My Top 5 Favorite Classes at Hopkins
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Posted by: Hopkins Insider | 
February 25 2010 | 
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Name: Evelyn Clark
Year: Class of 2010
Hometown: Waycross, GA
Major: Public Health (social sciences), minors in Anthropology & Theatre Arts and Sciences
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1) Thinking and Living with Animals (History of Science and Technology)
Thinking and Living with Animals is a Dean’s Teaching Fellowship course taught by the most amazing Italian man named Massimo. Graduate students can apply to teach courses on the material that is their particular expertise and the Dean of Arts and Sciences decides which ones will actually bet taught at Hopkins—and luckily for me, this one was!
I took this course the semester after I switched out of pre-med to try to expand my horizons and find new interests. It was the first time it had been offered (but is currently offered again this semester!) and there were not very many people in the class. We talked about all kinds of things I would never have given second thought to—like whether or not animals have agency and the issues behind scientific testing on mice and other animals. I particularly loved this class because it was on a subject I would still know nothing about if I hadn’t taken the chanced and registered for it—but now I feel like I actually know what I’m saying when vegetarianism or animal cruelty comes up.
2) Anthropology of Clothes (Anthropology)
As an anthropology minor I am always on the lookout for exciting anthro classes, and as a girl I absolutely love clothes. Put them together and what do you get? That’s right… Anthropology of Clothes! I will admit that I had no idea what to expect when I signed up for this class and it positively blew away any expectations I could possibly have set.
We looked at fashion, clothing choice, and the concept of modesty in lots of different cultures throughout history. My favorite assignment had to do with fashion through the generations—we had to interview two people each from three different generations (I chose my dad’s mom, mom’s dad, mom, dad, and two sisters) about not only their concept of dressing up and what that meant at different points in their lives, but also what their favorite outfits were and what colors or materials they like to wear. Even though the paper was “a minimum of eight pages” mine turned out to be 32 (including some pictures). Interviewing my family about a subject I had never asked about was not only very fun, but super informative as well; there were distinct gender differences regardless of generation, as well as inter-generational viewpoints that jumped off the pages at me.
3) Theatre Performance (Theatre Arts and Studies)
So, as a theatre minor I take theatre classes here pretty seriously. And while they are all really fascinating, my favorite is Performance. Though most classes in the minor are performance-based, this class in particular is different because instead of working on short scenes from different shows throughout the semester, you audition first and work on one play to be performed at the end. This is especially great if you would be doing a play that semester anyway, because not only do you get to work with wonderful, professional directors, but you also get course credit for your rehearsals!
4) Museums and Globalization (History of Science and Technology)
This was another class that I signed up for randomly that ended up really surprising me. Museums and Globalization is actually a video lecture class, and half the students go to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio! There are two professors, Prof. Kargon at Hopkins and Prof. Levin at Case, who take turns lecturing each week while we sit in front of a large video screen watching the students 400 miles away as if we were all in the same room. We were divided up for reports and presentations with students from both schools in each group, and towards the end of the semester some of their students even came to Baltimore! We all took a trip down to D.C. to have a personal tour by the curator of an exhibit in the newly-opened Smithsonian National Museum of American History. I even made a great friend, with whom I am still very close (hi, Matt!).
5) Ethical Issues in Health Policy: Public Health and Health Care (JHSPH)
Don’t be alarmed if you don’t remember seeing this course offered on the ISIS website, because I took it down at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. The summer before my senior year I quite literally woke up one morning while I was studying abroad and decided I wanted to go to law school, particularly for health policy and legislation. Since I’m a Public Health major and am required to take classes at Bloomberg I thought this one would be perfect given my interests… and it was!
This was a very small class; there were about eleven students total from all different areas of study—some were PhD candidates, masters students, medical students, an the occasional undergraduate. We only met once a week for three hours in a little room and all sat around a table discussing the issue of ethics in health policy. However, the reason I loved this course was less because of the material (though it was certainly interesting!) and more about the atmosphere. It was the first time I really felt like I knew what I wanted to do, and I was actually doing it—with other people who wanted to do it too! It took me away from being an undergraduate and helped me see what my life may be like in the future—and that was absolutely invaluable.
