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Coarse Critique
September 2002 | Classes to take. Classes to avoid.
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Unless you were a child prodigy in high school, much of your first year
at Yale will be spent taking overviews, surveys, or intro classes. Some
of these offerings at Yale are downright awful. Some are spectacular, and
all are available to freshmen.
Word of mouth is the best bet for selecting courses, but the YFP
would like to add a few rules of thumb and information about popular freshman
fodder.
If Credit/D/Fail is an option for a class, always take it. You can change
back at midterm with no penalty. (Hint: don't mention to profs or TA's that
you are taking the class CR/D/F, they are often unaware, and what they don't
know can't hurt you.)
The official course critique is useless and out of date; don't trust
it.
You can talk your way into almost anything. If you really want to get
into a class with prerequisites, and you think you're qualified, ask to
speak with the professor. Sometimes you can get away with just signing up
for the class, especially in Groups I, II and III, but even in Group IV,
a conversation with the prof will usually get you what you want.
In big lecture classes, check to see whether there is a required section.
Your schedule may appear easy at the beginning of shopping period, but if
you add several sections, your life can become unpleasant quickly. Sections
are also taught by TA's, which makes most of them a waste of time.
And it's never too early to start thinking about Group IV "guts"
to fill your requirement.
Here is a brief review of some courses open to freshmen:
Biology
E&EB 122b, Principles of Evolution, Ecology
and Behavior. Stephen Stearns.
In this class full of pre-meds, it's easy to feel like a slacker when your
fellow classmates spend hours every night doing the huge amounts of assigned
reading. Fortunately, you will probably do just as well without the reading
since most of the subject matter tends to be vague and ambiguous. Expect
this class to be much more challenging than your typical introductory science
class with long, difficult exams and useless sections whose only purpose
is to prepare you for the papers you will write throughout the semester.
Chemistry
CHEM 114, Comprehensive General Chemistry.
Full of premeds, boring as hell (actually, I expect you wouldn't fall asleep
in hell). If you take this class and read the book, you'll do all right.
If you wait until five days before the final to read it (like I did) you
won't do all right. Weekly problem sets.
CHEM 116Lb, General Chemistry Laboratory. N.
Ganapathi.
An easy introduction to basic lab techniques, don’t expect to work
too hard to get a decent grade in this class. Dr. Ganapathi, affectionately
known as “Dr. G,” is what really makes this class worthwhile.
His sense of humor and enthusiasm for chemistry will keep you motivated
to make the weekly trek up science hill for this lab.
CHEM 125, Freshman Organic Chemistry.
Although there may be interesting information in this course, there is substantial
rout memorization. Some enjoy the course, but all agree that the work is
over-whelming. If you're headed for medical school, however, you have to
take orgo eventually. One plus: because this class has selective entrance,
it is curved to a B. Conventional wisdom has it that this course is used
to weed out potential med students.
CHEM 130 (now called Chem 332): Physical Chemistry
with Applications in the Physical Sciences
If you really enjoy Chem, then this is the course is for you. The material
is often difficult to grasp. However, most of the math is pretty basic calculus.
Unfortunately, this course gives one the impression that no one in the chemistry
department knows any math. You may come to realize that the rule against
dividing by zero is just a social construct.
CHEM 135Lb: Advanced General Chemistry Laboratory.
Iona Black.
Quite possibly one of the most annoying courses at Yale, this course will
suck you dry. Besides spending four hours per week in the disgusting labs
of SCL, you will also be spending an average of 10 hours per week writing
up annoying lab reports all for a measly half credit. To make matters worse,
there is a lab quiz before each lab. Iona Black is very demanding and often
nasty about details, for no reason. She will force you to write up your
lab reports in Microsoft Excel, no matter how annoying it may be. Avoid
this class like the plague.
Computer Science
CPSC 112a or b, Introduction to Programming
No prior programming experience is needed. Although the lecture notes
on the website are a luxury, that luxury destroys your motivation to attend
class. Weekly
problem sets take forever, because you have to go over and over the program
you have written to figure out where you left out that stupid parenthesis.
The problem sets also compose a large percentage of your grade. You
will get a good grade if do the work, but it's not easy.
Economics
Yale has a fairly prestigious economics department with lots of famous economists
on its faculty. However, one can usually get a better econ. lesson from
reading the Wall Street Journal than taking a course in this department.
ECON 115 a or b,Intro to Microeconomics.
You can either read the book or go to class; no need to do both. Weekly
problem sets are generally easy for students with good mathematic and economic
intuitions; others find it significantly harder. Quite possibly a waste
of time; every example in this class seems to take place in the Land of
Make Believe.
ECON 116a or b, Introduction to Macroeconomics.
