<p>I know that when it comes to STEM courses, sequence is important for the most part - it’s hard to take Calc III without Calc I or Intro Chem before Orgo II - but when it comes to humanities/social science classes, does sequence matter nearly as much?</p>
<p>To take care of one of my general ed requirements, I’m taking a 200 level Theology course that deals specifically with Buddha. Another course is a 200 level Anthropology course on Ancient Greek culture – there aren’t any set prerequisites for either of these courses (otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to register for them), but I wanted to know if I’d be at any disadvantage taking these courses if I never took Intro to Theology or Anthropology 101. </p>
<p>On the whole, I would say it shouldn’t matter. There may be some cursory background/foundational stuff that you would benefit from knowing, such as different standard anthropological theories and basic ideas…but for the most part I don’t think you’ll be at much of a disadvantage. A course on Ancient Greek culture is more of a case study, than a survey of the field itself. The only disadvantage I could really see is in some sense not knowing what anthropology itself is “all about.” </p>
<p>Sequencing in these types of courses is nowhere near as important as calculus, chemistry or the like. </p>
<p>It should say whether or not there are any pre-reqs. At my U (I was an anthro major), intro courses started at the 200-level with those with a passing interest in the subject taking 100-levels. </p>
<p>A well taught lower division humanities course will introduce students to the way professionals deal with the subject (eg, a 1000 level US history course should include a plethora of primary sources and secondary sources, often from competing perspectives rather than rely on simple textbooks). If the upper division course is based on the assumption that all enrolled students have had exposure to such ways of thinking and writing about the humanities, then it is likely that a student without training in such methodologies will be at a disadvantage relative to his or her peers who’ve taken such a class. </p>