To All The Classes I’ve Loved Before

Entertain me for a minute and forget that you’re reading this on some kind of screen. Instead, you’ve just received a letter in the mail. There seems to be no return address, and your name is written in a pink glittery pen. With furrowed brows, you tear the envelope open gently. Within, you find lined notebook paper with the title, “To All The Classes I’ve Loved Before.” How did the sender know you’re in dire need of more classes to take at UCSB? Never mind that, time to start reading…

Dear ENVS 70: Introduction to Environmental Ethics,

Despite taking place at 9:30 AM at IV Theater, this was a class like no other. I may have taken it to satisfy an Environmental Studies requirement, but it was so much more than that. I have never felt so interested in actually doing the readings for a class before. The curriculum involved a deep dive into the ethics behind different environmentalist perspectives such as animal rights, an ecocentric worldview, and rebuilding the food chain. 

The class featured an overarching theme of whether civil disobedience in the name of environmentalism is truly ethical. Assignments included two Socratic notes, per week, based on the readings, as well as one short response. There was one midterm, one final, and two essays. Although this may sound like a lot, the Socratic notes truly aid in writing the essays and studying for the exams. Additionally, the essays were debate papers which allowes the writer to argue their stance on the best way to approach environmental issues. All in all, this class may have required some rainy walks across campus (winter quarter is my forever enemy) but untimately wouldn’t have traded the knowledge gained for any other class.

Dear COMM 89: Theories of Communication,

Sometimes attending every lecture of a course can be difficult. However, going to COMM 89 was never even a question. This class convinced me that I wanted to be a Communication Major. Each lecture encompasses a new theory explaining why people send, receive, and process information the way that they do. I promise that if you take this class, you’ll have to refrain from explaining why your roommate thinks the world is so scary (Hint: it’s all those true crime podcasts she’s listening to! Thanks Cultivation Theory).

There was a weekly short writing assignment, biweekly quizzes, and a final paper. The entire class leads to the final paper, which prompts you to solve a real-world issue utilizing a theory taught in class. While it seems quite abstract, I wrote a paper combating substance abuse in college students by creating a hypothetical program fully based on a communication theory. Though in complete honesty, nearly every class I have taken in the Communication department could have a love letter written to it. 

Dear C LIT 50C: TALES OF LOVE,

Also known as French 50CX, this was the first class I ever attended at UCSB. I still remember walking into the Life Sciences building on the first day of classes my first year… (it was a Thursday which felt quite random at the time). This course is the most fascinating class I have taken at UCSB. It centers around defining the concept of love through the analysis of banned European literature, including The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Woman Destroyed, and more.

Unfortunately, I would be lying if I told you that there was a light course load. I can vividly remember sitting in the library for at least an hour at the end of the day before each class to catch up on readings. Alongside those later nights, I truly poured my heart into those essays. I believe that if you love reading literature and have a knack for writing, this would be the perfect class for you. The books read in the curriculum became some of my favorite pieces, the professor’s analyses were groundbreaking, and it truly was a class where conversations fostered ideas I would never have thought of on my own. 

Dear ​​SOC 152A: Sociology of Human Sexuality,

Oh the famous sex class on campus. I took this my first year and it introduced me to what an upper-division course was. Even so, it was an upper-division class that seated roughly 700 people in Campbell Hall. Just like COMM 89, this class was one I could never skip. Taught by older married couple John and Janice Baldwin, SOC 152A takes a deep dive into all the aspects of human sexuality, including birth control, anatomy, sexual expression, and other sociological information. 

Again, I wouldn’t call this an easy class. Most of the classes in this love letter weren’t what someone would call easy but I fell in love with the courses that were engaging and challenging. The courses that pushed me to learn new material that I would never forget. For SOC 152A, the exams rely on lecture and textbook-specific information. I remember racking my brain over how to answer questions such as ‘What was mentioned in Box 10.6 within the textbook?’ Nevertheless, I read that textbook because I wanted to learn. The information presented relating to sexual health would be beneficial for many college students to know and carry with them for years forward. 

Dear ARTHIW 6R: Rome The Game,

Asynchronous class with one section you attend a week? What a dream. Rome The Game takes a new approach to a college course, formatted through a choose-your-own-adventure game where you embark on a trip throughout Rome. Your main objective during each module of the course is to identify the origin of a mystery statue, all while you’re immersed in the history of artifacts such as statues and paintings. 

This class requires one written assignment and a quiz weekly, both depending on the notes you take when playing each module. In my opinion, the best part of this course was the integrated archaeogaming. You have the ability to simulate what it’s like to do an archeological dig on a site. This opened up my eyes to experiences I never thought I’d get close to. The final essay is about your hypothesis on the statue’s origins which is supported with evidence from the entire course. 

I would describe this course as the easiest in this letter, however it was still exciting. I enjoyed the style of learning and hope to see it implemented more in the future!

Dear reader, 

I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief list of the classes I’ve loved so far at UCSB. Once again, I want to clarify that this isn’t a list of my easiest GEs or classes you can take just to get units. These are classes that I still think about a year later. Classes that taught me facts and ideas I still bring up to people, lessons I hold with me as I continue through my academic career and life as a whole. I encourage whoever reads this to seek out classes that make your time and effort feel worth it. At an institution full of intelligent and well-established faculty, there is no better opportunity to expand your knowledge and learn from the best. 

With much love,

Kimberlly

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