Much like Micro, you can choose to read or go to class. William Nordhaus
is an excellent lecturer. He was, however, Jimmy Carter’s chief economic
advisor during Carter’s administration. Do you trust a guy who oversaw
12% interest rates and 8% unemployment to teach you economics? If you’re
not going to be an econ major, you should read The Wall Street Journal instead
of wasting a credit. Avoiding academic economists is also generally good
advice.
Electrical Engineering
EE 101a, The Digital Information Age. Roman Kuc.
Though it can no longer be taken CR/D/F, EE 101 is the king of guts. Roman
Kuc can be an entertaining lecturer, but actual attendance is unnecessary.
This class has no final, only a few tests, and the weekly labs are
an easy "A". Anyone who hates science and wants to take one step
closer to completeing the group IV requirement needs to take this course.
After all, when the major class project is making a personal web page, you
can't go wrong.
English
Yale's English department is superb, particularly once you get past the
introductory level. There are lecture courses in the upper levels that are
open to freshmen -- take advantage of them if you're up to the challenge.
ENGL 114a/115a.
These courses are designed to teach you how to write, but they don't do
much serious literary work. They're worth taking if you want to work on
your writing, but if you can pass into a higher-level English class, it's
probably a better idea. (Even if your SAT or AP scores are not stellar,
you can get into the 120-level classes by submitting a good writing sample.)
ENGL 125, Major English Poets.
This class is a requirement for the English major, so it's taught by actual-size
professors (no TA's). The pace is much more leisurely than in 129, so you
get many more class discussions and have time to read more carefully. Traugott
Lawler is a particularly fine professor.
ENGL 129a, The European Literary Tradition.
"Greatest Hits of Western Civ." The material is terrific--Homer,
Joyce, Shakespeare, Dante and similar stars. The class focuses on
drama. The downside is the massive reading list, which makes in-depth analysis
difficult. (Hamlet is taught in just three classes.) This is
not a lecture course--you have to pre-register for sections as in 125, but
here your section may be taught by a TA. The class will only be enjoyable
if the instructor is talented, enthusiastic, and somewhat well-balanced.
(All three in one package is rare for an English TA.) Unfortunately, you
are completely blind in pre-registration, so a good TA (or, rarely,
professor) requires some luck. George Fayen's section is by far the
best. This is not a lecture course—you have to pre-register or
talk your way in. Read the Iliad before you start if possible.
Film Studies
FILM 150a - Introduction to Film Studies.
The only way this course will not seem like a dreadful season in purgatory
is if you truely, madly, deeply love film. Frankly, Musser's lectures are
like Faulkner meets Freud—stream-of-consciousness psychobabble. The
approach to film criticism in this course is tedious and unproductive. There
are some fantastic films on the syllabus, but Blockbuster Video is a less
painful way to experience the movies.
History
Fortunately, there are no prerequisites for history, so any of the dozens
of classes is fair game. Yale has the best history department in the country,
so it’s worth taking some before you graduate. But watch out for
the TA’s. Most of them are GESO sympathizers and there are a handful
who won’t hesitate to screw you if you’re on the Right.
HIST 121b, The Military, War, and Society in
the United States, 1775-1991. Mary Habeck.
Don't be fooled by the title in the blue book -- this course is straight
U.S. Military History. Professor Habeck is a very engaging lecturer; the
last time this course was taught, one lecture was devoted to an arms demonstration.
The exams draw mostly from the lecture material, so don't slave over your
books, but make sure you're at lecture. Prof. Habeck is also very flexible
about the exams; she usually offers a take-home exam as well as an in-class
final. Take the in-class exam -- she has been known to buy everyone doughnuts.
HIST 202b, European Civilization 1648-1945.
John Merriman.
A classic in the history department, this class always attracts a fair number
of students. The class provides you with a decent overview of a large period
of history. Professor Merriman is mostly entertaining, but lectures are
of varying relevance. He often drifts off into insignificant details, which
can make him hard to follow. Members of the vast right-wing conspiracy will
have to put up with some lefty remarks and socialist books such as Zola‘s
Germinal, as well as Prof. Merriman‘s long-time love relationship with
France and its culture. Do the textbook reading to the midterm and then
stop: you‘ll be given the possible questions for the final, so it will
be early enough to look at the necessary parts in the textbook during reading
period. It’s almost impossible to read all the additional books, but
you most likely won’t be asked much about them on exams. Also, you
get to write the final paper about anything you want that happened between
1648 and 1945.
HIST 205a, Introduction to Ancient Greek History.
Donald Kagan.
