Hi! I'm in first year humanities and don't know what I want to major in.

I currently have:

Term 1: French, Linguistics I, Classics, Anthro (1AB3), and Latin.
Term 2: French, Linguistics II, English Short genres, English long genres, and Philosophy.

1. Is it bad to have both English courses in the same term?

2. Is this course load uneven between the terms?

3. Should I drop Latin and Philosophy to take full-year Spanish?

4. Should I drop Latin and Philosophy to take full-year Poli Sci?

5. Whats Latin like? Is it very difficult?

I don't know what I want to major in, I'm just trying to take a variety of courses. I think Spanish would be practical because so many people speak it, including in the US. I also think Poli-Sci would be interesting.

Also, any over-all advice for these courses and first year humanities in general would be greatly appreciated!

Question: what type of French are you taking? Is it 1Z06, 1K06 or 1A06?

1. No it's not bad to have both English in one term. As long as you can handle the various readings you have to do for both of them, then you will be fine. These classes tend to have long essays. If you can do them I'd say go for it.

2. The course load seems fine with me, as long as you can handle it

3 and 4. That depends on your interest. I'd say take Spanish. This class is easier in my opinion. I don't know much about Poli-Sci...

5. I heard Latin is quite difficult but I never took the course so I wouldn't know...


My advice to you as a fellow Hummer, always do the textbook reading. Especially for English courses. They have heavy reading involved in it. Linguistics on the other hand have a lighter load and there is no writing essays involved, just quizzes and weekly exercises.

1.) No, you'll be fine. There are no long essays for either class (a 500-1000 word essay is not long).
1A03 readings are also short, generally nothing more than 20 minutes and 1AA3 readings are not really necessary since you can get great summaries online (I actually didn't fully read any of the books when I took 1AA3 and ended up with 11 in both classes).

2.) No, 5 classes each semester is normal.

3/4.) I wouldn't recommend taking so many language classes, but if it's something you're good at then go for it.
Latin seems pointless to me, why bother with a dead language?
I though Pol Sci was really easy and Alway is a great prof, so I would definitely recommend it but other people find it boring. If you like learning about the government system and politics take it. I didn't really bother with the readings because so much of it was common sense or stuff I already knew from highschool. Always go to lectures though and there is a 8-10ish page essay (if you suck at writing it can be pretty brutal).

Originally Posted by akikokoyoki

Question: what type of French are you taking? Is it 1Z06, 1K06 or 1A06?

I'm taking 1Z06


The reason I asked about the English courses is because my other option is to have anthro at night, and I wanted to try to avoid night classes, because I wouldn't be as attentive at night. Which do you think is the better alternative: 2 English in one term or night anthro?

Latin is actually not too difficult, at least for me it wasn't. There's quite a bit of work, but it forces you to keep up so a lot of people do really well in that course. Plus since it is a "dead language", you won't practice speaking a lot if at all. Makes it a little easier since learning to read and write in a new language is always easier to do first.

It's usually people who intend to major in classics and probably aiming for grad school. But I took it just for kicks, so if you're interested go for it.

I've had a few friends take Philosophy, and pretty much all of them hated it and didn't do too well. Latin's okay, but the language has a lot of complex grammar rules (kinda like German).

I'd say take Spanish. It'd probably be beneficial to compare and contrast it with the French you're taking at the same time. It's also a simpler language.

Originally Posted by CSpad

I'm taking 1Z06


The reason I asked about the English courses is because my other option is to have anthro at night, and I wanted to try to avoid night classes, because I wouldn't be as attentive at night. Which do you think is the better alternative: 2 English in one term or night anthro?

well since you're taking the Beginner's French, it will be a lot easier for you then. Since you're thinking of taking Spanish as well, that would be easy as well because both french and spanish have similar grammar.

P.S. If you're really interested on learning many languages, I'd say go for the Linguistics major.

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

I've had a few friends take Philosophy, and pretty much all of them hated it and didn't do too well. Latin's okay, but the language has a lot of complex grammar rules (kinda like German).

I'd say take Spanish. It'd probably be beneficial to compare and contrast it with the French you're taking at the same time. It's also a simpler language.

aw, don't steer people away from Philosophy. If you're interested in poli sci, there's actually a philosophy course called "philosophy, law and society" It's 1B03. It's better for you in a way, because it's not a full year course, so you wouldn't really need to drop anything.

As for having two English courses in the same term, English 1a03 has very light, short readings, so you should be fine.

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

I've had a few friends take Philosophy, and pretty much all of them hated it and didn't do too well. Latin's okay, but the language has a lot of complex grammar rules (kinda like German).

I'd say take Spanish. It'd probably be beneficial to compare and contrast it with the French you're taking at the same time. It's also a simpler language.

Your choices can lead to several different majors for second year. A good idea to see how you do during the year. You may surprise yourself with results different from what you expect.

I'm assuming you have done some of the languages before. Don't let yourself get misled with the notion of a "dead" language or a "complex" language. If you choose to major in Linguistics, -- an excellent idea, by the way, -- you'll need a couple of years' worth of some languages. Unfortunately, because of declining enrolments in some languages, it is no longer possible to get a full sequence in certain languages. Latin and French seem to be holding up. Spanish could be in trouble in a few years. All of these are useful, in different ways. There is little evidence to suggest that learning different languages at the same time leads to confusion. In fact, there might even be a reinforcing effect.

Don't get obsessed with how "hard" some of the courses might be. In Linguistics, they usually have the stars of the department take the first year courses, in an attempt to show off their best, and hope to attract students to further study. Award-winning profs will guide you along to high marks and make the journey more pleasant at the same time.

Originally Posted by SweetyTweety

aw, don't steer people away from Philosophy. If you're interested in poli sci, there's actually a philosophy course called "philosophy, law and society" It's 1B03. It's better for you in a way, because it's not a full year course, so you wouldn't really need to drop anything.

Ugh, 1B03 is awful and nothing like the actual pol sci courses. They revamped it into a environmental philosophy class when I took it and there was zero "law" content. 1B03 also has 2-3 essays, like actual long essays based on dry, irrelevant crap.

This is probably one of the most pointlessly boring classes you can take---stick with English.

Originally Posted by Goran

Ugh, 1B03 is awful and nothing like the actual pol sci courses. They revamped it into a environmental philosophy class when I took it and there was zero "law" content. 1B03 also has 2-3 essays, like actual long essays based on dry, irrelevant crap.

This is probably one of the most pointlessly boring classes you can take---stick with English.

I have to agree. When I took the class I found the content quite dry. It was just a lot of case studies. Talked a lot about how the courts handled things so it felt more like a law class than a philosophy class at time. If you like law it might be for you, but it seems the course may have change since I last took it so idk how it is now.

But don't forget this is not the only philosophy class. 1E03, Problems of Philosophy, would probably be your best bet. Can be challenging for some, but definitely the most interesting in my opinion. Gives a nice overview of the basic questions philosopher's tend to ask.

And as mentioned before, the courses you pick will affect which majors you can apply for. So I'd look into that to help make your decision. For example, if you're thinking about majoring in either Linguistics or Philosophy, make sure you have the enough courses to be eligible for either one.

From the looks of it you could major in English, Linguistics, or Classics. If you want to tack on philosophy as an option you'd need one more course. Otherwise anything else would just be for your own personal interests.