Courses of Note
Monday, September 22, 2008
Editor’s Note: None of the following courses has a prerequisite. We provide here course reviews of a few of the introductory courses you are likely to consider, and a few smaller, upper-level courses that have met with consistently excellent reviews over the past few years. They are truly some of Dartmouth’s best.
Introductory Courses
ART HISTORY 1: Intro. to History of Art I
ART HISTORY 2: Intro. to History of Art II
Together these courses survey the entire history of art, from ancient Egyptian and Greek artwork through the post-modernists Georgia O’Keefe and Salvador Dali. Architecture, sculpture, the graphic arts, and painting are all studied. While the two courses sometimes include dry lectures and innumerable slides to memorize, they foster an appreciation of Western civilization’s artistic legacy and its relation to our history.
CHEMISTRY 5: General Chemistry
CHEMISTRY 6: General Chemistry
Overzealous pre-meds will likely leap into these courses freshman fall; their professional aspirations will be crushed in a quagmire of slow-moving, tedious lectures and labs. The classes have a tendency to go too slowly when reviewing high school chemistry topics, then too quickly when introducing new material. The professoriate is a revolving door of the chemistry staff. If you’re not a biology or chemistry major, avoid these classes.
CLASSICS 1: Antiquity Today: An Introduction to Classical Studies
Essentially an anthropological survey of the ancient world, this course will introduce you to the literature, history, art, and culture of the two major, pagan currents flowing into Western culture: Greece and Rome. In the hands of Paul Christesen, with whom you should take it, this course feels much smaller than it is due to his careful attention to individual student needs.
CLASSICS 5: The Heroic Vision: Epics of Greece & Rome
This course is a survey of some of the “best known and most influential works to survive from the ancient world.” Students study Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil’s Aeneid, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, as well as Lucretius’s De Rarum Natura. These works serve as the fountainhead from which our culture’s works of literature have emerged. Students will find knowledge of the classics essential toward understanding the broad span of Western literature and the ultimate question of life: “How should I live?”
GOV’T 3: The American Political System
GOV’T 4: Comparative Gov’t and Politics
GOV’T 6: Political Ideas
Together, these three courses serve as prerequisites for the Government major, the most popular major at Dartmouth. Yet non-majors can take these introductory courses as well. Few students pass through freshman year without taking at least one, and that’s the only problem. They tend to be basic, and the classes are large.
Government 3 (American Government) often reads like a digest of the last year’s worth of Newsweek—it’s hopelessly simple. Winters in particular should be avoided. Government 5 can be very good or very bad—take it with Brooks.
Government 4 is generally a dreadful class. If taught by Professor Sa’adah—who has a disturbing penchant for seeing plagiarism wherever she turns—the class is difficult and boring.
Government 6 is an important class in which you read all the fundamentals of political philosophy. Though it is a lot of work, the class can be satisfying if you have a good professor.
HISTORY 1: The United States, 1763-1877
HISTORY 2: The United States since 1877
This is another set of courses that you should not take unless you are required to do so for your major. American History is simply too complex a subject to breeze through in ten weeks. The teaching reminds you of a tenth-grade social studies course.
That said, if you do end up taking these courses, try taking History 2 with Butler, who is one of Dartmouth’s best young professors.
HISTORY 3: Europe to 1715
HISTORY 4: Europe since 1715
Although the professors who generally teach European History classes tend to be very good, these, too, are courses to be avoided. They move too fast and don’t allow for any real depth of study.
HUMANITIES 1 & 2: The Classical Tradition
For anyone interested in receiving a jump-start course in Western civilization, look no further. Humanities presents the great literature and philosophy of the ages as a coherent whole. The courses trace the evolution of human thought from classical times (Plato, Virgil, Homer) to the Renaissance (Dante, Milton) through to the modern era (Mann, Faulkner). No other “Great Books” course exists at Dartmouth. Take advantage of these courses if you can. The English 5 requirement sometimes precludes its availability to freshmen.
PHILOSOPHY 1: Introduction to Philosophy
This class is a poor introduction to philosophy. Philosophy is a discipline that demands involved study of the central authors; a survey class like this one simply can’t provide it. Philosophy 3 is a more interesting introductory course, because its topic (Logic) is demonstrably more narrow.
Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Bernard Gert, and James Moor are among the very best scholars in their fields, and among Dartmouth’s best professors in any field. Any class with any of them is a tremendous experience.
RELIGION 1: Patterns of Religious Experience
The introduction to the intellectual study of religion teaches the major tenets of five religions: Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism.
In this class, as in most others at Dartmouth, thorough reading and class attendance are the ways to succeed. Although it is an introductory course, many senior and junior majors enroll and can make the class an intimidating atmosphere for freshmen.
The Religion Department has a group of inspired and thoughtfully reflective scholars. Kevin Reinhardt stands out even in this group.
Recommended Upper-Level Courses
ENGLISH 24: Shakespeare I
This class studies ten of his plays, spanning comedies, tragedies, histories, and romances. Since the retirement of Professor Saccio, Dartmouth has been without an endowed chair in Shakespeare studies.
ENGLISH 28: Milton
While Professor Luxon sometimes allows his political leanings to get in the way of his scholarship, he’s extremely knowledgeable, and the subject matter makes the course indispensable.
GERMAN 42: Topics in German Civilization
This class is one of the best at Dartmouth. The readings are generally interesting and the professors are almost always exceptional. The German department as a whole is one of the best departments here.
GERMAN 44: The Faust Tradition
Take this course with Professor Shookman, the department’s Goethe expert who won a prize a few years ago for the best teacher at Dartmouth. This survey in translation will cover works by Marlowe, Goethe, Mann, and Bulgakov.
HISTORY 43: European Cultural and Intellectual History, 400-1300
Medieval history isn’t usually most people’s cup of tea, but it’s not hard to maintain interest in the subject when Professor Simons is teaching. Besides, reading Augustine, Abelard, and St. Thomas of Aquinas makes the class worthwhile, regardless of the professor.
HISTORY 65: Modern Europe: The Twentieth Century
Koop is more of a storyteller than a lecturer, and in History 65 he tells one of history’s most interesting stories. Most people know the general history that this class covers, but Koop humanizes much of it and has a deep understanding for the characters and, more importantly, ideologies of the time.
Don’t take this class if you want a professor who solicits much input, Koop has his formula down and he sticks to it. However if you have to take one History class, this is the one.
ITALIAN IN TRANSLATION 33: Dante
Since most of us cannot read The Divine Comedy in its original Italian, this course is a must for anyone who wishes to be exposed to one of the most astounding and thought-provoking poets of all time.
MUSIC 6: History of Western Art Music
This course, “An Introduction to Western Art Music,” emphasizes music of the past 300 years in an examination of selected masterworks. Like Art History, this fascinating course provides students with an excellent view of our culture through the lens of an art. “No previous knowledge of music is assumed,” says the ORC.
MUSIC 37: Opera
Opera is a crucial element of Western culture, and Professor Swayne traces its history from Monteverdi to modernism in an engaging fashion. Most professors butcher technology in the classroom, but Swayne uses it par excellence to enrich his course. Don’t expect to breeze through this course, though—Swayne’s courses demand a detailed knowledge of scores and libretti. No prerequistes are required, however.
RUSSIAN 36: Tolstoy and the Problem of Death
Loseff is an acclaimed biographer of his late friend Joseph Brodsky and an excellent guide to the major novels of Leo Tolstoy, one of the most fascinating novelists of modern times. Often taught during the summer, this is an enthralling course.
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