Donald Kagan makes this class. From his sweeping introductory lecture
on why we should care about the Greeks to his demonstrations of hoplite
fighting patterns, he's a fascinating lecturer with years of practice. The
reading list is excellent, but the course is very demanding as far as workload
goes. Watch out -- TA's make a huge difference here. Sections are optional,
but you really should take one. Be sure you don't get one of those guys
who fails half the class just to be ornery.
History of Art
Some classes in this department are excellent; others are dens of feminist
theory and art-speak. You should be able to tell what's what from the course
titles and the first lecture. Make sure that the slides which are required
for memorization for the class are up on the Yale server; otherwise, you'll
have to trek over to Street Hall to do your memorization.
HSAR 112a, Introduction to the History of Art:
Prehistory to the Renaissance. Vincent Scully.
This class is ideal for those who plan to major in art history, or for those
who simply want to be able to impress their friends in cocktail lounge conversations
later in life. Vincent Scully is a legend. However, the course fulfills
every stereotype of artsy people. Most of the course involves rote memorization.
The rest is filled with post-modern mumbo-jumbo. But, if you’re into
hero worship, take it soon before he runs off to Miami.
Languages
If you're looking to fufill your language requirement, you should have placed
out on the AP test in high school, and now you're screwed. For most courses,
the placement exam is nearly impossible for non-native speakers. Watch out
for taking intro classes. Often, people take the classes if they already
speak well, in order to raise their GPA's. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
CHNS 115, Elementary Modern Chinese.
Expect hours of study, daily quizes, and a lingering fear that you are tone-deaf.
However, William Zhou is energetic, driven, and very demanding, and there
is a good chance you'll leave this class being able to say more than just
"ni hao." If Congress persists in its appeasement policy, you'll
be glad you took this class.
LATN 110a, Beginning Latin: The Elements of
Latin Grammar.
If you're looking to fufill that language requirement with the least amount
of pain, Latin is the language for you. It only meets three times a week,
requires no time at the language lab, and is conducted entirely in English.
If you stick around for two years (thus fulfilling the language requirement),
you'll get to read Vergil. And also, if you travel back in time and end
up in Europe 500 years ago, you'll be able to converse with any priest of
any nationality.
SPAN 115, Elementary Spanish.
A chore. It requires daily attendance, which, as any real college student
can tell you, is sinful. The work is reminiscent of the second grade, with
corny videos, boring labs, and an "activity book". If you are
at all familiar with Spanish, it is an easy class, but do not expect any
kind of a fiesta.
SPAN 138: Advanced Conversational Spanish.
This course is easy and very flexible. There are almost no assignments.
The few that there are go by like a breeze. There is one short book by Gabrial
Garcia Marquez, Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Attendance is mandatory,
as is class participation, which usually involves being involved in and
leading discussions on some current events.
Mathematics
MATH 112a or b
This class is roughly equivalent to a first secondary school course in calculus.
One thing that this class proves: just because you’re at Yale doesn’t
mean the instructors are any better than in high school. Most TA’s
speak broken English, if any. Michael Frame is a particularly good
lecturer, so try to get his section.
MATH 115a or b
If calculus was a breeze in high school, don’t necessarily expect the
same thing at Yale. This course is an intermediary for those who took Calculus
AB but are not yet ready for Multivariable Calculus. Most likely you will
be teaching yourself the information in this class unless you find the rare
TA who is capable of teaching a course and speaking English.
MATH 120 a or b, Calculus of Functions of Several
Variables.
This class does not deal with proofs; instead, students work on difficult
computations. A lot of time is spent working on calculators and using formulas
that you don’t understand. Definitely shop around for different sections.
Peter Jones is a phenomenal lecturer and often teaches a section or two
of this course.
MATH 190 a or b, Fractal Geometry. Michael Frame.
This is a basic introduction to “fractals” (those cool pictures
that introduce a scene in Jurassic park) and “chaos” (a word used
by many Yale pseudo-intellectuals) intended for non-science majors. Unlike
other math courses, it satisfies the natural science requirement. Requiring
no knowledge of high school geometry, the course is quite easy and Michael
Frame is a phenomenal teacher. It is at 9 am, so that might be a deterrent.
However, the material is an interesting introduction to a relatively new
branch of mathematics.
MATH 230, Vector Calculus and Linear Algebra.
Greg Friedman.
This course is a rigorous full-year introduction to abstract mathematics.
Covering three semesters of material in just two, it gives any potential
math or physics major a solid foundation for further study of mathematics.
The book usually used is hard to read, so one might want to go to the Bookstore
to buy a supplementary text. However, Greg Friedman is a terrific lecturer
and explains things very well. Problem sets are time-consuming and the tests
are quite hard. There is a curve, so grades aren’t too terrible in
the end.
