Vote on my Next Course!

It seems apparent to me now that I should only try to complete one course at a time. Perhaps at an accelerated pace if I can, but certainly not get overwhelmed with an entire semester's load of courses at once. I would ideally like to complete an entire semester's worth of courses in the same amount of time. Just doing them one (or possibly two) at a time. If I do it slower, so be it. It's not a race. I'm just here to learn the material and apply it to my life. 

Looking ahead, I'm trying to pick my next course after I finish my World Literature Survey. I certainly don't NEED to pick it now. But you can help me by voting for your favorite. Keep in mind, my focus is philosophy, but I want to get a well rounded liberal arts education.

And also not look stupid at parties.




Anyway, here are some top choices for my next course.
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Introduction to Political Thought

Course Description

This course examines major texts in the history of political thought and the questions they raise about the design of the political and social order. It considers the ways in which thinkers have responded to the particular political problems of their day, and the ways in which they contribute to a broader conversation about human goods and needs, justice, democracy, and the proper relationship of the individual to the state. One aim will be to understand the strengths and weaknesses of various regimes and philosophical approaches in order to gain a critical perspective on our own. Thinkers include Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, and Tocqueville.

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/political-science/17-03-introduction-to-political-thought-spring-2004/

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Law and Society

Course Description

Law is a common and yet distinct aspect of everyday life in modern societies. This course examines the central features of law as a social institution and as a feature of popular culture. We will explore the nature of law as a set of social systems, central actors in the systems, legal reasoning, and the relationship of the legal form and reasoning to social change. The course emphasizes the relationship between the internal logic of legal devices and economic, political and social processes. Emphasis is placed upon developing a perspective which views law as a practical resource, a mechanism for handling the widest range of unspecified social issues, problems, and conflicts, and at the same time, as a set of shared representations and aspirations.

We will explore the range of experiences of law for its ministers (lawyers, judges, law enforcement agents and administrators) as well as for its supplicants (citizens, plaintiffs, defendants). We will examine how law is mobilized and deployed by professionals and ordinary citizens. We cannot cover all aspects of the legal system, nor focus on all the different actors. A set of topics has been selected to develop understanding of the situational and systemic demands within which actors in the legal system operate and perform their roles; at the same time, we will try to discover systematic patterns in the uses and consequences of law. Throughout the course there is concern for understanding what we mean by legality and the rule of law.

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/anthropology/21a-219-law-and-society-spring-2003/

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Problems in Philosophy

[Similar to Intro to Philosophical Thinking]

Course Description

The course has two goals. First, to give you a sense of what philosophers think about and why. Here we look at a number of perennial philosophical problems, including some or all of: how knowledge differs from "mere opinion," the objectivity (or not) of moral judgment, logical paradoxes, mind/body relations, the nature and possibility of free will, and how a person remains the same over time, as their bodily and psychological traits change. The second goal is to get you thinking philosophically yourself. This will help you develop your critical and argumentative skills more generally. Readings will be from late, great classical authors and influential contemporary figures.

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/linguistics-and-philosophy/24-00-problems-in-philosophy-fall-2010/

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Writing on Contemporary Issues: Social and Ethical Issues

Course Description

This course provides the opportunity for students-as readers, viewers, writers and speakers-to engage with social and ethical issues they care deeply about. Over the course of the semester, through discussing the writing of classic and contemporary authors, we will explore different perspectives on a range of social issues such as free speech, poverty and homelessness, mental illness, capital punishment and racial and gender inequality. In addition, we will analyze selected documentary and feature films and photographs that represent or dramatize social problems or issues. In assigned essays, students will have the opportunity to write about social and ethical issues of their own choice. This course aims to help students to grow significantly in their ability to understand and grapple with arguments, to integrate secondary print and visual sources and to craft well-reasoned and elegant essays. Students will also keep a reading journal and give oral presentations. In class we will discuss assigned texts, explore strategies for successful academic writing, freewrite and respond to one another's essays.

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/writing-and-humanistic-studies/21w-730-writing-on-contemporary-issues-social-and-ethical-issues-spring-2010/

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I thought about adding "Introduction to Neuroscience" to the list. I do need to take some science classes, and that one seemed the most interesting. But I got intimidated, and took it off the list. MIT would be a good place to take a science course, though, rather than a political or philosophical course. Oh, what the hell. I'll add it back on the list. Here you go. 

Introduction to Neuroscience

Course Description

This course is an introduction to the mammalian nervous system, with emphasis on the structure and function of the human brain. Topics include the function of nerve cells, sensory systems, control of movement, learning and memory, and diseases of the brain.

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/brain-and-cognitive-sciences/9-01-introduction-to-neuroscience-fall-2007/

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So, there are your top five contenders! Now, I need your input. To "vote" just leave a comment below. It can even be anonymous. 

• If you know me personally, vote. Or I'll know. 
• If you ever once voted for American Idol or another reality show, vote for this, for Pete's sake! 
• If you are reading this page, vote. I'll give you a sticker next time I see you. 
• If you love kittens, vote. 
• If you hate cats, vote. 
• If you love YOUR cat, vote. 
• If you're a man, definitely vote. It's chivalrous and manly. 
• If you're a woman, you should vote so the men don't get all the say.
• If you're an animal, you don't have to vote. But you can if you want. 

PS- To give you a visual, this is me: 

Am I coming across as desperate? I hope so. ;-) 

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