I’m so amazed at all the random classes UW offers. There’s Psychobiology of Women, which discusses how a woman’s biology influences her behavior; Chado-Japanese Esthetics, which studies traditional Japanese tea ceremonies (with studio -- does that mean free tea?); Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Anderson; and summer quarter, there was a class entirely devoted to Olympic history.
Last year, the only truly random class I took was Dance 101 -- THE class for girls who dreamed of being ballerinas as children, but who are now too klutzy to ever become dance majors.
In that class, I learned that fondue and sauté aren’t just food-related terms, but actually dance moves as well; that those cute pink ballet slippers provide little if any protection for your feet (oh the pain! the agony!); and that modern dance isn’t just spacey music and people rolling around, but a beautiful philosophical art.
Dance 101 got me out of my comfort zone; I remember watching some of the weirdest videos of my life, in which college students rolled down a snow-covered hill to a metallic clinking sound and these same students walked across beaches, cities, through Greekish ruins, and played musical chairs for the entire half-hour video. The videos were supposed to familiarize us with the concept of “motion,” "space" and "time," but most people just ended up confused or bored. Still, Dance 101 showed me a new art, new vision, that I wasn’t familiar with.
Ultimately, if you’re trying to decide whether you want to attend a big or small school, the perks of a big school include a mind-boggling array of classes. If you’re a student who’s never had the joy of taking a purely random elective, try one! You might never get the chance to learn about sub-Saharan arts or Caribbean Literature again.
Respond
Back to top