<p>Keilexandra, I am going to have to disagree with your post. As a senior history major who has participated in TWO 360 classes, I can tell you from personal experiences that the classes are not always huge time commitments and you can absolutely get academic credit within your major for the class…when appropriate! I would also like to take a moment and say how much I enjoyed reading “BMC_Official Reps” post. </p>
<p>Last semester, I was enrolled in a 360 class that focused on the history of Bryn Mawr College and women’s higher education in the 19th/20th century. This class was cross listed between history and education. Even though the class was a 360 class, because I am a history major, I received history credit for the class. </p>
<p>“The History of Bryn Mawr & Women’s Higher Education” was fascinating and probably one of, if not the best class I’ve taken at Bryn Mawr. Our professor is incredibly knowledgeable about the history of the period and of the college and his enthusiasm for the topic made class a pleasure. This class was modeled after your standard advanced “300” level seminar and met once a week for three hours. In fact, because the model was something that I was already used to, I often forgot that this was a 360 class. With regards to work, I did not feel that it was a time constraint, in fact, it felt like a typical workload for me. (About 200 pages a week…that’s actually a little bit less than what I get in other 300 level history classes).</p>
<p>For me, one of the highlights of the Bryn Mawr history class was our trip to Baltimore. Two women who were integral to the creation of Bryn Mawr College were M. Carey Thomas and Mary Elizabeth Garrett. Both women were from Baltimore. For the purpose of deepening our understanding of the college’s roots, we visited one of Mary Garrett’s homes in Baltimore, as well as the Bryn Mawr School, which was set up by the same women as a feeder school to Bryn Mawr College. It was a wonderful trip!</p>
<p>This semester, I am participating in the 360 class called, “The Last Days of Habsburg: Vienna 1900 and the End of an Empire.” As BMC_Official Rep described, this class is an interdisciplinary course, cross listed between History of Art, German, and Cities. This class attempts to investigate Viennese culture between 1900 - 1920 through the lenses of history, art history, literature, psychoanalysis, music, architecture etc…</p>
<p>As a modern European historian, I’ve enjoyed this class significantly because it has allowed me to understand the history of the Austro-Hungarian empire and of Vienna at the fin-de-siecle, but I’ve employed techniques of investigation that are fairly foreign to me. (ex: Analyzing literature or art and determining what is being reflected about society at this moment?, etc…)</p>
<p>I will admit that I am not getting major or minor credit, but that’s because I am not a major or minor of any of the cross listed classes. That said, I know that my fellow classmates who are Cities or History of Art majors are getting credit from their departments.</p>
<p>With regards to a time commitment, I will admit that yes, this class is time consuming, but there are benefits. At Bryn Mawr, it is normal to take four credits a semester, or take four classes. (1 credit = 1 class). This Vienna class also uses the standard “300” level model where we meet once a week for three hours. In addition to class time, the students have been broken up into small groups and have each been assigned research topics. With this topic, we are to design an online exhibition. My group is working on coffee house culture. This project does take up a lot of time, but the professors recognize this. It is for that reason that this class was designated as a TWO CREDIT class. This means that rather than take four classes this semester, I am enrolled in three because my Vienna class counts for two credits. (The class is one credit and the online exhibition is the second credit). So, while this class may take up lots of my time, the professors are incredibly reasonable.</p>
<p>Like my trip to Baltimore, for this Vienna class, we have had two class trips. Over spring break, we all went to Vienna where we essentially got to interact with the material we had been discussing first hand. The trip also allowed the small research groups to do more research on their topic. For example, my group visited numerous coffee houses so we could observe the variety of customers and see how every coffee house in Vienna differs. It was a really wonderful experience! In addition to Vienna, this past Friday (4/1), my class went to the Neue Gallerie in New York City to see the new “Vienna 1900” exhibit. Again, this was a way for the class to interact with the material. (Rather than talk about the art of Gustuv Klimt & Egon Schiele, we were able to see it for ourselves and draw our own conclusions). </p>
<p>I apologize for the significant length of this post, but I hope this helps to clarify and answer some questions.</p>