Today I Learned
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"Today I Learned" is a new podcast celebrating the Boston University classes that shape student's lives. Come along as we explore the wonderful world of education through fun facts and personal experiences. Submit your favorite Boston University class here: https://www.bu.edu/articles/2023/terriers-what-is-your-favorite-bu-class/
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May 30, 2023
Boston’s Topography Was Shaped By Glaciers
The classes we take can change our perspectives and shape our lives—and we think that’s worth celebrating. Our new podcast, Today I Learned, is all about the classes at BU that have had a real effect on students in our community; we want to know all about the classroom environment, professor, subject matter, and the cool facts that make a lasting impression.
Sally Jamrog (BUA’23) spent most of her high school career immersed in the humanities. The recent graduate, who will be headed off to Bryn Mawr College in the fall, loves the arts, literature, and history. Ever since taking EE 105: Crises of Planet Earth, she’s added a new subject to that list: rocks.
Through the enthusiastic and engaging teaching style of James Lawford Anderson, a professor and director of undergraduate studies at the College of Arts and Sciences, geology has come alive for Jamrog, and she’s not alone. The course, she notes, is extremely popular among other BUA students, which she credits to Lawford Anderson’s ability to bring color and liveliness to the classroom. The class focuses on how manmade and natural events (or crises) can shape the environment and leave a geological record. Climate change, as well as the effect of natural disasters on different populations, are frequent topics, which Jamrog says made her and her classmates feel a sense of timeliness and urgency. Does she still want to pursue a humanities-heavy course of study in college? Most definitely. But, she notes, Bryn Mawr has “a really good archaeology program, too.”
This concludes Season One of Today I Learned–thanks for learning with us.
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May 9, 2023
Honors Linear Algebra Can Be Fun, Cool, Even Beautiful
The classes we take can change our perspectives and shape our lives—and we think that’s worth celebrating. Our new podcast, Today I Learned, is all about the classes at BU that have had a real effect on students in our community; we want to know all about the classroom environment, professor, subject matter, and the cool facts that make a lasting impression.
For those who think that math is a chore, we present to you David Gardner. In the fifth episode of our BU Today podcast,Today I Learned, Gardner (CDS’26) gets candid about his favorite BU class, MA 442: Honors Level Linear Algebra. If you don’t have a basic understanding of the concept, this might not be the class for you because, as the name suggests, it’s not for the uninitiated. Gardner agrees that every day is a challenge and he’ll often go to Professor David Rohrlich for assistance with difficult proofs, but that the hard work always pays off: “It’s fun,” he says, “it’s a game.” For him, solving each problem is like cracking a code, or completing a puzzle—there’s something purely enjoyable about the experience of finding a solution. What’s more, Rohrlich’s teaching style is attuned toward deductive reasoning and linear thinking, which Gardner says has allowed him to examine nonmathematical dilemmas in history and politics with a new mindset. Be it engineering, technology or, in Gardner’s case, just for fun, this episode will make you see linear algebra like you’ve never seen it before.
Want to be our next guest? Tell us about your favorite class here. Undergraduates and graduate students are welcome to submit.
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Apr 25, 2023
Boston is Home to the World’s Oldest Hockey Rink
The classes we take can change our perspectives and shape our lives—and we think that’s worth celebrating. Our new podcast, Today I Learned, is all about the classes at BU that have had a real effect on students in our community; we want to know all about the classroom environment, professor, subject matter, and the cool facts that make a lasting impression.
In Episode No. 4 of Today I Learned, Mitchell Fink (COM’24) tells us about his recent experience in the field…as well as the court, the rink, and the diamond. Fink, an aspiring sports writer, says that College of Communication class JO 514: Sports Journalism, with Professor Michael Holley, left a strong impression on him. A “sports lifer” with an abiding love for the New York Knicks, Fink says the combination of topical readings and real-world experience (in the form of local game coverage) brought his appreciation of the craft to a whole new level. It’s also, he says, a welcome diversion from some of his more grueling 500-level courses, but notes that the class has its fair share of history lessons and political discussions. He adds that whether you’re a hardcore fan or an aspiring beat journalist, this class is a slam dunk, a home run, and a touchdown rolled into one .
Want to be our next guest? Tell us about your favorite class here. Undergraduates and graduate students are welcome to submit.
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Apr 7, 2023
Some Clergy Are Using ChatGPT to Write Their Sermons
The classes we take can change our perspectives and shape our lives—and we think that’s something worth celebrating. Our new podcast, Today I Learned, is all about the classes at BU that have had a real effect on students in our community; we want to know all about the classroom environment, professor, subject matter, and the cool facts that make a lasting impression.
Our third episode is all about how religion confronts the challenges of modernity. We’ve invited Diego Garrido Barreto (STH’27) to sit down with us and tell us about TF 702: Christianity Engaging Modernity, a School of Theology class and counterpart to TF 701: Introduction to Christian Traditions. Garrido came to STH by way of Bogotá, Colombia, after converting from Catholicism to Methodism. He says this class is fruitful and thought-provoking for people of all denominations and religions—and even atheists, because of its close scrutiny of history and statistical trends and its expansive reading list, which runs the gamut from Nietzsche to Malcolm X. Have a listen and add some spiritual enlightenment to your day.
Want to be our next guest? Tell us about your favorite class here. Undergraduates and graduate students are welcome to submit.
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Mar 21, 2023
Amadeus Cho is the Asian American Incredible Hulk
The classes we take can change our perspectives and shape our lives—and we think that’s something worth celebrating. Our new podcast, Today I Learned, is all about the classes at BU that have had a real effect on students in our community; we want to know all about the classroom environment, professor, subject matter, and the cool facts that make a lasting impression.
In our second episode, sociology major Jennifer Vo (CAS’23) tells us all about her favorite class, offered through the College of Arts & Sciences, EN 177: Introduction to Asian American Literature. Vo says she was inspired by the diverse forms of media included in the course’s syllabus and the engaging discussions on history and politics that Takeo Rivera, an assistant professor of English, facilitates in class. Vo says that the course’s expansive approach makes it a good fit for anyone, regardless of their background, as long as they are curious and have a love of storytelling. “If you’re Asian American, it resonates a lot more with you,” she says, “but people who aren’t Asian American have taken this class and they’ve loved it…. Even if you think you know everything, you’ll learn something.”
Want to be our next guest? Tell us about your favorite class here. Undergraduates, graduate students, and recent postgraduates are welcome to submit.
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Feb 28, 2023
The Smell of Formaldehyde Makes You Hungry
The classes we take can change our perspectives and shape our lives, and we think that’s something worth celebrating. Our new podcast, Today I Learned, is all about the classes at BU that have had a real effect on students in our community; we want to know all about the classroom environment, professor, subject matter, and the cool facts that make a lasting impression.
For our first episode, we’ve invited Suzie Marcus (CAS’26) to tell us all about her favorite class, Sargent HS 369: Gross Human Anatomy. Marcus wants to go into neurology, but she says she loves the broad approach to the human body that Dr Elizabeth Co, a senior lecturer at the College of Arts &and Sciences, presents in class. This class is half lecture and half lab (featuring lots of cadavers and human bones) and, according to Marcus, is perfect for anyone thinking about nursing, pre-med, veterinary studies, biomedical engineering, or “anyone who has a fascination with science and they aren’'t squeamish.”
Want to be our next guest? Tell us about your favorite class here. Undergraduates, graduate students, and recent post-graduates are welcome to submit.
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