EGMT 1540

I'm not gonna lie and say that this was my favorite class; I don't think this engagement was even in my top 3 out of all the Ethical EGMT. I just didn't like that the class didn't aid to my knowledge as a pre-med student. Plus, learning about conspiracy theories in a college class setting just felt so unreal. Ferguson is a pretty silly guy, I honestly wish I'd attended more of his classes but the classroom was located 30 minutes away from my dorm, which I understand is not his fault. Not to mention, he offered Zoom classes and recorded lectures if you couldn't make it to his morning classes, which made it easy to not go. We did 5 discussion posts which were fairly straightforward and completion-based. At the end of the course, you make up a conspiracy theory in a fairly informal essay. It's a straightforward class and I sincerely can't say anything negative about it--I just don't think it was for me. You get out of it what you put in.

The content of this class is actually super interesting. Iv'e learned a lot about things that aren't usually talked about in an academic setting which was great and sparked my curiosity. The workload is super manageable, just a 300 word reflection once a week based on a question or a topic that was discussed in class. The final project is to invent a conspiracy theory. There's an option to do it as a group but each member adds a page count. I did it with two other friends so we needed 7 pages which didn't end up taking that long. Professor Ferguson is a super kind guy that is clearly passionate about what he teaches. My only issue with this engagement is that I didn't find it engaging and it's not actually the professor's fault. No one really talked or showed up to class because you could go to lectures through zoom which made the class quiet and boring.

This course was on conspiracy theories and it was very interesting if you are into the topic. We talked about a wide variety from cults to Q Anon to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017. There are short weekly writing assignments on Piazza and about two readings for each class per week. This course have taught me how to recognize conspiracy theories and the reasons why people follow them. It was an enjoyable engagement class! Definitely recommend taking it.