(OHSC0) Understanding the Aristotelian Worldview with HSC Peer Tutor Isabella Zeitlin

In this article, SASS' Board Member Kristen Ahn interviews History and Philosophy of Science (OHSC0) Peer Tutor Isabella Zeitlin. We hope that this article will help current and future HSC students in their academic journey!

When did you take History and Philosophy of Science (OHSC0), and who was your instructor?

I took HSC last year (2019-2020 scholastic year) and my instructor was Dr. Wallhagen.

About how much time did you spend a week working on assignments and preparing for discussion sessions in History and Philosophy of Science (OHSC0)?

I would say that I spent roughly 3 hours a week on the readings. In order to make sure that I was thoroughly prepared for the discussion sessions, I would always take notes, attempt to answer the discussion questions posted to Canvas prior to class, and try to come up with possible questions to ask during class. I would typically spend about 7 hours per official writing assignment however, these 7 hours also included the time I spent asking peer tutors for help and reaching out to my teacher about questions.

What did the typical week in History and Philosophy of Science (OHSC0) look like?

Seeing as I would try to finish my readings a week before they were due, I used to set aside four hours total for two days a week in order to get ahead of my readings. This really helped me in the long run seeing as sometimes WAs and research projects could end up being incredibly overwhelming.

What did you enjoy about History and Philosophy of Science (OHSC0)?

I absolutely loved the in-class discussion portion of HSC! Our class was incredibly enthusiastic about the topics discussed so it was such a blast getting to have open discussions where we bounced ideas off of one another.

What was your favorite topic covered in History and Philosophy of Science (OHSC0)?

My favorite topic covered in HSC was our unit on ethics. I really enjoyed learning and talking about terraforming and its ethical implications, the importance of women in STEM, and many of the other fascinating topics in the ethics unit. This unit was also such a fun way to wrap up a rather stressful year and I loved hearing what my peers had to say about certain topics!

What challenged you the most in History and Philosophy of Science (OHSC0)? How did you overcome those challenges?

I found that the writing assignments challenged me the most in HSC. In order to overcome this challenge, I went directly to my teacher and was able to discuss with him what I could do to improve my philosophical writing skills. After emailing back and forth with my teacher, I noticed a great improvement in my next WA. Always reach out to your teacher if you’re having any school-related issues or personal problems that might be affecting your work!

Are there midterms/finals in this class? How would you recommend reviewing for these exams?

Yes, there is a final for this class. In order to review for this final, I would recommend looking back at the concept sheet provided at the beginning of the year. Try to fill out this sheet throughout the semester that way, when finals come, you can look back to this sheet and use it as a neat review sheet. When I was taking HSC, we were also provided with a study guide. If your teacher provides you with a study guide, fill it out! Start with the most difficult concepts first that way, if you really cannot understand a topic, you’ll have tons of time to reach out to peer tutors/TAs/teachers.

What are the major assignments for this class? How would you recommend approaching these assignments?

The major assignments for this class were the WAs, research papers, and finals. When writing your WAs/research papers, I would recommend first trying to come up with a solid, logical argument. Remember, in philosophy, teachers are not grading your work based on how many cool, fancy-sounding words you use; they are grading your paper based on your ability to create a good argument.

Do you recommend typing or hand-writing notes for History and Philosophy of Science (OHSC0)?

At the beginning of the year, I would take hand-written notes for HSC. However, with the large amounts of reading and the very complicated texts we had to analyze, I switched over to typing out my notes; this saved me a lot of time and effort and made reviewing for my final exams a lot easier.

How should a student participate and engage in discussions of History and Philosophy of Science (OHSC0)?

I would recommend trying to make comments on mic rather than in the text chat. Seeing as it can sometimes be difficult to form your own ideas/comments on a particular subject, I’d recommend using other students’ comments as a sounding board of sorts. Don’t be afraid to agree, disagree, or add onto another student’s comment! A lot of the amazing discussions our class had last year came as a result of students bouncing back and forth on one teacher/student’s opinion.

What tips do you have that could be useful to students taking History and Philosophy of Science (OHSC0)?

I would recommend trying to do your readings a week before they are “due.” There were so many weeks where I had a lot of personal issues or additional homework from other courses and doing my readings a week before they were due really saved me!

If you have taken any other core classes at the OHS, how does History and Philosophy of Science (OHSC0) compare to other courses in the core sequence?

HSC is most definitely incredibly different from MSB (the freshman core class). Seeing as MSB is a class that focuses most heavily on statistics and biology, switching over to a core class that focused on scientific discoveries and philosophical reasoning was a pretty tricky transition.

Despite this fact, seeing as I am now taking DFRL, I can most definitely see how HSC and DFRL share their similarities. I would say that HSC sets you up with a solid foundation to approach the readings/discussions/essays in DFRL.

Do you have any resources (i.e. study tips, useful websites) to share with students who want to take the course?

I would recommend trying your hardest to participate in class! My participation grade not only saved my overall grade but also really helped me understand a lot of the difficult topics covered in class. If you are really struggling to understand a concept, I would either recommend reaching out to your teacher or a peer tutor/TA. If you are still confused about this concept (which is something that I completely understand), I would recommend using Coursera. Some of the Coursera videos on Ancient Greek philosophy explained very daunting concepts in easy-to-understand ways.

Isabella Zeitlin is a peer tutor for History and Philosophy of Science and can be found on the Writing and Tutoring Center.

#HSC #OHSC0