<p>They never mentioned how hard it would be in college to balance your schedule. I’m just about to tear my hair out in frustration. But anyways. Because I want to join (as in audition and hopefully get in) University Singers this fall, my schedule’s already a bit locked in place. I’m interested in taking this seminar (Argumentation, instructor David Rubin) that’s offered two times. The first time clashes with University Singers practice, the second clashes with my chem lab. The seminar goes from 15:30-18:00 on Thursday night, and the only free chem lab session is right in the middle of it.</p>
<p>So my questions are, how much emphasis is placed on a 50min lab period? (That’s the free chem lab times the seminar clashes with). Would it be okay if I couldn’t attend a single one of the shorter lab period in the whole semester? I would be able to attend the other 3.5 hour one. Or would this absolutely kill my grade? And, is this seminar worthwhile? The description reads:</p>
<p>This highly collaborative USEM will enhance preparation for many types of advanced course and for critical exchange in a wide variety of contexts. We will begin by distinguishing between formal reasoning and argumentation, the focus on schematic (as opposed to essayistic) construction, analysis, critique, and countering of arguments. Abundant discussion problems from Stephen Toulmins classic Introduction to Reasoning will assure the transition from theory to practice. Our capstone project will address a controversy playing out on the op-ed pages of national periodicals. Time permitting, argumentation in special fields (eg. Law, ethics, criticism) will also receive detailed attention. This USEM is designed for several types of first-year students: those exempted from the first writing requirement (FWR), where argumentation is introduced; those held for the FWR and interested in a head start or reinforcement of studies in progress; and those who have completed the FWR and wish to extend as well as deepen their deliberative skills.</p>
<p>Does this sound like a lot of boring fluff (ie droning out texts for an entire semester) or would it be one of those huge eye opener change my life classes? Thank you so much to any who answer my questions. =)</p>
<p>What Chem are you taking? I took 181, and I wouldn’t recommend missing any of the instruction periods. He gives important information for helping you write up your lab reports, and sometimes he brings in guest speakers which you then have to do an assignment about. I would just skip the seminar for now and maybe try to get into it in the Spring. The time I tried to schedule my classes around a seminar I really wanted to take I ended up regretting it at the end, because seminars can be so unpredictable.</p>
<p>I’m taking Chem 141, it’s a prereq to any biology class I wanna take. =( But that 50 min lab period is only a lab period… not that actual class period. Would that be okay?</p>
<p>The seminar’s open to New Students only, would I still count as one during the spring semester? So what seminar did you take? I’m guessing it was really boring and didn’t live up to the fabulous course description. =P</p>
<p>I don’t know about 141, I heard the lab is pretty easy. Lab ‘reports’ are just filling in the blanks of worksheets, unlike 181. I took the Edge of Darkness, which was about theoretical physics. All the information was very interesting, but in the end the professor was a d-bag and handed out B+s to students who he thought were ‘excellent’ and generally screwed everyone’s grade over. Almost everyone else I knew were in seminar’s they didn’t find too particularly interesting or they hated it.</p>
<p>You need to take the lab with 141. I took 141 last fall, and it’s not that bad. USEMs are restricted to first years so you are in the clear to take it in the spring. I really didn’t like my USEM that much. It was called the Origin of the Universe. It was basically a weekly lecture on the most complicated mumbo jumbo on the various theories ranging from creationsim to strings. I got my A out of it but it was just a bore to stay awake.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies, they were really helpful. =) I guess I should seriously reconsider taking the seminar then. Hmm…</p>
<p>So what’s the deal with the lab times? One’s 50 min and the other’s 3.5 hours, why the uneven times? It seems to make more sense if you split four hours evenly between two days than this.</p>
<p>Ones your real lab section and the other is instruction time for everyne in your class where the professor discusses what you did/are about to do (depending on the nature of the lab) and other things</p>