I just found an open space on the PHL217 class and I registered for it, what do you think about the general workload for this course (the amount of reading is what I need to know, I know that Continental philosophy is not easy to understand) and not having taken the PHL100 or any PHL course before (I’ve read books by Nietzsche, Sartre, Freud, Marx and others before), should I keep the course or not? I also have the option of taking a FAH course, I’m studying ARC so art history is a much easier subject for me. I do enjoy reading about continental philosophy in particular, but I’m also intending to keep my GPA at around 3.7-4. So is low to mid 80’s achievable in PHL217 with a descent effort?
Thanks in advance,
cheers
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Have you read the anti-calendar? I know it’s an underground publication and all, but reading it won’t make you a bad student, you know. Professor Comay is teaching this year’s class and taught last year’s class as well. Here’s what the last year’s students have to say about her and the course.
Comay was described as a beautiful speaker with a high level vocabulary, which at times, could overwhelm students. The course was hard at times since typically continental Philosophy is difficult to understand. Although, tutorials were well designed to help understand the concepts and arguments in the readings.
The workload of the course was rated a 4.2 (which is pretty average). The difficulty of this course was listed as 5.0 (out of 7.0), which is higher than that most of the other courses I’ve skimmed across – they usually average around 4.5 or so. The retake percentage was 75% though, which means a lot of people did enjoy the course.
I emailed the philosophy students’ union, and they’ve told me that the toughest thing you’ll face is probably learning how to write a good, proper philosophy paper. They also said that 200-level philosophy courses usually have readings ranging from 20-40 pages a week. However, as with most philosophy texts, the readings can be difficult to understand.
I really think you should go on with the course though. Don’t be too bummed out if your first few essays don?t score too high. After all, University is about trying new things! I think that?s more important than maintaining a 3.7-4.0 GPA, but that?s just my opinion. Having read books on it before, you seem to have a genuine interest in philosophy, and I think sometimes spontaneously trying out new electives can make your semester just that much more exciting. If you’re maintaining a 3.7-4.0 GPA, you’re probably a good student anyway and have a good chance at excelling in your philosophy course. Besides, if your mark really turns out to be unbearably low, you can always just drop the course before March 7th and there will be no academic penalty.