• book and media studies

    wish my skin would clear up as quickly as this confusion

    Hiiii! I’m interested in doing a Book and Media studies major. I’m on degree explorer to try and plan stuff out (1st year right now) and the requirements on this degree explorer thing seem different from the one in the calendar, so I’m confused.

    Some of the required courses in the calendar are SMC219, SMC228, and SMC229. In degree explorer, it says I need to take “All of BMS100H and BMS200Y and BMS201.”

    Can you help clarify for me? I’m so confused on what the requirements are for this major!

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    hey there,

    it’s great that you’re planning things out using degree explorer! you’re doing your due diligence, which should save you from trouble later on.

    i went on degree explorer to check this over and you’re right, there’s definitely a discrepancy. your confusion is very valid, because i’m confused too. i looked for the BMS courses on the timetable, and it seems like they’re not currently offered.

    okay, so you’re getting a live narration of me looking into this. i went to st. mike’s website so that i could refer you to the contact for the BMS program, and check out what i found. this page explains that the program is currently in transition. the SMC courses you found on the calendar are no longer going to be offered, and the BMS courses on degree explorer will be replacing them.

    i hope this helped! BMS is such a cool program — wishing you all the best with it if you decide to go ahead with it.

    be Boundless,

    aska

  • book and media studies,  courses,  english

    i’ve taken at least 2.5 courses i should know

    I’m going to be a first year Humanities student at U of T starting in the Fall. I’m thinking about double majoring in English and Book & Media Studies once second year comes around. The problem is that I have no idea what courses I should take because there are really any specific course requirements for either program. I got accepted to Innis One, so I know I’ll be taking two half credit courses. I have no idea what to do though. Any suggestions for courses? Thanks!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    well congrats on having your interests so coherent and figured out already. aska also happens to be in an english POSt, and that’s about all the assurance you need that a subject POSt is going to absolutely blow your mind.*

    as for courses, you’ve got quite a bit of flexibility, especially in your first year. however, to make sure that the POSts are right for you, it’s a good idea to take one or more of the first year courses offered by the department.

    ENG140Y1 and ENG150Y1 are the first-year courses offered by the English department. aside from being really great classes, a lot of people who will end up in an English POSt take them, and it’s nice to be have the same knowledge foundation as everyone else in your major.

    there are no first-year Book & Media Studies courses. i’d recommend that you take SMC188Y1, which can go towards fulfilling admission requirements for the POSt, but it looks like you can’t take the course if you’re in innis one. you might consider taking Book & Media’s introductory course, which is SMC219Y1. think about it carefully, though, because it is a second-year course, which some first-years can find a bit overwhelming. but you know – you could be a child prodigy. who knows. anyway, it’s your call.

    generally speaking, there are a myriad different courses that can nicely complement English and Book & Media Studies. i found that taking a couple of Classics courses is nice for an English major, because a lot of the old-as-sand literature you’ll be reading will reference ancient Greek and Roman myths and stuff. Latin, Celtic Studies and French are pretty good supplements to an English POSt as well. finally, a couple History courses could nicely contextualize what you learn about in your Book & Media courses.

    also, it’s a good idea to take a couple breadth requirement courses while you’re in first year, if you can. the quicker they’re out of the way, the easier it is for you, though they only need to be done by the time you graduate.

    cheers,

    aska

    *no, i don’t think my rampant narcissism is a problem. why?

  • art,  book and media studies,  breadth requirements,  transfer credits

    transferring terrors

    Hi,

    I am coming from a CEGEP in Quebec for my first semester this upcoming fall. Meaning I transferred 5 credits. I am double majoring in Book and Media studies and Art History. I have no clue what I’m supposed to sign up for. What i’ve heard is 3 book and media studies and 2 other courses. But does that mean I take no art History courses???

    What should I take, how do I make my schedule, what is a breadth course?! HELP

    Sincerely,
    SOS

    ———————————————

    SOS,

    Don’t freak out. You’re fine. Sometimes it can be hard to manage all the freedom you’re allowed to have and the discipline you’re expected to have.

    Sooooooooooooooooo:

    Question 1: “What should I take?”

    Things related to your program, of course!

    The Art History major is quite lenient in letting you take whatever courses you’d like here and there, and they all sound pretty interesting. Now if you don’t have some sort of “Intro to Art History” transfer credit coming over, you should definitely take FAH102H The Practice of Art History. But aside from that… just heed the major’s requirements and go crazy!

    Now I consulted another student who took a good chunk of Art History courses for what he thought would be super interesting for you and got:

    FAH246H Art Since 1900 – “Because you have such a short span of time to go over, memorizing all the dates is a lot easier. Also, it’s pretty fun to see the art’s influence on pop culture today. And lastly, if you ever want to sound like a pretentious art snob, this course will definitely set you up for it.”

    FAH230H Renaissance Art and Architecture – “It gives a whole new meaning to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But it’s just a little bit church-y.”

    FAH252H Intro to the History of Photography – “This one is new, but it sounds soooo interesting!”

    And his last comment: “Minimize the number of medieval courses you take.”

    As for your major in Book and Media Studies, I have a feeling you won’t have gotten any transfer credits for that one, so you’ll just have to take a good look at the requirements list.

    You’re going to have to take SMC219Y Mass Media in Culture and Society, SMC228H and SMC229H, so I’d recommend getting those out of the way.

    Question 2: “How do I make my schedule?”

    Step 1: Make a chart going hours of day by days of week.

    Step 2: Consult timetable.

    Step 3: Make sure nothing overlaps!

    Step 4: Enrol on ROSI and pray you get your courses.

    Question 3: “What is a breadth course?”

    So a breadth requirement is the university’s way of making sure you’re like cultured and stuff and that you’ve taken courses in a variety of topics. There are five “groups” that you need to work with. You need to either get 1.0 FCE in four of the five groups, or you need to 1.0 FCE in three of the five groups and then 0.5 FCE in the other two groups.

    Since you’re double majoring in two humanities, I’m going to assume your difficulty will be fulfilling groups 4 and 5, so take a look at this post for some ideas on how to conquer them.

    Annnnnd I guess that’s that.

    Cheers!

    aska