ANTH 2415

This class is wonderful and an EASY A! I took this as a random linguistics class to see if I wanted to major in linguistics, and I loved it! You can attend class in-person or via zoom and slides are always posted. Most people always opted to not show up in-person (I think only like 20 people would show up to our 120-person lecture). I always loved coming to lecture in-person.

Typical weekly workload included some readings that would be covered in lectures that week. The readings were interesting, sometimes long (can skim/skip). Occasionally there would be an open-note, untimed quiz on the readings which were easy 100s. The midterm (timed, closed-note, take-home) was fairly straightforward if you studied your notes and slides. Final (take-home, untimed, open-note) was straightforward too. Very easy. Many opportunities for extra credit (I got like 6 points of extra credit on my course grade somehow). Also, if you take notes normally, do opt to be the SDAC notetaker - he gives 2 extra credit points for it on top of your whole final grade. I somehow ended with an A+ (103.99%), which as you can see by the grade distribution is not common. (and by the way, 94-100 is an A. Above 100 is an A+)

I had my discussion with TA Zareef, and he graded participation on attendance, so just showing up gave you a 100. Zareef was cool though, very nice guy. His jeopardy games were always fun.

TLDR take this class, super duper easy A. #tCFS24

Interesting class that combines biology and linguistics. Biology was more interesting for me and linguistics was more confusing, but maybe that’s because I’ve taken more bio classes than linguistics classes before this semester. Your grade is based on a midterm exam (30%), final exam (35%), discussion section (20%, writing online discussion posts), and reading quizzes (15%, 4 total with advance notice). The exams are pretty easy because he gives you a study guide and the questions are mostly multiple choice. There is some short answer, but if you’re solid on the study guide topics, you’ll be okay. It’s about 20-30 pages of reading per class, but I stopped reading because the linguistics articles were too dense for me. You can do well on the exams if you don’t read, but the reading does help clarify/reinforce a lot of concepts. Most of the readings are online, so you just have to buy one book that’s like $20. Powerpoint slides are on collab (usually before the lecture), but they’re confusing and you need to go to lecture to understand them. Sicoli is very conscious about covid safety (which is awesome), so every class had an in-person and zoom option and lectures were recorded. Sicoli is great and you can tell he’s really passionate about what he’s teaching. Interesting, easy class that’s good if you’re curious about linguistics and/or biology (and even if you’ve never taken a bio or linguistics class, you’ll be fine).

I took this class as a Linguistics requirement for the Cog Sci major, and I found the topics discussed very interesting. It's at an overlap of many different subjects such as biology, psychology, linguistics, etc., and the basis of the class is essentially just exploring ideas, theories, and evidence regarding the origins of language and how it came about alongside the evolution of humans from our ancestors. The professor isn't the best/most engaging lecturer though, and it can be boring/dry at times, but he as a person is kind and understanding. The course itself is also pretty easy, with the grade being made up of discussion participation, a few short quizzes in lecture, and two exams (a midterm and a final). The exams were online, remote exams that were mostly multiple choice with a few short answer questions, and the professor still offered multiple options for extra credit. Overall, it's a fairly easy and interesting course to take if you want to learn about anthropology and linguistics with a more science-focused lens.
#tCFspring2022

Easy A and super interesting class—the best of both worlds! Some of the readings could be tough to get through, but he always clarified in lecture and made it really engaging. Even though I'm not studying linguistics or anthropology, I learned so much from this class beyond the evolution of language; it was eye opening. I always made sure to do readings and take some notes on them so I could focus in class and add what he said along with points I didn't understand or missed from the reading. When the exams came around (only 2), it was a breeze. He even gives study guides and ample extra credit. If you show up to discussion, you get full points for 30% of your grade. I never once was stressed about my grade, and that's what furnished it to be a true and meaningful learning experience.

I cannot emphasize enough how much I enjoyed this class and Professor Sicoli! I took it as a linguistics requirement for the Cog Sci major and it ended up being extremely applicable to bio classes as well! Professor Sicoli himself is an extremely knowledgeable and kind man and really makes an effort to allow his students to get the most out of this class through extra credit as well as ample discussion opportunities. You don't really have to do the readings if you go to every lecture and discussion, as he talks about everything thoroughly there which is extremely helpful. Highly recommend this class if you're interested even slightly in human evolution or want an easy, yet rewarding class! Love Sicoli!

This class is super interesting, I recommend it as as a Cognitive Science pre-req, or just for fun. Professor Sicoli is very interested in the material, and he knows his stuff. As long as you pay attention in class and do the readings, the exams aren't too bad. The only problem with this class was going online (as it was originally meant to be a no technology course). Overall, It's a wonderful class and Professor Sicoli is a wonderful man.