All students in the College of Arts and Sciences take a First-Year Seminar during the first semester developed around a particular topic. Courses fall under four categories: Technology, Media, and the Future of Society; Stories, Narratives, and Cultural Meaning; Power, Inequality, and Social Structures; and Thinking, Problem-Solving, and Inquiry in Practice.
The purpose of the seminar is to help you improve your writing and presentation skills, while you learn to work in small groups and adjust to the expectations of college. At the end of the semester, you and your team present a final project to faculty, staff, students, and alumni, at the annual First-Year Seminar Symposium.
Fall 2026 First-Year Seminar Topics
The following First-Year Seminar courses (FYS 100P) are scheduled for the Fall 2026 semester.
Technology, Media, and the Future of Society
Shared theme: How digital technologies, AI, and media systems shape human behavior, culture, ethics, and social structures.
TR 8:30–9:45 a.m.
This course will get us thinking about how humans and machines are alike—and how they differ—by focusing on recent imaginary accounts of the relationship between us humans and the things we have made to look, behave, or perform like us, such as appliances, robots, AI, and the original virtual people, fictional characters. I will select some fiction for us to read together, but I will also solicit input from you about movies we might screen and topics of interest that we can research together. With my guidance, students will work in groups to identify a topic for a final project and to prepare a presentation on their chosen subject.
MW 2:10–3:35 p.m.
A 2018 Pew Research Center survey asked 979 researchers, technology innovators, developers, and entrepreneurs whether they believed artificial intelligence would enhance people’s lives by the year 2030. Sixty-three percent of the respondents shared their hopes that AI would improve most people’s lives within the next decade. A not insignificant thirty-seven percent, however, argued that humans would not be better off due to these technologies. These findings indicate both the possibilities and potential pitfalls associated with AI. Artificial intelligence, simply defined as the use of machines that perceive their environment and then harness “intelligence” to adapt to societal needs, has a broad impact across several fields of research. They include, but are not limited to economics, philosophy, education, computer science, psychology, and medicine. Examples of how we encounter AI on a daily basis include using facial recognition to unlock your phone, messaging a company’s chatbot to answer a particular question about a recent purchase, relying on Google maps or Waze to reroute your travel itinerary before you even know about traffic, and receiving curated viewing suggestions on Netflix based on the streaming service’s targeted algorithm. Although AI is often considered to be a twenty-first century innovation, it has existed as a discreet field since the 1950s. Even before this time, humans have contemplated the many uses of technology to improve their lives. By examining the historical, social, and industry-based developments of AI, we can better understand the ethical, economic, environmental, and societal implications of this technology—and make informed decisions about the future of humans.
TR 9:55 a.m.–11:10 a.m.
Social media has transformed communication, society, and our daily lives. While many of these changes are enriching, it has also caused repercussions. We will explore how this new media altered the world and what may still come from it. We will cover how it has affected brands, politics, sports, news, entertainment, personal communication, and other areas. By the end of the course, you will have a greater appreciation of how powerful and dangerous social media can be and learn the ways you are a part of its evolution.
MW 3:35-4:50 p.m.
Google has achieved consecrated status within the popular culture in the United States and many other countries. Google amplifies a belief that everything that is important is on the Web, and that all that is important to human beings can be achieved through information and communication networks. Google has become “the online Church of Google” that provides stability when everything seems to be in turmoil. And many of us have deep faith in Google. Why is it so? How did we live before Google? Were we better off? One way to answer these questions is to situate Google within a network of the four most powerful IT and communication companies in the world–Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple. Another way to answer these questions is to situate Google within a networked culture revolving around spreadable media. We need to examine Google’s cultural impact by focusing on the tensions between the economic/commercial and the social/noncommercial logics of media content production and exchange.
MWF 11:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
A common theme in science fiction is time travel. While some stories use this to comment on our own time, most inevitably explore ideas of cause and effect, paradoxes, and free will. We will take a look at various philosophical and scientific theories of time and their affect on how we interact with our universe. In addition we will look at the common time travel tropes from “The Appointment in Samarra” to today’s Doctor Who.
