One of the easiest classes I've taken at Southeast was a UI100. The class was called The Creative Process and the professor who taught it, Dr. Mark Strauss, made it very fun and exciting. Other than teaching you the basic things every UI100 class is supposed to teach you, we were able to do a lot of things that made us think creatively. We wrote short stories and poetry when we weren't watching movies and other videos. It was a very easy class and an easy A.
A bonus of taking this class is that you get to sit in on several dance classes just to watch. It was interesting to see what dance majors do in class and it wasn't an everyday experience. For students who have yet to take their UI electives, I definitely recommend this class.
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One of the classes that has been my favorite truthfully has not been the easiest and it is a class that I am in now! It is Basic TV and Film, and I absolutely love it.
While the material we are learning is complicated, how much I enjoy the class makes learning everything more exciting and easier. From week to week the class changes. It goes from learning how to work a professional camera to acting in a bad soap opera to learning about sound and camera shots. The class has truly been a learning experience, and I love showing up every class and taking away something new. I never get bored with what I am learning and I cannot wait to see how much I advance in my knowledge of camera work, lighting and editing by the end of the semester.
If you are in mass media or any field that may involve cameras, I would highly recommend this class!
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I know it's not going to be for everybody, but I would recommend taking TH155, aka Makeup. You get to learn and apply many different types of makeup, ranging from basic to fantasy and horror. Like seriously. I now know how to create a bullet hole on my face and have it look like blood is running out.
I made myself look like a lion, a dragon, an old person, the Cat in the Hat and even learned how to do drag makeup. We also had to use 'unconventional materials' for our fantasy character, and I learned how to make cotton balls look like fur. Come on, how many classes are you able to really use your creativity and there is truly no risk for failure. Not to mention that you will be a star come Halloween. It's really not a hard class, as there aren't any tests, and you should get a good grade if you put any effort into it. The only negative I can see is that applying fake facial hair is kind of the worst. Glue and artificial hair right under your nose is not very pleasant.
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One of my favorite classes I've taken in my time at Southeast was actually during my first semester freshman year. Every freshman has to take a UI100 level course, and I remember thinking how interesting the course title of Britain and the Brits sounded. I wasn't disappointed. You cover everything from Great Britain's history, cultural beliefs and people to literature and film over the centuries. You get to watch John Cleese's "Fawlty Towers," for crying out loud. And you recreate the Battle of Waterloo with toy soldiers and tissue boxes on the classroom floor. For as fun of an atmosphere as Paul Thompson upheld, I learned a lot in his class. I got the chance to break down Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" and delve into poetry by prominent poets like Christina Rossetti. I met good friends, too. I had the class with my former suitemate, which helped provide a familiar face as an unfamiliar freshman. There was a friend I had another three classes with that semester as well. And believe it or not, Jay Forness was in my class. When people ask me for advice on an elective class I always suggest Britain and the Brits. You don't mind an assignment every now and again because the material's interesting, the class has a cool vibe and it's definitely worth registering for. I promise you won't regret it.
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I haven't taken very many electives in my time at Southeast since I've mainly been taking classes for my major, minor and also to complete my degree. One class does come to mind though that I took last year, which was Basic TV and Film and is taught by mass media professor Fred Jones.
Before coming to Southeast, I went to Mineral Area College for two years where I was a TV and Film major since journalism wasn't offered. I hoped that I would be able to major and minor in these fields when I came to Southeast, but I quickly learned that you couldn't major and minor in the same field. Anyway, I had three credit hours to spare, and I knew that it might have been the only time that I could ever take another film class for the rest of my collegiate career.
It was pretty much everything that I hoped it would be because I got to write scripts, act and even produce my own short film. The tests weren't difficult at all if you actually studied for them and every class was enjoyable. It was one of the few classes that I was excited to go to, and I recommend to take it if you're looking to actually have a good time and also get an A.
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One of the best fun classes I have ever taken is one I'm actually in right now. TH100, otherwise known as Theatre Appreciation, with Mac McIntosh is, in my opinion, one of the most enjoyable classes offered at Southeast. First of all, this class is about everything that has to do with theater productions, including what type of theaters there are, what type of lights are used, the history of theater and everything else you can imagine. We also get to work on a fully class-run production for the last month of the semester, which not only sounds fun, but also brings me back to my roots as a high school theater enthusiast. Considering I align myself with a whole lot of other theater geeks out there in the world, cough cough, Jay Forness, cough, I couldn't have chosen a better elective to take during my last semester of college. So if you're looking for a fun (and easy, SHHH!) class, sign up for TH100 and learn about a bit of theatrical culture to liven up your life.