Philosophy
PHIL 116a, Introduction: Ancient Philosophy.
A good introduction to ancient philosophical thought. It is also useful
for beginning to develop your own philosophical reasoning. This is the downside
as well. Sections are required, and some of the budding philosophers in
the class can be quite annoying.
PHIL 117a, Modern Philosophy from Descartes
to Kant.
The merit of this course depends largely on who teaches it, but on the whole
it is a poor introduction to modern philosophy. Such survey courses are
unable to present philosophy in its proper context and therefore provide
reading without understanding and lectures without relevance. The workload,
however, is light —a reflection of the course content. If you are a
philosophy major and are required to take this course, we pity you.
PHIL 204a, Logical Theory 1. Sun-Joo Shin.
The professor is reason enough to take this class. If you want to skip PHIL
130—as you should— you can take this more advanced course in logic.
It assumes that you can already reason logically and instead of forcing
you to work through stupid tautologies, it derives the validity of logic.
Sun-Joo Shin is a phenomenal lecturer and one should definitely take this
course with her. The grading is based on biweekly problem sets and a take-home
final. The grading is fair and most people do decently.
Political Science
Yale has one of the best political science departments in the country. Courses
offered in PoliSci, however, vary in quality and are often a bunch of utilitarian
propaganda. The courses in political theory can be particularly good. Sometimes,
freshmen can even get into seminars. Steven Smith and Norma Thompson are
especially gifted teachers. If you want to get into one of their seminars,
however, you might have to wait till junior year.
PLSC 118a, Moral Foundations of Politics. Ian
Shapiro.
Shapiro is an engaging lecture, and covers a lot of ground. The course readings
and theories studied are varied, but conservatism is blatantly ignored.
It is possible to get a lot out of this class, but the class is not designed
to help stimulate further thinking—you’ve got to be motivated.
PLSC 150b,Theories of International Relations.
At 9:00 am. (Need I say more?) You have to get used to the professor's
calculations on the board, even though this isn't a math class. And
you'll get a lecture on the theory of theory. Once you get past this,
it's interesting: it explores theories of war and peace, causes of
war domestic and international, and why alliances hold or break. Your
grade rests on midterm and final. If you want something more basic,
take Intro International Relations.
PLSC 205b, The American Presidency.
One word sums up this course: boring. A deep analysis of how the presidency
works could be interesting, if the lectures were not so dry and scientific
and the reading not so dense.
PLSC 452a/STAT102a/EP&E 203a Introduction
to Statistics: Political Science
This class has some of the worst characteristics of a gut: easy but boring.
Doing even the small amount of necessary learning is a drag. Mathematical
equations or problems are presented apologetically, as if math is an evil
to be endured. For those who believe that Group IV is the domain
of Satan, the approach of this class is ideal.
Psychology
PSYC 110a or b, Introduction to Psychology
The only prerequisite for the psychology major, this class is always popular
among Freshmen. It will provide you with a strong overview of the field
and provide you with insights about the most entertaining experiments and
theories of psychology. Several different professors teach the class each
year and the quality of the course can, as always, vary according to the
instructor. Nonetheless, students consistently enjoy lectures and find most
of the reading material palatable. Beware, though, about evil tongues that
claim this class is a gut. Most students spend a lot of time doing the reading
and studying for exams.
PSYC 160b, Social Psychology
After this class, you may wonder what kind of world you live in. Besides
all your new ideas about human nature, you will also have memorized tons
of more or less plausible theories about the functioning of groups. Most
students enjoy the class, though some of the reading can be tedious and
TAs tend to be picky on exams.
PSYC 180a, Abnormal Psychology
This is a fantastic class for anyone even remotely interested in mental
health. Professor Lockhart is a kind and entertaining lecturer with a sense
of humor. Not many other courses will encourage you to dress up as a mental
illness on Halloween. The workload and the exams were fair, and while section
was not particularly useful, TAs made efforts to help students as much as
possible. Most of the reading was interesting and provided balance between
the scientific and experiential aspects of psychopathology.
Statistics
STAT 104a, Introduction to Statistics: Pscyhology
The big bonus involved in taking this class instead of the easier Psychology
200b is that it fulfills the group four requirement. Tuesday lectures are
with Joseph Chang, who does his best to make statistics entertaining, unfortunately
not very successfully. Tom Brown, the psychology section leader, makes you
wish you were back in Chang’s classroom. The class is mathematically
not very difficult. The weekly problem sets tend to be tedious. Section
leaders realize psychology majors aren‘t all good at math, so you get
to pick among the problems you want to do on the midterm and the final.
Hint: go to the review sessions, especially before the midterm.
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