I had such an amazing time at university this semester but I was quite sad that we could not properly finish any of the courses the way we should have due to everything that happened in March/April which forced the university to stop in class lessons. However, I definitely understand that the decision the university made to shut down all in class stuff was for the best. Even though we could not properly finish the courses properly at university this semester I decided to still do a review for my courses since they have all been so great. I feel like I have really enjoyed almost all the courses I’ve taken at university so far but this year may be the best ones so far. Last semester I was able to take some really unique courses like a course on country music, archaeology and more. For more on that click here. And this semester I was again able to take some unique and interesting courses at university. I’m super thankful that my university offers such unique and interesting courses because I know not all universities do this and a lot of universities do tend to have a much more rigid syllabus. However, our university is pretty liberal about what courses it offers and what courses you can take and I am truly lucky to be able to take such interesting and fun ones. I always like to take courses about topics I don’t know a lot about or that I have not studied earlier because I think that helps me broaden my knowledge and teaches me new things which in my opinion is what university should be all about. Oh and all the courses I took this semester were history courses because my university only allows you to take two electives every year and I used up my electives last semester. Anyway here is my review of the courses I took this semester:
The Sixties- This was my favourite course that I have taken at university so far! It was such a phenomenal course and I learnt so much from it. The professor was really good- she was super nice and understanding and definitely knew what she was talking about- and the content was something I was already interested in so I found it absolutely fascinating. I have always been interested in the counterculture, 60’s music and the New Left so it was really interesting to learn more about it especially through primary sources I had never read before. One of my favourite sources was the letter by Janis Joplin sent to her mother where she is fangirling over George Harrison from The Beatles because honestly I get it- he was gorgeous! It was also really interesting to see how it wasn’t just mindless rebellious behaviour, it was so much more than that and it was also the foundation to the 70’s and the groups that emerged in the 70’s. I am definitely really happy my university offers a class on the Sixties because it is so specific and so interesting.
Middle Eastern Culture- I really enjoyed this course too! I had never taken a course about the Middle East before and to be honest I did not know too much about their culture and history so this was really fascinating and eyeopening. The only thing is that because of the whole Corona situation we couldn’t finish the course the way we were supposed to and I was really sad because there were some really interesting topics I ended up not being able to learn about properly. One thing that I really appreciated about this course apart from the stuff I mentioned earlier was that it was taught by someone who was Middle Eastern and therefore had experienced a lot of what she was teaching first hand. And she also tried to mainly use primary sources that were unbiased and more descriptive rather than opinion based which was really great. We were able to see the Middle East more realistically and draw our own conclusions based on the information she provided. We also spent approximately half of each class watching a video about the topic we were discussing which was very helpful as no one in the class had been to the Middle East and the videos allowed us to experience their culture more accurately.
The American Revolution- I have taken like every single course this professor has taught and as you guys know I really enjoy learning American history because I have never learnt American history before university. I really loved learning about the Revolution in detail even though I had learn about it in previous American History courses. I thought it was particularly interesting because my professor taught us a lot about not just the more famous figures but also regular people. I think we tend to forget to underestimate the role of “ordinary” people in battles and revolutions and it was fascinating to see their point of view for a change.
Women In China- This was another one of my favourite courses! I haven’t learnt much Chinese history before but I did take one other class with the same professor and really loved it so I decided to take this one. I’m also very interested in Sociology and Women and Gender Studies so since this was like a cross between those I thought it would be perfect. I particularly enjoyed this course because of how the professor taught it. I’ve said this before but this professor focuses on making sure we learn and understand the content instead of focusing on research paper or assignments and I truly appreciate that. Plus, his content is always fascinating and so well researched.
Hope you guys enjoyed that little review! I know I couldn’t review them fully due to our university not having in-class stuff anymore but I tried my best to review the course as much as I could depending on how much I had learnt before the quarantine. Let me know in the comments below what your favourite courses were at university/college or if you would take any of the courses I took!
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I’m also learning the about American revolution in my US government class. It’s very interesting!
It definitely is super interesting!
Keep It Up , you have great content writing skills.
Thank you!
This is such an amazing selection of courses! Great that you are able to explore such diverse topics – I think there’s a lot to be said for choosing broad topics. You end up with such a more rounded understanding of the world!
Thank you so much! I agree you definitely get a better picture by taking a group of different courses.
Love those courses. I took a modern American History course and a Revolutionary war course in college and they were a couple of my favorites.
Yeah the are super interesting for sure! Thanks!
