It is not often that you run across people who can recite the
entire history of Middle Earth (where “The Hobbit” is
set) without batting an eyelash. Of course Bilbo hates lembas,
Wargs and Goblins are cohorts, and Gandalf’s horse is named
Shadowfax. What Tolkien fanatic doesn’t know that?
Yes, it is true. Some of the first-years, including myself, knew
such minutia of “The Hobbit” to the point where sane
members of the Hobbit-based Fiat Lux seminar were made sick by it.
That was part of the beauty of the class; every level of
“Hobbit lover” was present. As a result, some people
could clarify points, while others could bring up new ideas.
Unfortunately, new ideas were somewhat of a novel concept in
this particular Fiat Lux. Loosely speaking, the course description
was Tolkein’s portrayal of good versus evil as exhibited in
“The Hobbit.” We spent seven of our eight weeks
seemingly talking about the same thing over and over again. You can
only mull over Bilbo’s gentility so many times before you
want to turn into the Dragon Smaug just so you can light the room
on fire out of frustration.
Granted, the course was more than just a class discussion of
good and evil. Thanks to Dr. Zentner, we had the opportunity to get
together in small groups and although this sounds rather
elementary, as a first-year in the midst of over 30,000 students,
it felt good to talk with four people instead of 400. On top of
that, “Dr. Z” knew our names. The only other professors
who know my name are those whom I haunt at office hours.
Due to the brevity of the course, Dr. Z had no need for office
hours. In fact, the shortness of the course was the greatest part:
Eight weeks, a narrow topic and 20 students. This is what college
is supposed to be like. The Fiat Lux course reminded me of those
tiny liberal arts colleges that the media commonly use as the
poster-children of college campuses.
The size was definitely an advantage, not to mention the fact
that I got to take a class on a topic which truly interested me.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved Dr. Ghez’s Astronomy 3
class, but ten chapters in ten weeks felt more like one of those
Discovery Channel movies (which covers everything from the Big Bang
to the second coming of Christ) than like an actual college class.
The intimacy of the Fiat Lux class, despite the sometimes
repetitive nature of the syllabus, made the class very
worthwhile.
As for Fiat Lux courses in general, the range of the course
topics available parallels the stacks in Powell Library. You can
find just about any class for whatever kind of fanatic you are. And
if, for some strange reason, the course ends up not suiting your
fancy, it’s over in under a quarter.
Now that we have these wonderful courselets known as “Fiat
Lux”, they should be open to more students, who would benefit
from the intimacy and brevity they offer. The classes are a great
opportunity for students to indulge their fanaticism, while delving
into great topics with world-renowned professors.