Bertrand Russell once said: “Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.” The search for knowledge has always been the foremost theme of our college life, and each individual is prone to have his or her favorite lessons. How about graduates in Wuhan University?

Apart from compulsory courses, students in Wuhan University can take many elective courses based on their own interests, ranging from Literature, Arts, Natural Science, Mathematics, Physical Education etc. Elective course are usually full of surprises. As the graduating season almost comes to its end, we interviewed some eminent graduates, recollecting their memories of their favorite teachers and the memorable courses they have enjoyed.

Xue Yuan, a graduate from School of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering and also the former president of WHU Student Union, ranked the course of “Appreciation of Music” the first. “What impressed me most were the numerous pieces of classic music that our professor Li Ge, had shown us to distinguish in the class.” Said Xue, “Art education is equally crucial as other subjects. The teaching of music appreciation is vital to our full development.” The knowledge that Xue had acquired from that lesson cannot be attained elsewhere.

Luo Pei, a graduate from School of Foreign Language said to the interviewer, also appreciated the Appreciation of Music. “Each time we had the class, the classroom is always full of students. Some students would even stand or sit on the aisle. The teacher told us that Chinese music was vertical, but the Western music was horizontal with its complex harmonic tone. Among one of the classes, our teacher even invited students from the Traditional Instruments Orchestra to perform for us so that we could appreciate the splendid art of traditional Chinese music more directly.”

From this class, students are given the chance to know some of the best composers, musicians and good music in human history. However, there are quizzes on every class which will account for your final grade, so attendance is also important.

Xue Yuan

Another graduate, Wang Bo, from Computer School of WHU, shared with us one amusing scene he had experience during his course of sex education. Mr. Liao Haolei, a chief doctor of Hospital of Wuhan University, once told a story to the class. “One day after class, a 25-year-old graduate student came to talk to me. She prevaricated for a while, and finally said she slept with her boyfriend last night and held his hands. So she was really worried about whether she would get pregnant.” His words made the whole class burst into laughter. As far as we know, the lack of sex education is a common problem and phenomenon in China, especially among universities. “I have never thought of receiving sex education in an optional course, let alone discussing this topic in such a humorous way. I have learnt so much form this fantastic class.” “I will graduate soon so this is actually my last lesson in Wuhan University. I feel so lucky that I can have the opportunity to attend such a great class.” Said Wang,

According to the syllabus, various elective courses in Wuhan University will appeal to different students. No matter you are fond of literature, art or science, you can always find some courses that attract you. What’s more, these courses are available to students in all campus. Huang Zhihao, a graduate from School of Medicine and also the founder of the volunteer organization WHUMSA, benefited a lot from the course of Introductory to MATLAB he took in the main campus. “The introductory to MATLAB is the course that means a lot to me, as a medical student, though MATLAB has been widely applied in the clinical researches, most of us don’t have access to learn these programming languages, let alone to be excel at one.” The course equipped him with ability to use MATLAB as a tool and enabled him to pursue much more in terms of research.

Huang Zhihao

For some graduates, elective lectures function as platforms that exhibit the traditional Chinese culture. “Chinese Diaspora Literature taught by Professor Huang from the School of Foreign Language is the very best elective course I have ever attended. The class mainly discussed about the history of Chinese Diaspora in Australia and the U.S. and a few works produced by those prominent Chinese immigrant writers.” Said Lin Ke, a graduate from College of of Foreign Language and Literature and the head of the Chorus. She named a few works that impressed her most: The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, both the movie and the book of Joy Luck Club by Amy Tang, the movie M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang. “Those works are really exquisite and fascinating, but I myself could never learn to fully appreciate them without the enlightenment of Prof. Huang. Take M. Butterfly as an example. The way it ends up is so dramatic that at first, I find it bewildering and confusing. I could not figure out what kind of message the movie-maker intends to convey. When Prof. Huang suggested us to think about this work based on Edward Said’s book Orientalism, and to think from the perspective of gender study, deconstructing the movie accordingly, I started to comprehend the connotations hid behind such arrangements.” Said Lin.

Lin Ke

Yu Yiqi, incoming PhD candidate of Peking University, was an outstanding graduate of Economic and Management School this year. In retrospect of her college life, she valued the course “Game Theory” very much. “Majoring in Marketing, I can never attach too much interest to figure out people’s inner thoughts when they are making decisions. Game Theory is to some extent, the most entertaining and thought-provoking course I have ever taken. When I had an interview with teachers from Guanghua School of Management, I even quoted the Game Theory in my essay, which seemed to have caught their interests for me.”

Yu Yiqi

Apart from the courses mentioned above, you can also enjoy yourselves in many other fields such as physical education, foreign languages, psychology etc. Whatever you expect to get from these courses--to learn professional knowledge or just to have some fun, a batch of elective courses in Wuhan University will not let your down. Students majoring in Engineering can choose art and culture to nurture the soul also cultivate the mind. Students of Literature can improve their logical thinking capability through engineering or science-oriented courses.

In WHU, the arrangements of elective lectures are mainly determined by the interests and responses of students. For those courses that can seldom attract students, they are very likely to be eliminated in the next semester. Here, every student has his or her veto power to pass some dull and tedious classes in the evaluation process.

As time passes by, more and more seniors are turning into graduates, witnessing the everyday change that happens in this university. Now, together with all the memorable moments they have cherished here, it is time for them to set on a new journey. Good luck, WHU graduates!  

(Edited by Wu Siying & Hu Sijia)