Hello! I also studied US revolution, it was so fascinating! I wonder how it is taught where you are and if your courses are more in-depth because I have a US history major in France but maybe things are more “wow” where you are! What battle/ person were you more interested in?
Hey! I learnt it in Canada so it was quite in-depth but at the same time it was also more realistic and unbiased compared to what my friends are learning in the US. What I found really interesting was a book we read for the course called A People’s History Of The American Revolution by Ray Raphael because it had the accounts of “ordinary people” and how the revolution effected their lives. I would highly recommend it!
Oh cool, I will read it soon I think! I personally enjoyed a class I took called “History of Native America”. It was an account of the lives of Native Americans during the American revolutions and learning a little more about those people help us see a “bigger picture” of what really happened. It helps having a historical view rather than a biased one. 🙂
And I agree, I think it is cool to be in a “non-involved” country as teachers are always a little (a lot?) biased when it comes to our own country!
Ooh that’s also very interesting. The book I mentioned also has accounts from Native Americans but it’s only one chapter. I’ll definitely check out the book you mentioned as well!
Everything about Native Americans is so interesting, learning about the conditions in which treaties used to be signed tells us a lot about the American mentality of the century! 🙂
That is so true!
Having completed my undergraduate in computing many many years ago, when I do delve into going another degree or course, it will be something very different. So what you’re studying sounds ‘that interesting’ area of study 🙂
I would definitely recommend History/Sociology- they’re so fascinating and the courses are very broad!
A nice way of learning.
Thank you!
welcome
What a great set of courses. I would have loved that! A great shame you didn’t get to complete them.
Yeah it’s very unfortunate- I was really enjoying them!
Wonderful
Thank you!
You’re welcome
I love that your a history junkie!!!! I lovedddddd History in HS! In college I was also going to take the course Women in China! How crazy! I ended up going with something else (I forgot) but it was a close tie! I wish you could’ve finished out your courses.
Lol of course we are interested in the same subjects! I just love how diverse history is- I feel like no matter what subject you take history will still kind of be part of it. Like I’ve taken a lot of non-history courses and I still ended up learning that topics history. I wish I could have finished the courses too but I’m glad I still got to do them online to an extent.
That’s right! One of my favorite YouTubers studies history through food. Shes the greatest! Boo ): I wish that for you too but your right glad you still got to do them!
Wow history of food sounds really interesting!
Right!!? I definitely wanna try making some historic foods!
Yeah that sounds so fun and interesting! You totally have to share it on your blog if you try any historical recipes!
I definitely will!!
that sounds like a great set of courses; I’m glad you enjoyed them so much. It’s a shame the semester ended the way it did, but it seems like you, and the university, made the best of the situation. Also nice that you have found a teacher whose courses you like to take – sort of like finding a favorite author…
Yeah it’s sad that I wasn’t able to properly finish the courses but I’m glad my university chose to switch to online classes- it’s for the best. Yeah it kind of is like finding a favourite author!
will you be taking any summer courses?
No I won’t. To be honest I wasn’t a huge fan of online classes so I didn’t want to take any classes in summer.
Hopefully classes return to normal soon. We will find out what our school will be doing for the Fall semester in early July…
Yeah I hope so too
All of those sound super interesting! I had a good year of learning history too, I took Western Civilization and now I am taking American History.
Ooh those sounds interesting! What did you learn about in Western Civilization?
Just European history from the Hebrews to the 14 hundreds!
Ooh I see
Hi, Pooja,
I have nominated you for ‘Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award’
Here is the link
https://believestrong.wordpress.com/2020/05/13/ideal-inspiration-blogger-award/
Thank you so much!!
Wow, the Chinese women’s course sounds interesting. Due to everything that has happened do you think they’d allow those who are interested to finish the courses?
It was super interesting! I did the courses online so they consider it completed but I don’t really think of it that way because we didn’t have proper classes or seminars. I hope they give us another chance to redo them when things get back to normal.
Wow these all sound so interesting. I’m biased since I’m American, but I always enjoyed learning about the American Revolution in school. The Sixties Class sounds so interesting, too!
Yeah it’s actually super interesting even if you aren’t American (at least it is to me!). The Sixties class was absolutely phenomenal!
This is a pool of knowledge PoojaG, pretty amazing!
They were all definitely amazing classes!
Great to see such a broad base of learning. It all adds to layers of knowledge and information that is required to navigate this world and life. There will always be more layers to add, that’s what drives us forward with creativity, and gives us new things to strive for, and adapt to.
Thanks for the read.
Thank you!