Fall 2026

Western Culture: Science, Technology, Philosophy I

ILS 201 examines major developments in Western science and technology from antiquity to the 17th century within their philosophical and social contexts.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Florence Hsia4.1/5Birdie Garcia-FeehanYu-Hsuan Jade Wang

Summary

1 / 7

The course is reading-heavy with dense texts, requiring students to attend section and take notes. While some find the volume of content challenging, others note that lectures cover necessary exam material, making the workload manageable for the grade.

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Not open to students with credit forHIST SCI 201.

    • Not open to students with credit forHIST SCI 201.
    not eligible with
ILS 201

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Not eligible with
    • Not open to students with credit forHIST SCI 201.

Professors

Fall 2026

Florence Hsia

/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.20/5 from 82 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 4.2/5 raw quality · 2.2/5 difficulty · 51 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Florence Hsia is praised as a clear, passionate lecturer who makes dense material accessible. Reviewers highlight her straightforward expectations and ability to explain complex points effectively. Her teaching style is consistently rated highly for clarity and engagement.

Some past reviewers described Hsia's lectures as boring or the class as a passable option for general education requirements. One reviewer noted that readings were not strictly necessary for success, while another felt the lectures were merely repetitive of assigned materials.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.57 GPA, 72.7% A/AB (n=110 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.63 GPA, 86.3% A/AB (n=139 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.55 GPA, 79.3% A/AB (n=121 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

No reviews exist for current instructor Florence Hsia. Historical reviews for Michael Shank describe a passionate but polarizing lecturer. Students report that his engaging anecdotes and field trips are offset by vague lectures, excessive digressions, and dry presentation styles that some find boring or confusing.

FLORENCE HSIA is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MICHAEL H. SHANK is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Fall 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
DIS 301Classroom Instruction19 / 200
DIS 302Classroom Instruction12 / 200
DIS 303Classroom Instruction6 / 200
DIS 304Classroom Instruction8 / 200
DIS 305Classroom Instruction20 / 200
DIS 306Classroom Instruction20 / 200
DIS 307Classroom Instruction19 / 200
DIS 308Classroom Instruction9 / 200
LEC 001Classroom Instruction113 / 2860

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Florence Hsia is described as a clear and passionate lecturer who explains dense material well. Reviewers note she is supportive, making the course a recommended option for students seeking a manageable science requirement.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.57 GPA, 72.7% A/AB (n=110 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.63 GPA, 86.3% A/AB (n=139 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.55 GPA, 79.3% A/AB (n=121 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The course is reading-heavy with dense texts, requiring students to attend section and take notes. While some find the volume of content challenging, others note that lectures cover necessary exam material, making the workload manageable for the grade.

Experiences vary: some find lectures boring or the class unengaging, while others appreciate Hsia’s ability to make the topic interesting. Students value the straightforward expectations, fair midterms, and a low-stakes honors project that does not impact the final grade.

Topics

  • Western science and technology
  • Philosophical and social context of science
  • Historical period: Antiquity to 17th Century

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.07 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Fall 2025 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1320 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
ILS 201 · Fall 2026

Western Culture: Science, Technology, Philosophy I

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:500:010475",
    "course_id": "ILS 201",
    "course_uid": "course_23fb0af17af59685794f4582",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "010475",
    "source_subject_id": "500",
    "title": "Western Culture: Science, Technology, Philosophy I",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "8b14292135b7c05976687ac6d8f0d9e495bdaaf404c4116aa72f5d538bcc6f42",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}