Has anyone come across this in their travels?

GobBass

Has anyone done a module where the spectrum of the subject is so broad that it should be split over two semesters when they infact want to squash everything into one,causing mass confusion and cranial damage? Because I'm experiencing that with a 3rd year Geography module at the moment where its a bit all over the shop.:D:D

Improbable

Pretty much all of 3rd and 4th years in my biochemistry degree. Doing an MSc in UCD now and I have to say that the workload is SO much less...

delta_bravo

What module? I didn't find the 3rd year geog modules too taxing

Chet T16

Pfft i had a module last year that was actually two modules in one, For the first six weeks one lecturer took two lectures and the other had one and then they switched. They've split them up for this year

GobBass

delta_bravo wrote: »

What module? I didn't find the 3rd year geog modules too taxing

Ideas in Geography. Over the past several days, I have been attempting,probably in vain, to memorise about 50-60 geographers,what they have written and what type of approach they take in order to discuss their chosen subject matter. All while trying to write out a sample essay that will take up the other 50%.

CokaColumbo

2nd year history is like that. 1914-1991 in one semester? C'mon.

FewToLose

CokaColumbo wrote: »

2nd year history is like that. 1914-1991 in one semester? C'mon.

Have to beg to differ there; that's quite a reasonable timeframe; when I was in first year we had a module spanning from 300AD-1400AD!

LauraLuck

Ist year celtic Civilisation is like that, there has been complaints made about this because its a FIRST year module course and its too much.:eek:

GobBass

I can trump that.

Glaciation and the Quaternary.

2.6 million years ago (give or take a century or two) to the present day and beyond.

CokaColumbo

FewToLose wrote: »

Have to beg to differ there; that's quite a reasonable timeframe; when I was in first year we had a module spanning from 300AD-1400AD!

Unless you devote a great deal of your personal time to studying 20th century European history, the subject will remain very broad. There is simply too much to content to cover in such a small number of months to make any sort of meaningful penetration into the subject.

Sad Professor

Yeah, a lot of history modules are way too broad. Modern Europe last year covered 1500-2000 which is simply ridiculous. The early lectures were fairly focused on certain key events, but the later ones were a bit all over the place. The Cold War in a single lecture, etc.

International history this year wasn't quite as bad, but there wasn't enough lectures to cover the period properly. The seminar structure (which substitutes a second lecture for a weekly seminar) works really well with some modules, but on others it just seems tacked on. For modules like this I would gladly sacrifice the weekly seminar for another lecture.

littlefriend

Sad Professor wrote: »

International history this year wasn't quite as bad, but there wasn't enough lectures to cover the period properly. The seminar structure (which substitutes a second lecture for a weekly seminar) works really well with some modules, but on others it just seems tacked on. For modules like this I would gladly sacrifice the weekly seminar for another lecture.

Yeah I think another lecture a week would have been good for this subject. What do you think about the presentation part of the tutorials? I felt like they were a waste of time as there is so much going on in the lecture and readings that could have been discussed etc

How did today go btw? I was ok.

Sad Professor

littlefriend wrote: »

What do you think about the presentation part of the tutorials? I felt like they were a waste of time as there is so much going on in the lecture and readings that could have been discussed etc

Yeah, complete waste of time. The seminars are useless unless they are used to discuss and expand on the lecture. The presentations are so boring. Nobody puts any effort into them. And the classes are too big so you end with 2-3 presentations a week.

How did today go btw? I was ok.

Very fair paper imo. I think I did really well on the first question. Not so good on the second - only wrote about a page and half. I just hadn't studied that part properly.

delta_bravo

GobBass wrote: »

Ideas in Geography. Over the past several days, I have been attempting,probably in vain, to memorise about 50-60 geographers,what they have written and what type of approach they take in order to discuss their chosen subject matter. All while trying to write out a sample essay that will take up the other 50%.

Humboldt should make an appearance as the "father of geography"

Fad

Second year Inorganic Chemistry.

Raphael

General Relativity and Cosmology - 4th year physics, used to be a 2 semester course, is now a 1 semester course.

brokenhinge

Ireland in Europe. All about the EU, its policies and their effects on Ireland.

Nice and simple topic to cover in two hours a week (10 credit module too)

GobBass

A very relevant topic that will have much to add to it in future years LMAO

brokenhinge

not a mention in the entire course of anything like that, oh no shure...

EU Telecommunications policy is more more useful.