I really liked my fiat lux (food and culture during pandemics) with Professor Smith. She is really nice, funny, and wholesome, and she always makes an effort to include everyone. The class involves a weekly reading that usually ranges from 4-20 pages (most are between 4-7). They're really interesting, and you definitely don't need to retain all of the information - just an elementary summary understanding will suffice. Then, in class, she always starts with an intro question like your favorite staple cooking ingredient and goes around the room to share. You will participate in this class, but it's not intimidating at all! She's super understanding and approachable. After the intro question, you just discuss the reading and any current events for the remainder of the 50 minutes. She ends class punctually and sometimes will send additional articles she thinks are cool throughout the week afterwards.

Overall, Prof. Smith is an AMAZING anthropologist with lots of cool stories. If you ask her about her experiences, she'll recount some really interesting projects and things she's learned (ask about Asia!). Prof. Smith is also very understanding of mental health and zoom exhaustion. She lets you miss 2 classes and even spent some time on the day before the election talking about mental health resources for us. I would definitely recommend taking the seminar if you want an interesting, low stress class, and take advantage of the discussion time you have!!

It was a pretty laid back fiat lux since your grade is just based on class attendance. Some of the readings were interesting while others were a bore. Professor Smith is nice although she's not the best discussion facilitator.