[V1011/W3011] Behavioral Biology of the Living Primates

I dropped this class in the middle of the summer semester because I couldn't take it. There is hardly any actual discussion of primate behavior. Instead he lectures for 4 and a half hours in a maddening style, continually asking questions whose answers could be anything. He is fishing for something in particular that no one can figure out. For example, he asked the women in the class why they shaved their legs and then stood there for several minutes waiting for an answer. No one was amused.

He spent most of the time (the first 2 and half weeks of a 6 week course) talking about the merits of logical arguments and his quizzes tested us on our understanding of them. Everyone failed the first one, even though it is open-note, because his questions were so cryptic.

During breaks we all comiserated about how terrible the class was. I don't regret dropping the course. My time is worth more than that.

Altogether, this class was insightful and gave me a different outlook on the complex ways in which non-human primates exist in this world. However, the best analogy I can give is this: Imagine cramming what seems like years worth of information into one semester and being expected to account for every bit of it on the exams.
This professor is the strictest grader I've ever had at Columbia. This in the only class that I have ever gotten less than a B on any of the work, and trust me, I am not a slacker when it comes to studying. Yes, the reading is very reasonable, and the lectures are moderately interesting. Yet, the quizzes and the exams are completely harsh and she takes points off for every little bit of info that you may have left out in struggling to answer her questions in her words, word for word.
She made a comment during the first class on the decrease in students who sign up for her course and blames it on the Frontiers of Science course that has recently been offered as an alternative option for satisfying the Science Requirement. Yet, I believe that the stringency of her grading and her harsh exam technique may have something to do with the sudden drop in registration.
Alas, although this was an interesting course, the Frontiers of Science sounds like the better option. I've heard it's challenging as well, but it's worth 4 points, so the extra work may actually seem worth it.

Take any class this man offers! He is clearly passionate about this work and his lectures are almost always engaging. I just finished summer school with him, and if I can say that after class twice a week from 1-5:25 (yeah that's right) than he's worth taking. Here's an example of why: he starts the class with general philosophical concepts, to get us in the mode of thinking about the process of science. Not only was it interesting, but it framed the class really well. I am so thankful my last science requirement was this class -- it left a good taste in my mouth about Columbia's core.

Lectures range from the interesting to the insufferable, but are always impeccably organized. Website is useful, and also impeccably organized. She's nice and dedicated, but not inspiring. The final was a nightmare, but must have been greatly curved. Take this class as part of the Anthro sequence if you, like me, cannot add and do not care about electron shells.

Oh my God, I have never seen a review so spot-on (and hilariously) accurate as that last one. Bravo. Only thing I disagree on is that the multiple choice is impossible. This is an EASY EASY class, much easier than the first half of the sequence. Study a bit and you're fine. The only challenge is sitting through the horribly boring lectures...and the awful readings...and the monkey porn...without wanting to kill yourself. Everything is on the web, though, so you really don't have to. One more thing to note...if you do decide to go to the lectures, prepare for Prof. Cords to be constantly interrupted by stupid and/or irrelevant and/or ass-clownish questions from lifelong-learner types. (listen, I totally respect the lifelong learner phenomenon, but anyone who would devote their lifelong-learning time and money to monkey sex is seriously ON CRACK.)

For the love of humanity, run away as fast as you can from this course. I stopped my calc sequence (being one of those "humanities people") to take this. I have regretted it since the first lecture when she offered to define any "big words" or explain any numbers for humanities majors. And it just went down hill from there--lectures are just as dry as the Resource Defense Hypothesis sounds. Most of the time I play MASH in the back with my friends, only looking up to hear Professor Cords imitate one of her beloved blue guenons. Mercifully she posts her lectures online so lecture is not a must. But the discussion groups are, and don't even get me started on the monkey porn...

This class is VERY worth taking if you want to fulfill your science requirement without doing bio or calc or something else icky to science-phobes. Prof. Cords seems to think her class is THE most difficult thing in the universe (she warns you on the first day, "this is not like the humanities departments. there's no grade inflation here. blah blah...") Of course there's no grade inflation; it's not necessary. The lectures are well organized (alternating between pretty interesting and unbearably boring). If you've taken the first class in the sequence (biological anthropology) and found it difficult, don't worry, b/c Prof Cord's class is much easier and even more interesting. Oh, yes, and the prof puts her notes on the internet for you, too.

This monkey class is so awful. Be prepared to force feed 10 different theories of monkey sex (not as exciting as it sounds). Recitations are not useful and are required.

Since 'Anthrop' does end in 'ology' this class can be used toward the science requirement. Though, it's not as easy as it sounds it is still a good choice for the calculator-impaired. The lectures are very well organized. In fact, this is one of those rare classes that doesn't degenerate into academic entropy during the last two weeks. And her primate impersonations are top-notch. The first few weeks are spent memorizing latin genus-species names, which can be tedious and makes for surprisingly hard quizzes. Attendance is taken at the discussion sections, but that's ok because they consist entirely of watching hard core monkey-porn. And the occasional review session. Her lecturing is unexciting but servicable and there's something about those videos that beckons. . .