Nicholas Chong

Normal CC workload. One midterm and two papers plus the final.

An ungraded worksheet for each class, four 1-page listening responses due over the semester, one short 3-4 page paper, one 6-8 page final paper, midterm and final exams. Lots of extra credit.

Absolutely amazing professor, probably the best CC professor you could possibly have. He is super organized, super prepared, he is super flexible regarding extensions and super considerate towards the students. He also plays a lot of music in class to illustrate historical backgrounds, which is awesome. I definitely recommend him.

Nick was a fantastic Music Hum instructor. I'm surprised he doesn't have a silver or gold nugget! It was clear throughout the semester that he takes teaching very seriously, and that his goal was just for us to learn about classical music. These are always good things in a core class. I was most impressed by how organized Nick is and how much material he manages to fit into each class. His classroom is truly a well oiled machine. He produces very comprehensive handouts for everything in the course (class content, guidelines for assignments), returns graded work promptly with copious comments, and responds to emails quickly. He was an engaging lecturer and I think, managed to capture the interest of even students who probably weren't inclined to like the subject matter that much. It's clear that he's really into the material, but understands that most people wouldn't normally listen to that much classical music. On another note, it was pretty cool that for the German vocal music we studied, Nick appears to have translated the texts from the German himself. With regard to course content, there were a few live performances in the class, which were pretty exciting (Nick is a singer), as well as a trip to the opera to see La Traviata, and to Carnegie Hall for a Wagner recital. Nick is serious about graded assignments-- he'll definitely point it out if you don't back up your argumen…

It's CC so the reading is what it is. But you'll be more motivated to do the reading in his class, because his lectures make you feel like the texts actually mean something 2 papers (6-8 pgs) and one shorter paper that you have to read out loud in class (it sounds stressful, but it's not)

weekly listening, midterm, final 3 papers - 2 short papers 3 pages each, and one 6-page review of Lawrence Kramer's book "Why Classical Music Still Matters"

Professor Chong is phenomenal. He's by far the best Prof. I've had at this school, and I'm almost done with my time here. Obviously, CC is what you make of it, but if you're the kind of person who is even marginally interested in the reading list, then you're in luck, because Prof. Chong's class will be amazing and give you exceptional insights into the texts. Prof. Chong is incredibly knowledgable (he's a music scholar but he knows more about philosophy than the philosophy department), and has the ability to elucidate crucial themes and explain them in a way that stays with you after the class is over (you're never going to forget what Nietzsche was trying to say after Prof. Chong's lecture about it). He makes you actually care about what you're reading, because he shows you why it's relevant for understanding the way our society works now, which is supposed to be the point of CC, even if the course usually doesn't seem to have that effect on people. His class is the answer to the "why are all these dead white guys on the syllabus" question, because he demonstrates the way that Western philosophical thought builds on itself, and he connects it to important historical events, as well as modern examples and broader moral questions. Basically, Prof. Chong can give you a more engaging and rewarding overview of why Western Civilization works the way it does than any actual history…

Nick is a great teacher for music hum! He's a singer so you'll be listening to a lot of that in this class. For a 9 am class he keeps you pretty awake with his energy. He is very clear in his explanations and is as nice and lenient as he can be. he's a grad student so he's really understanding and will give you paper extensions if you tell him in advance. Also a smart guy (Yale alum). makes sure the student understands the material and always makes himself available for office hours if you need any help.the workload was fair, we had weekly listening assignments that he went over thoroughly in class before he collected. as long as you put in the effort you'll do well! (class isnt graded on a curve, he says if everyone hands in A-level material, everyone will get an A :) ) All in all i loved taking the class with Nick! He's quite entertaining and I gained much appreciation and knowledge for music. also the trips to the met opera and carnegie hall were definitely worthwhile! So be happy if you have Nick for music hum :)