Common Intellectual Experience
Joe DeMarco
Class of 2017 | Burlington, NJ
My “Aha” Moment
In a more conceptual aha moment I discovered how drastically a book can change when you approach it from a different perspective. This moment occurred to me during the reading of the Book of Job because if you analyze it as a story and not a religious text the entire meaning of the book can change.
Major
My Experience
A few of the people in my hall freshman year were in the same CIE class that I was in. So after CIE we would go to Wawa discussing what happened in class. Through that I become better friends with a few of my floor mates.
How did CIE change or challenge your view on something?
It helped me with understanding the varying degrees of perspective each individual can have. It’s very easy to fall into the mindset that your opinion is the universally accepted one when most of the time that’s not the case, and CIE helps to challenge that thought process.
What do you think prospective students should know about CIE?
If you go into CIE close minded and don’t put in the effort your not going to get anything out of a very valuable class. However if you go in open minded and contribute to the conversations you’ll learn how to be a more complex thinker and also you’ll find more strength in some of your convictions.
Final Thoughts
Having an open forum to discuss advance books allows for people with similar ideals to come together and build friendships, it also allows for individuals to learn more about themselves and others. As an introductory freshman course the readings and the process by which the class is conducted is in my opinion the best way to introduce freshman to the college process and ease them through this rough transition period.