Do you know of any past or present courses you would describe as “iconic” courses?
Examples might be Michael Sandel’s course on “Justice” at Harvard; Donald Kagan’s course on “Origins of War,” which he taught for many years at Yale; or even, Carroll Quigley’s course on the “development of civilizations” at Georgetown, which Bill Clinton reportedly cited as one of his major influences.
(I’d especially be interested in hearing of any such courses at schools outside the Ivies.)
MIT 6.001, Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, taught at MIT from 1980 to 2005
Former Oklahoma Governor, US Senator, member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, and current OU president David Boren often teaches American Federal Government. This is particularly notable given that it is a gen ed at the University of Oklahoma, so the vast majority of students have to take it.
He retired in 1998, and died in 2012, but Raymond Bice taught Psychology at the University of Virginia for 50 years and was an institution.
From his obituary:
I think every school has its “iconic courses”
My kids tell me that Harvard CS50 x has become an iconic MOOC.
The intro to computer course at Harvard was always a fun course, but I think it’s gotten even better. Harvard intro to physics course had great lectures - very similar to the ones MIT’s similar course has posted on line. Back in the day John H. Finley’s Intro to Greek Literature in translation was one of those iconic courses. He was wonderful to listen to and got standing ovations at his final lecture.
Psychology 101 (now 1101), taught at Cornell by James Maas for 48 years. I took it in 1972, and my daughter took it in 2007.
The enrollment was capped at the capacity of the university’s concert hall – which seats more than a thousand people – making it one of the largest classes in the country. Nobody minded the size of the class. Professor Maas was that good.
The Introduction to Folklore class that Alan Dundes taught was one of my all-time favorite classes on campus.
History of the Western Civilization with Prof Karl Weintraub at U of Chicago. Most common reason for a student to be in line all night before registration began in the morning. Obviously pre internet days.