ITR/Course Summaries
March 2, 2011Thinking about which courses to take next year? Check out these course reviews from your fellow MIT LAMP Peer Mentors.
MIT 2305 – Radio and Television as Entertainment Media:
Level of Enjoyment: 4
Level of Difficulty: 2
I took this course for 2 reasons. 1) The name of the course already sounds super interesting and relevant and 2) I heard the professor was great. Well, I can confidently say that I was not misinformed. The course itself is a mix between a history lesson on the evolution of radio and television and an analysis of current entertainment trends. We watch a lot of fun old clips as well as modern television shows.
The professor, Michael Daubs, is absolutely fantastic. He clearly knows what he’s talking about and he’s really funny while lecturing. To make sure that the students can relate to the topics, he uses pop culture references to fit everyone’s television viewing preferences, ranging all the way from Star Trek to Jersey Shore.
One of the most unique aspects of this course is the discussion portion. The class is held once a week for 3 hours. The first 2 hours are dedicated to the lecture. So Michael Daubs talks and the students take notes and ask questions if they need to. The last hour is purely discussion based. If there were any questions from the readings or from the lecture, this is the time to speak up. It’s an open environment in which to ask questions and learn from the opinions and experiences of others.
One more thing to be aware of: there are a lot of readings. Fortunately, they’re all pretty straightforward and easy to understand but they do take some time. Take the time to read them! The pop quizzes are on the readings and can be the easiest 25% to get.
Verdict: Awesome.
Evaluation:
Pop Quizzes: 25% (Best 5 out of 7)
Discussion and Participation: 15%
Midterm Exam: 25%
Final Exam: 35%
MIT 2600: Intro to Graphic Design This course is offered both semesters by Rob Chilvers. It's a great introductory course (hence it's name), but be prepared to put a decent amount of effort into your work. I felt that marks were a bit difficult to get in the course, but overall, I enjoyed it and you certainly learn things that are helpful.
MIT 3216: Culture of Consumption
Prof. Comer teaches this course and offers a critical perspective of society's consumption habits and its implications. Very reading heavy, but interesting at the same time. As long as you keep up with the course readings and lectures, you'll be fine. Still in this course, but so far, the assessments have been fair.
MIT 3771: Net Work, Profits in Web 2.0 (or something to that effect)
Brian Brown teaches this course, and it's an interesting perspective on how our Web 2.0 activities (Facebook, Flickr, Youtube) are being used for profits by businesses. Quite a bit of reading, no final (just a midterm, final paper, and 5 reading responses), but he gives quite a bit of leeway with the final paper which is nice. It was a decent course, I'd recommend it to whoever is interested in Web 2.0.
MIT 2407: Culture Vulture: Of Monsters, Malls and Americans
Level of Enjoyment: 3.5/4
Level of Difficulty: 3/4
Culture Vulture was one of my favourite MIT electives. It is a course about consumption, and the monstrosity that feeds on it (i.e. humans). It was really interesting to learn about the history of shopping and the comparisons between male and female consumption. You also learn a lot about the role that advertising plays in consumption and the science behind it. The class also has a great mark break down: 2 essays, 1 quiz, 1 film review, and a midterm. NO FINAL EXAM!
I completely and thoroughly enjoyed this class. Selma Purac is the prof who teaches it and she’s one of the best MIT Profs out there. She uses a lot of different mediums to teach (i.e. films, clips, etc), and is pretty helpful in terms of getting your thoughts together for writing the essays. Make sure you have a handle on your grammar!
MIT 2020F: Legal Foundations of Media
This course is extremely interesting as it focuses on media-related aspects of law. The only pre-requisites for this class are the three first-year MIT courses, 1200, 1500, and 1700. Each three-hour long lecture per week focuses on the different aspects of law related to media, including contract, copyright, criminal and tort. The readings for the course are real cases, dates ranging from the 1800's up to today. They are extremely appealing as they deal with current issues concerning the media.
As for assignments, there are two short essays and a final exam. Although that may seem like hardly enough to base a final mark on, the assignments are interesting, and the material to study for the midterm is interesting. All the material of the course relates to daily life, and current affairs are a constant topic in every class.
The professor for the course is James Hildebrand, a lawyer who attended law school here at Western. He is a really cool guy, and avid musician. One time he even brought his guitar to class and played us songs. He is a fair marker, and will base your grades on how well you understand and can apply the material taught in this class. An 80% is easily attainable if you have an interest in law, study hard and complete the weekly case readings.
MIT Student Council (MITSC)
Nov 8, 2010
Well, it looks like MITSC.ca has had quite the makeover! But don't worry, it still has all the info you need to stay up to date on faculty happenings and ways to get involved. Check it out, get to know your council, mitZine, street team and everything else in between.
Making the Most Out of Your Western MIT Years!
Brought to you by the lovely MIT LAMP team
September 2010
MITSC: Keep your eyes open for opportunities with MITSC, MIT's awesome Student Council. Applications should be up on the site shortly where First Year Rep positions will available. Visit www.mitsc.ca for more info.
MIT Street Team: Find out more information about faculty events and spread the word with the MIT Street Team! For more information contact Street Team Co-ordinators Curtis Matthews at cmatth3@uwo.ca at and Zach Valliant at zvallian@uwo.ca.
USC Street Team: Kind of like the MIT one, but with the USC. http://www.feelthehype.ca/
MIT ZINE: The MIT ZINE is MITSC's official publication and its contributions include FIMS students from all years. Whether it’s writing, editing, or advertising that strikes your fancy, get involved and contact Paul Sham at psham2@uwo.ca.
FIMS Production Crew: Help promote MIT events with MITSC videos! Put those production skills to use and Alanna Gurr at agurr@uwo.ca
The Big Purple Couch (BPC): A live variety show that broadcasts from the Spoke every Thursday at 2pm. Get involved and email Phil Pallen at usc.media@uwo.ca
CHRW 94.9 FM: One of Canada's highest rated community- based campus radio stations. Get involved with on-air programming and talk shows, promotions, production and much more! Visit CHRW in the UCC room 250 or email the Station Manager, Grant Stein at chrwgm@chrwradio.com
Gazette: The Gazette is a daily, student-funded, student-run newspaper, and is published Tuesdays through Fridays during the school year. The Gazette is always looking for volunteers so visit www.gazette.uwo.ca or UCC 263 for more info.
TV Western: Produces programming within the Western community and the City of London for TVWestern.ca. TV Western is always looking for volunteers with reporting, producing, marketing, etc,. To get involved, email tvwest@uwo.ca or visit UCC 266 for more info.
Rogers TV – Did you know that Rogers TV relies heavily on volunteers? Check out www.rogerstv.com for more information on getting experience within a television station!
* Volunteer and leadership opportunities aren’t just on campus, check out local organizations (such as the United Way) for more opportunities!