Stories, Narratives, and Cultural Meaning
TR 2:10–3:25 p.m.
What's scarier than a serial slasher chasing you down in the woods? Feminism. In this class we will create a feminism that terrifies patriarchy. We will read about feminist practices, media practices, and produce our own media (a comic, graphic novel, a podcast, a zine, a video) that inspires the next generation of feminists.
Nicholas Ealy
MW 11:20, 2:10, 3:35 or 5 p.m.
What exactly is love and how have artists and writers explored and defined it? Why is it still a popular topic in movies, songs and novels? Can new love stories ever say something “unique” about this human experience? In this course, we will explore these questions by looking at a variety of literature, songs, television shows and films, all the while seeking to understand why love continues to hold a prominent place in cultural production. We will also give special emphasis to creative writing, academic writing and the work it takes to "think through" topics worthy of analysis and discussion.
TR 9:55–11:10 a.m.
Want to make a connection or leave a mark? Tell a story. What makes storytelling so powerful? How do stories build empathy, teach lessons and compel us to discover how they end? In this class, we will tell stories, write stories, listen to stories and seek to understand the art of storytelling. Through developing and reflecting upon stories both as individuals and in groups, we will discover if, as Ira Glass claims, “great stories happen to those who can tell them.”
MW 8:30–9:45 a.m.
For centuries voyagers, scientists, and naturalists have kept journals of their expeditions and adventures exploring the world. They have used tools including mapmaking, journaling, collecting specimens, sketching, and painting to catalog their environment and chronicle their experiences. In this class, we will dive deeply into the journals of dozens of voyagers including Rose de Freycinet, Charles Darwin, Adela Breton, Zheng He, and Tupaia, and the artwork of naturalists like Maria Sibylla Merian and Ernst Haeckel. Fueled by this new knowledge, we will use similar tools, approaches, and strategies to create a voyager’s journal of the first semester of the college experience.
MW 2:10–3:25 p.m.
This course is designed to be an exploration into history’s darkest past investigating historical events and folklore. Based on the award winning podcast LORE. We will listen, research, and explore the true events that have given way to Bram Stocker’s Dracula, zombies, the folklore of fairy changelings, ghost ships, as well as the life and crimes of America’s first serial killer. Get ready for your blood to run cold, your heart to beat faster, and goose bumps to run through your skin as we explore history’s scary past.
Power, Inequality, and Social Structure
MW 9:55–11:10 a.m.
In this class, we will examine the impact of economic inequality on how we think, feel, and behave. We will examine research on economic inequality (e.g., income, wealth), as well as how different configurations of inequality (e.g., Black/White) shape psychological functioning. This class is designed to foster critical thinking, engage in scientific discourse, and promote student collaboration.
TR 12:45 p.m.
Contested Spaces examines how power, storytelling, and public memory shape pressing museum controversies of our time. Through case studies that span Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Chris Ofili’s “The Holy Virgin Mary,” the Mütter Museum’s display of human remains, and global debates over repatriating the Benin Bronzes, we will trace how museums construct knowledge and whose voices they amplify or suppress. Weekly work blends close reading, discussion, and hands-on analysis of mission statements, labels, media coverage, and exhibit design. For the end-of-semester college symposium, students will collaborate on a project that reimagines how a contested story might be told with clarity, care, and ethical intent.
TR 3:35–4:50 p.m.
Most of us have heard this statement made in one form or another. But what does it really mean? In this course we will examine the importance of connections and the role networks play in our lives and how they impact our everyday activities. Networks are being used to help us understand and address urgent challenges we face ranging from epidemics and the spread of disease to environmental, political, economic, and social problems. In this seminar we will explore how network theory is being applied to address behaviors and inform policy. Students will have an opportunity to examine an application in an area of their choice.
Thinking, Problem-Solving, and Inquiry in Practice
MW 9:55–11:10 a.m.
What does it take to become a competitive speed jigsaw puzzler? How can jigsaw puzzles benefit our brains? In this course, students will work individually and in teams to improve their speed puzzling, do close reading and discussion of research articles related to the topic, and collect, analyze, and visualize data on their progress.