uwloo

ARTS 130Inquiry and Communication

Units
0.50
Faculty
Arts
Subject
Arts

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 3 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

This course provides an introduction to diverse intellectual modes of inquiry in the social sciences and humanities with an emphasis on the development of communication skills. In a small seminar setting, students will explore a variety of topics based on instructor expertise in order to build social awareness, ethical engagement, and communication competencies in comprehension, contextualization, and conceptualization. Students will be expected to engage with the work of others, articulate positions, situate writing and speaking within contexts, practice writing and speaking for situations beyond the classroom, engage in basic forms of research, and workshop, revise, and edit writing.

Prerequisites

  • Enrolled in a program offered by Faculty of Arts

Antirequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Not open to students enrolled in H-Accounting & Financial Management
    • Not have obtained 1 of the following milestones: English Proficiency Requirement Milestone and Undergraduate Communication Requirement Milestone

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Reviewed on UW Flow

70% liked it77% easy58% useful

From 242 ratings and 55 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Took this in first year. ARTS 130 was a small seminar-style course focused on “Ghosts, Cults, and End Times.” Classes were held in a regular classroom with slides and explanations from the professor, but there were no real discussions — mostly just listening to the professor. The structure was fine and organized, with attendance required for grades, though posted slides and readings made it possible to keep up even if you missed a day.
    The content was interesting only if you’re into the supernatural or paranormal topics. Personally, I found it boring and not particularly useful for the future. Assignments were light and manageable, including one group presentation on UFO-related religious…

    Dec 2025 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Your experience with this course depends on your interest in your chosen topic and how the professor teaches. I found it to be a dry course, and I didn't learn much. I took sports communication, and the professor was very helpful and formal but a bit of a strict marker. The textbook is said to be mandatory, but readings are rarely discussed in class, so save your money! This class has two mini-speeches, two essays and a final group presentation; the workload is manageable.

    Jan 2024 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course was so pointless. They tell you it's your easiest course in the term but I found myself putting the most work into this course with all the essay writing and in class thinking pieces I had to do. My topic was "Human Journeys" and unless you're interested in philosophical questions and literature, I would not recommend this topic as i found it quite boring.

    Dec 2023 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Prompts for assignments were all over the course page and couldn't be all found in one document or place. Emails weren't responded to. Feedback for assignments took way too many weeks for the feedback to be considered useful. Individual course checkin was scheduled during my classtime for another course. When concerns about course organisation were raised to Prof Ezeh he simply brushed them off.
    TLDR: Don't waste your time and go for another section.

    Jul 2022 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The course material itself was very engaging and interesting, in my opinion. Although the assignments themselves were pretty work intensive, they were still interesting.

    May 2022 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

30 posts and comments in 26 threads mention ARTS 130, June 2017 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2024

Spring 2024

SDS Full-Time / Online Curriculum 2 points, 4 comments

“Hello everyone! I received an offer of admission for SDS FT online. I was wondering if anyone can share their experience in SDS or completing degrees online in general: How are you finding online …”

u/librarynrd: “I work full-time and enrolled in sds as a fully online student part-time. The load is manageable. Online modules are well organized, and professors are very accommodating and supportive. …”

u/librarynrd: “SDS students get priority access to online sections of both ARTS 130/140. I chose ny online topic during the course add/drop period.”

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Winter 2024

Denied ARTS 140 Appeal... So 1 course going to take me another year to graduate? 20 points, 6 comments

u/raverflave: “… I'm a transfer student, and because I transferred during covid, I wasn't on campus and entirely 'in the know' about the ARTS 130/140 courses. I've done most of my degree online because of transferring courses, lock down, and then the death of my father. I'm obviously upset. …”

u/3Noses: “… deserve the degree when every other student who goes through hard shit still has to take ARTS 130/140. So consider: - If you transferred in during COVID, was that in 2020? 2021? 2022? Later? Arts 130 and 140 have been required since 2018, they're not new. …”

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Fall 2023

So much is wrong with online courses here 49 points, 36 comments

“I don’t understand how students are expected to pay just as much for online courses as in-person ones, and yet the instruction is so poor. …”

u/BetterOrdinary6372: “… My ARTS 130 class has so much more discussion and engagement versus some of the humanities classes where you simply learn everything from the textbook yourself and get graded for some tests. …”

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Spring 2023

Spring 2022

Help with courses 4 points, 3 comments

u/skullknight52: “… I'm taking three courses this semester, SPCOM 204 (Shannon Hartling), ARTS 130 (Anton Bergstorm) and ARBUS 101 (Mohsin Bashir). I just wanted to talk to students who took these courses already. …”

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Transfer to Arts from McMaster 2 points, 6 comments

u/Character-Ad4471: “… However, I don't have ARTS 130 and ARTS 140. Do I need to start everything from semester 1A? 4. What is the difference between the course number with R or without R? 5. What is the meaning of 'UNSPECFD 1XXXX UNSPECFD 100 Level Unspecified Transfer Credit'? 6. …”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar