Julianna Thomson

This English class qualifies as a Quantitative and Deductive Sciences distributive class needed for our graduation requirement! While I’ve already completed my QDS “distrib,” I thought this class would be a great balance in my usual reading-heavy schedule. Using statistics and data analysis methods, we are going to examine “data in texts and text as data.” On the first day of class, our professor explained this class as coding in the humanities. We will be working with Python to complete two major projects over the course of the term. I’m excited for this class because it is a hands on, interactive class. My best friend and I decided to take this class together because of the transferable skills we will learn and can put on our resume!

One of the last requirements for my Religion major, this Non-Western distributive class is exploring the society, culture and religious practices of Ancient Egypt. I was so pumped for this class to start because I’ve always been interested in mummies and pyramids. Learning about Ancient Egyptian customs in relation to religion will be a really cool part of my major! Additionally, we will spend considerable time at the newly renovated Hood Museum looking at artifacts and art from this time period. Our final paper requires us to study one of these objects in depth to analyze its history and importance (if any) in Ancient Egyptian religion.

Last but not least, REL 62 is a class I am taking for personal interest. This class is offered once every four years, coinciding with the presidential election campaigns and election. We will spend time learning about the role religion has played in previous presidencies, and then turn our focus to today’s current political climate. By attending political rallies and following current events, we will each track a presidential candidate to learn if religion is something that plays a role in their campaign. As a Canadian citizen, I think this class will be a great way to learn more about American politics in relation to my area of study, as well as stay up to date with the news and political happenings.