Know the names behind the classes

At Yale, you can reach for the stars—or you can just take their classes. As you shop around at the beginning of your first term, you're bound to come upon classes best known by the name of their professor.

If people tell you they're taking a "Bloom seminar," they're not talking about a botany class, but a class taught by Harold Bloom. Author of the controversial work The Western Canon, Bloom is one of the world's foremost literary scholars and critics—and a hell of a tough grader.

The English and literature departments feature a throng of academic stars. Many writers admire John Hollander, a Pulitzer prize-winning poet and critic.

Yale's history department, which is regularly ranked first in the nation, can credit its reputation to its host of pre-eminent scholars. Jonathan Spence, SY '61, GRD '65, a respected and widely acclaimed authority on modern Chinese history, routinely draws huge lecture crowds. His book, The Search for Modern China, is a national bestseller. Gaddis Smith, PC '54, GRD '61, and Paul Kennedy also have top flight reputations in their field. Smith specializes in Cold War history and was a friend of Dean Acheson, President Truman's Secretary of State. Kennedy penned the international bestseller The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers.

While the art history department may not be as large as the history department, it has its share of luminaries. Professor Emeritus Vincent Scully, JE '40, GRD '49, who teaches an introductory art history course, has written a host of books on architecture. His legendary textbook Architecture: The Natural and the Man-made, is one of the authoritative works on the subject.

For those interested in the language of numbers, the Mathematics departments has its share of stellar professors. Although the name Serge Lang may not sound familiar, you probably have spent many hours plowing through one of his calculus textbooks, which are widely used in introductory college and high school courses. Yale is also lucky to have Benoit Mandelbrot, "the father of fractals," who has pioneered world-famous mathematical work.

Both the "hard" and "soft" science departments sport their share of wünder profs—for example, the biology department's Sidney Altman earned the Nobel Prize in 1989 for his work on the active role of RNA in chemical reactions. Psychology professor Edward Ziegler developed Head Start, a program that provides underprivileged pre-school children with supplemental education to ensure that they are prepared to enter kindergarten.

Those of you with Barney-crazed siblings may be interested in professors James or Dorothy Singer, who have recently conducted studies on that happy purple dinosaur's influence on children. Economics can boast of William Nordhaus, CC '63, who served as an economic advisor to Jimmy Carter.

The philosophy department can also brag about its big names. Mention the 18th century German philosopher Leibniz, and the name Robert Adams, perhaps Leibniz's foremost critic, will probably come up. Professor Alan Wood is renowned for his work on Kant.

All of these professors teach undergraduate courses and keep regular office hours. So, if you want to discuss your Barney obsession with James or Dorothy Singer, argue about monads with Robert Adams, or talk Shakespeare with Harold Bloom himself, don't hesitate.

Back to Head Of The Class...