Questions

Your answer

Which minor did you do?

Culture and Cognition (30 ECTS)

What made you choose this minor?

I was debating between this minor and the Development Studies minor. Both seemed to be relatively closely related to IRIO and I didn’t want to drift too far away from the major. I eventually decided on this minor because the idea to learn more about where cultures in the past, nowadays and possibly in the future originated and what the influences were and continue to be convinced me, mostly due to me being a fan of history and analyzing the interconnectedness of past, present and future.

What were the subjects you had in your minor?

I had the following 5 subjects: The Evolution of Human Culture (10 EC) ; Biology of Cognition (5 EC) ; Art and Cognition (5EC) ; Narratives We Live By (5 EC) ; Knowledge, Signs, and Meaning (5 EC)

What was your hardest experience during the minor course?

The subjects Biology of Cognition and Art and Cognition included a different “working style” than what I, as an IRIO student, was used to. What I mean is that the structure when writing papers or essays differed, and that was a little confusing at the beginning, but there is great guidance within the subjects, so one can definitely overcome that issue.

What was the best experience during the minor course?

The learning environment in the classes was great, due to all the teachers being very engaging with us students and having had created fascinating weekly topics. Also, some subjects included guest lecturers, so it was very diverse input of knowledge. Additionally, what I genuinely enjoyed was that the students all came from different majors, so everyone had different approaches to the topics as well, resulting in lively conversations and discussions.

Did the course meet your expectations? Yes, why/ No, why not

Overall, the minor did meet my expectations, yes. I could see a clear connection between the topics in the minor and topics relevant in IRIO, which was what I was mainly hoping for when choosing the minor.

Which other minor did you consider?

Development Studies, as the subjects seemed also fairly related to the IRIO programme and, therefore, close to my personal interests.

Do you think that your minor will be useful for your future career?

Yes, why / No, why not

I think it depends on what one understands as useful. I do not think that future employers will look at the minor and hire me because of it (maybe also since it is hard to grasp what this minor entails from just the name), but I certainly gained knowledge that is helpful to understand the background of phenomena one might encounter in an IRIO career. For example, through the course Narratives We Live By it became much clearer why and how meanings, understanding, perspectives and goals differ drastically around the globe.

What would you say to future IRIO students who consider this minor?

I can certainly recommend this minor, especially if you are looking for a relatively chill semester, as it is not very difficult to keep up with the workload. However, you really have to love to work in groups (basically every subject included a group presentation).

Ratings: Rate from 1 to 10

Was the minor doable? (1 very hard <-->10 very easy)

9 

Was the workload less/the same/or more than the IRIO programme? (1 much less workload <--> 10 a lot more workload)

5

How much would you recommend doing this minor? (1 not at all <--> 10 100% yes)

7.5