You will find none of this here!
Maybe it was the wacko-brilliant professor, the inspiring lectures or perhaps the rousing, intellectual discussions. We all had that one class that we really, really enjoyed—and here’s why!
Jess’s favorite class is French 32 with Prof. Hollie Harder. Jess calls Hollie a “fantastic professor” who “was really understanding of any problems” and says that the topics covered “were actually really interesting and sparked conversation.” To top things off, the workload was “really manageable.”
Lauren’s favorite fall class is Sociology of Body and Health taught by Prof. Sara Shostak, whom she describes as being “extremely knowledgeable, friendly and organized in her lectures.” Lauren summarizes the workload as “one or two larger papers and a handful of response papers. One assignment requires you to make a change in either your physical appearance or behavior.” For that assignment, Lauren went vegan! Click here to read about her week as a vegan.
Marissa’s favorite class is American Health Care: Law & Policy with Prof. Sarah Curi. Marissa calls this class “the reason that I declared an HSSP major in addition to my psychology major.” She says that Professor Curi is “blunt, to-the-point, and brilliant” and “will not put you to sleep”. On the contrary, she will “get you fired up and excited about being in class”! Workload-wise, Marissa remarks that “the three short papers you write for her (each one is 2-3 single-spaced pages) and the final exam (literally 3 hours long) are no joke. They require that you pay attention in class and do at least 50% of the reading.” Marissa strongly recommends that students, regardless of their major, take this course: “You will, arguably, learn more about our health care system than you will in any other course at Brandeis. … Let’s be honest, we could all afford to learn more about this topic. If you have a body and if you use health care, take this course! You do not have to be an HSSP major or a Legal Studies minor. You just have to be willing to work hard and think critically about important issues.”
Rachel enjoyed Introduction to Symbolic Logic, which is taught by Prof. Jennifer Marusic, who she describes as “funny.” The course was “interesting” with a “light workload.” She says the problem sets “are just like solving a bunch of brain teasers.”
Dora’s replica of “The Goldfish Window” by Childe Hassam
Dora’s favorite fall class is a First Year Seminar, The Artist Behind Their Work. Being a FYS, the class size was small, which allowed for more one-on-one learning and plenty of effective critiquing. The entire semester was spent “painting a 5-by-7 foot replica of a painting of our choosing and preparing a formal presentation on the artist.” For Dora, painting was “therapeutic” and the presentation was a useful public speaking experience. She calls Prof. Robert “Bob” Moody “patient, brilliant, caring, and endearing”, noting that he treated the class to dinner at the 99 restaurant. She deems this FYS a class she will “never, ever forget.”