Thursday, January 27, 2011

The old switcheroo

I've switched my classes around!

I attended the PSYC175: Intro to Clinical class last Thursday and did not find it to my liking; the material sounded interesting but the course required a higher workload than I was able to contribute to a course that was not required to take (plus there was a long list of students waiting to get in - hopefully I made one of them happy by giving up my spot!).

I spent a bit of time looking through the Spring 2011 Course Listings and found a Jewish Studies course with open space: JS118: Introduction to the Hebrew Bible II. This course is not required for my concentration as I've already fulfilled the credit that this would count for. However, it is being taught by one of my favorite professors at Clark, Everett Fox. He is incredibly articulate and intelligent, and I am pleased to be able to take another of his courses. While looking for classes I always first look at the subject matter and determine course selection based on this. However, it is always great to find a professor that teaches in a style that is particularly pleasing to the individual. I feel like this is an acceptable way to choose courses, as well.

My other courses have been interesting so far! I have been completely absorbed by my first PSYC109 (Qualitative Methods in Psychology) project; we are encouraged to go into our chosen observation field (an area on campus previously designated as such) twice a week, observing the "natives" and taking notes on their interactions/activities. The project has been set up so that there are very few directions, thus very few limitations. I do not feel strongly about this lack of direction yet, though I know that some students in the class are infatuated with the idea whereas others are upset by the lack of structure. I do wonder how the professor will be able to grade in a standard way if everyone is able to go about their project in a unique manner.

There is not much to report yet from my other classes - work has been picking up but most classes are still in the introductory/early phases of learning material. I am excited to dig deeper into the topics and hopefully learn some interesting things about the psychology of human sexuality, astronomy, and the Hebrew bible.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Introduction to Classes

I have been back at Clark for about twenty-six hours, and already I've: attended one class, gathered my textbooks, seen friends, cleaned mold out of my fridge, and slipped on the ice approximately five times. It's going to be a good semester!

I'm taking mainly psychology courses in order to continue fulfilling my basic processes and introductory course requirements; those which must be fulfilled before moving onto the mid-level courses. I'm pretty excited about the classes I'm taking, despite three of them being required in some regard. I'm taking Astronomy (ASTR002), which fulfills my science perspective. I managed to get into PSYC143, Human Sexuality, which fulfills my basic processes requirement and will be very interesting, especially since such topics are rather taboo throughout high school, thus limiting my exposure to them. In addition, I signed up for PSYC175, Intro to Clinical Psychology, which will not fulfill any requirements for me. However, I am very interested to learn about clinical psych and what it actually entails.  

My fourth course is PSYC109, Qualitative Methods. This is one of the basic intro courses required for all psychology majors. Because I am a bit behind with my requirements, many of the students in the class are grades younger than I am, and even some of the PLA's (peer learning assistants) are a grade younger. It is rather silly! I attended class today and it seems like it will be an enjoyable semester, complete with two major projects; a continuous observation project, and an interview project focused on the elderly. I am completely infatuated with elderly people as a whole, so this topic could not be better catered to my interests. 

I would have liked to take some Jewish Studies courses this semester, but there wasn't a substantial selection of them being offered and those that were conflicted with my schedule. No matter, it will be great to have finished all of my basic psych requirements and different perspectives courses by the end of this semester.