
And with this revelation, we would like to re-introduce our class registration series Chalkboard by providing an updated list of all the Global Core classes that actually will be offered next semester. The big winner from this change definitely is the Ethnicity and Race department. Their department added three seminar-styled classes taught by gold-nugget professors. Good additions! Let us know in the comments if we missed anything.
African-American Studies:
C1020, African Civilization (4), Hlonipha Mokoena
C1020, African Civilization (4), Rhiannon Stephens More »
PROFESSOR Bollinger opens up his free speech class for everyone
The PoliSci department rather surreptitiously snuck in an email today with the subject “New Fall Course: POLS W3288 A Free Press for a Global Society” and not with the more appropriate subject “Take a class with your gray-haired president.” But alas, PrezBo, a renowned First Amendment expert, for the sixth straight fall will teach his free speech/press class (though the course is usually called Freedom of Speech and Press). Up until now, the class didn’t show up on SSOL so we figured he decided he liked life in his mansion more.
But now it appears he doesn’t. So he’s teaching the class and there are currently 172 available spaces in his class (kudos to the three people who figured out how to sign up already). Take a look at his CULPA profile and ponder the pros and cons—he’s a silver nugget, but he’s received some pretty cold reviews. Check after the jump for the full email from the PoliSci department. More »
Talented TAs: Ben Leshchinsky and Daniel Kang
A couple of weeks ago, we asked for nominations for Columbia’s best TAs. We’ve narrowed down the list and now, over the next few days, check out the TAs who our readers recognized. More »