Relaxing subject?

[90+FTW]

Okay so I'm looking for a relaxing breadth to take next semester that (and this is important) requires little to no essay writing. I'm trying to avoid the sciences by the way.

Please note, this isn't because I'm trying to 'bludge' as they say. I just need a little break since my other subjects are incredibly demanding.


Any helpful suggestions are appreciated

[nino quincampoix]

Ancient Greek as a winter subject? It might not be relaxing given the pace at which it is taught, but it has no essay component, nor is it a science subject. Most criteria fulfilled at least. 

[90+FTW]

Ancient Greek as a winter subject? It might not be relaxing given the pace at which it is taught, but it has no essay component, nor is it a science subject. Most criteria fulfilled at least.

I'm already a Classics major, so ancient Greek has been knocked out. I'm looking for subjects for semester 2, but thank you anyway

[notveryasian]

FINA20026 Painting Techniques? I often hear about how it's quite easy going.

[nino quincampoix]

I'm already a Classics major, so ancient Greek has been knocked out. I'm looking for subjects for semester 2, but thank you anyway

Lucky, if only I could do Classics! Good luck with finding your subject! Also, have you tried the advanced search on the handbook? You can narrow it down to sem 2 in applicable departments.

[90+FTW]

Lucky, if only I could do Classics! Good luck with finding your subject! Also, have you tried the advanced search on the handbook? You can narrow it down to sem 2 in applicable departments.

Aha! No, I did not know that thank you so much
Man, I'm so bad at technology.

[nino quincampoix]

Aha! No, I did not know that thank you so much
Man, I'm so bad at technology.

No problem. Out of curiosity, with the Classics major, I take it you are doing/have done Ancient Greek and Latin. If so, which did you enjoy more? And was the first year textbook for Latin intuitive (in the sense that everything needed to learn beginners Latin was contained in the textbook)?

[90+FTW]

No problem. Out of curiosity, with the Classics major, I take it you are doing/have done Ancient Greek and Latin. If so, which did you enjoy more? And was the first year textbook for Latin intuitive (in the sense that everything needed to learn beginners Latin was contained in the textbook)?

There's a lot of conflict regarding that question, but I'm more than happy to answer to it, as best I can

Personally, Latin is significantly more difficult but also, the most enjoyable! The textbook provided all the necessary information BUT the syntactical rules that you learn, should not be taken as gospel. Latin has many irregularities and exceptions, so try to keep that in mind!

[teexo]

glee singing!
or if you're looking for a winter subject, maybe business negotiations?

[Sheldon]

You should take up Choir 1 or Choir 2. You literally turn up for two hours to sing as part of a large choir (no solo singing), which is relaxing in and of itself, if you're into that sort of thing. It's also marked on a pass/fail basis, which increases your likelihood of maintaining your prized 90+ average, since it doesn't count towards your GPA, but still confers the normal 12.5 credit points. The only requirement to passing is attendance at rehearsals, and the final performance, as well as a combined pass mark in three ridiculously easy true/false online quizzes.
As far as I'm concerned, doing Choir 1/2 is as good as a reduced load (except you get credit for it  ).

[90+FTW]

You should take up Choir 1 or Choir 2. You literally turn up for two hours to sing as part of a large choir (no solo singing), which is relaxing in and of itself, if you're into that sort of thing. It's also marked on a pass/fail basis, which increases your likelihood of maintaining your prized 90+ average, since it doesn't count towards your GPA, but still confers the normal 12.5 credit points. The only requirement to passing is attendance at rehearsals, and the final performance, as well as a combined pass mark in three ridiculously easy true/false online quizzes. As far as I'm concerned, doing Choir 1/2 is as good as a reduced load (except you get credit for it  ).

Wait, so you don't get a mark for it? That's interesting. Is it based on a pass or fail grade, because the idea of having  "pass" pasted on my transcript is a little weird. You don't think that it might be confused with "oh wow this student only passed." Stupid question, I know.

If you have anymore information, I would greatly appreciate it.

[nino quincampoix]

Depending on what you want to do re postgrad/employment, I know that some places, be they universities or employers, will look at your grades (0-100). The higher the better is the norm. One of my friends told me that their high grades were largely responsible for their selection for an internship (which led to employment). Food for thought.

[Sheldon]

Wait, so you don't get a mark for it? That's interesting. Is it based on a pass or fail grade, because the idea of having  "pass" pasted on my transcript is a little weird. You don't think that it might be confused with "oh wow this student only passed." Stupid question, I know.

If you have anymore information, I would greatly appreciate it.

It actually appears on the transcript as 'Completed', instead of where it would otherwise say 'First Class Honours' or 'Pass' etc, abbreviated as CMP in the grade section (as opposed to H1 or P), and the mark column is simply left blank (where it would normally contain a number). This should make it fairly clear that it is a subject marked on a pass/fail basis and not simply 'only a pass'.
Also, as I'm sure you already understand, the subject is simply ignored for the purposes of calculating a GPA and weighted average. I might also mention that the music sung in Choir 1/2 is generally classical choral works (such as music by Mozart). I highly recommend you take it up, if not just for the reduced stress it offers, but for the opportunity to actually sing some wonderful music  .

[hobbitle]

Fantastic recommendation Sheldon. Fits the OPs criteria very well.

[jonny1]

No problem. Out of curiosity, with the Classics major, I take it you are doing/have done Ancient Greek and Latin. If so, which did you enjoy more? And was the first year textbook for Latin intuitive (in the sense that everything needed to learn beginners Latin was contained in the textbook)?

I have done all the Latin and Greek subjects at Melb Uni. I thought Greek was better taught (also smaller class sizes/better topics/) but had more work, especially once you get into second and third year (first year Greek/Latin isn't so good - the grammar you learn is so basic). To get any advantage out of either subject, you really need to do everything up to the third year subjects (i.e to start reading with real fluency).

The work load for both is really intense as far as arts subjects go. I especially recall heaps of tests/memorisation for Greek in second and third year; each week you would have to memorise the past week's passages and do a test on them plus an unseen. Something to keep in mind is that in Greek a huge portion of your mark in the later two years is also taken from unseens (so you can't really 'study' for it in a specific way); but in Latin unseens don't take up anywhere near so great a portion of the mark (most of the mark is taken from assignments/memorising the set text).

Whether one is better than the other is entirely subjective. All I can say is that if you want to learn to read useful/inspiring things, do Greek (so much more great literature written in Greek, e.g. Plato, Sophocles, Thucydides, Pindar etc.); whereas in Latin you tend to end up reading rhetoric and poetry at Melb (Cicero, Ovid etc). Also most of the Latin authors copied from Greek literature; and Latin is itself a more basic version of Ancient Greek (i.e the grammar is taken from Greek). The best thing is to do both to a high level; then you can read all the literature and scholarship with confidence. They really complement each other. How can I put this better? I would say that I have personally profited more from reading Greek literature (i.e far more 'wow' moments), than from reading the Latin authors. But to study anything properly in the ancient world, you really need both to a high level.

Oh, and in Greek you learn three different dialects: Homeric, Ionic, and Attic Greek. Which is cool