Core Courses Dominate Top 10 Classes

Garnering nine spots in the list of the College's 10 most popular courses, Core courses are stealing the show this term.

Social Analysis 10, "Principles of Economics," is once again the largest course with 811 students, but its enrollment dropped by more than 100 students from 935 last year. Two years ago, the course enrolled 1072.

Elsewhere in the top 10 list, Core classes swelled in size from previous years as enrollments in historically popular departmental offerings dropped off, the registrar said yesterday.

Decline of the Departments

Last fall, two departmental courses made the top 10, and the year before saw four such courses among the College's most popular.

Only one course from outside the Core made this year's list. General Education 105, "The Literature of Social Reflection," jumped from sixth place last fall to third place this time around.

The largest departmental course is Math 21a, "Multivariable Calculus," in 12th place, with 257 people registered.

The declining interest in Social Analysis 10, or Ec 10 as the course is widely known, is attributed to tapering interest among freshmen and stiffening Economics Department requirements that are discouraging prospective concentrators, said Lawrence B. Lindsey, the course's head section leader and an assistant professor of economics.

In addition, a University-published guide to courses probably cost the course some students by omitting an Ec 10 review, Lindsey said. "We didn't get as much advertising this year."

Finishing in 10th place for the second year in a row is Science B-16, "History of the Earth and of Life," taught by Professor of Geology Stephen Jay Gould.

Gould called the ranking "totally artificial" because he, like several other professors, limits the enrollment of his class.

'Most Unpleasant'

"It's most unpleasant," Gould said. "People pay all this tuition and can't get into the classes they want."

Although 600 students tried to enter his class, he admitted only 300, Gould said.

Other old-time favorites also earned spots in the list again this year.

Historical Study A-13, "Tradition and Transformation in East Asian Civilization: China" and Literature and Arts C-14, "The Concept of the Hero in Hellenic Civilization" earned spots in the top 10 for the second straight year.

"I really don't think it's me. It's just the power of great literature," Professor of Greek and Latin Gregory Nagy said of the growing popularity of the Hellenic civilization course he teaches.

Two new Core courses debuted on the list. Literature and Arts B-33, "Buildings and Cities: An Introduction to Western Architecture and Urbanism," and Foreign Cultures 42, "Building the Shogun's Realm: The Unification of Japan 1560-1650," made their first apperances in the Course Catalog and in the top 10 list.

This year witnessed the continuation of a trend away from large science courses.

Two years ago, Chemistry 5, "Principles of Chemistry," Chemistry 20, "Organic Chemistry," and Biology 7b, "Introductory Biology, II," all had high enough enrollments to earn spots in the top 10 list.

Last year only Biology 7b made it, and this year no departmental science course won a spot on the list.