UNIV-1004H: Crit. Engagement – Biographies

Instructor: Michael Eamon

Course Code: UNIV 1004H

When Taken: Winter 2021

Major assignments: Gerry Adams Biography, Understanding Adams_ Gerry Adams and the Good Friday Agreement

This course was a new introduction to the course catalogue, emerging out of a need for smaller class sizes, increased connection, and filling of a perceived gap in teaching first years how to learn. I took this class primarily because it was advertised as being in-person, while most other things were still online or remote. While I only got to have one class in-person, which on the bus on the way back from this class I got the Trent email that we were back to online learning, the small class size, and my very enthusiastic instructor (Michael Eamon) meant that this class was great.

Our class readings each week were focused on biographies, which was great for me as I was in a phase of reading biographies exclusively. We would then have a short lecture on how to succeed in university classes, and then discuss the reading for the week. This class was more of a seminar group than a lecture-based class, and this was the first time that I had been in a seminar class, a structure that would later become my favourite method of learning. While the content of this class was not hugely impactful on my learning journey, the confidence I gained regarding speaking in class, and making a connection with my professor was hugely influential on the rest of my university experience.