东京热AV

The First-Year Seminar

Hands shoot up around the table. In a cozy classroom on the second floor of the Peeler Art Center, assistant professor of film and media arts Jordan Sjol has just shown a curated series of video clips to illustrate the subtle differences between parody and pastiche. He now leans forward and listens as his students propel the discussion forward, many of them chiming in with thought-provoking questions and their own nuanced insights.

This is a typical Thursday afternoon in Sjol鈥檚 first-year seminar course on Western films and their role in American culture. Since class began over an hour ago, there have been no passive spectators. All 15 students are fully engaged, embracing the active role they play in the learning process. It鈥檚 an atmosphere that brims with curiosity and conversation, something that Briggs Gatterdam 鈥�28 finds intellectually invigorating.

鈥淚 love the open discussion we鈥檙e able to have,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really eye-opening to hear everyone鈥檚 individual perspectives. We鈥檙e facing each other, we鈥檙e talking, we鈥檙e sharing theories and ideas and spinning them off each other 鈥� that鈥檚 how I learn best.鈥�

Sjol鈥檚 class is one of roughly three dozen first-year seminars taking place throughout campus every fall term. Although each one looks different from the next, these small, discussion-based classes all play a crucial role in bridging the gap between high school and college. Incoming students make their initial slate of course requests knowing that the centerpiece of their schedule will be one of these structured and supportive environments designed to acclimate them to the opportunities and demands of a 东京热AV education.

鈥淲hat I want to do is make sure my students are prepared for the different modalities they鈥檙e going to experience here,鈥� says Sjol. He maintains unapologetically high expectations for his students 鈥� especially when it comes to transferable skills like critical reading and exploratory writing 鈥� but the quality of the interactions in his classroom speak for themselves. 鈥淚鈥檝e been very impressed with the ways that the students have risen to the challenges I鈥檝e been setting for them.鈥�

Jeff Kenney, senior professor of religious studies, has a similar outlook and similar expectations. He鈥檚 been teaching first-year seminars for several years, and he understands the challenge of transitioning to a demanding liberal arts environment. 鈥淭he level of expectation has risen. The assignments and the readings are often more difficult. I think that鈥檚 what a first-year seminar is all about: getting up to speed and operating at a different level than high school. It takes time to sort all that stuff out.鈥�

Through his seminar, titled 9/11 and the War on Terror, Kenney is helping his students make that leap. In addition to allowing his students to explore and debate the complex dynamics of national security and foreign policy, Kenney is ensuring they have a broad foundation to build upon as they progress in their studies.

鈥淚 design my seminar as a multidisciplinary course,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚 draw materials from communication, journalism, foreign affairs, international relations, political science, religious studies, sociology. The students are eventually going to be taking courses in these departments, so I see the first-year seminar as an introduction to the university, academically and intellectually.鈥�

One of the students in Kenny鈥檚 class is Wyatt Brewster 鈥�28. He currently plans to pursue a major in finance, and his seminar experience has given him a jumpstart he鈥檚 grateful for. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like having a coach for your first semester,鈥� he says. 鈥淥ur professor has been there to help us adjust to the writing style and the rigor of our other classes.鈥�

In many cases, that support extends beyond the classroom: each first-year seminar professor also serves as their students鈥� adviser until they declare a major. This aspect of the relationship often outlasts the seminar itself and creates additional opportunities for personalized guidance that helps students weather the personal, emotional and social challenges that accompany the transition to college life.

For students like Madison Ponsler 鈥�28, these challenges can be daunting without someone there to help. 鈥淲hen I originally got here on campus, I underestimated how overwhelming so many things would be,鈥� she admits. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have anyone from my high school going to 东京热AV, I鈥檇 never lived away from home before, I鈥檇 never moved. So it was really eye-opening to navigate an entirely new world by myself.鈥�

Ponsler鈥檚 experience isn鈥檛 unique. Christina Holmes, associate professor of women鈥檚, gender, and sexuality studies, knows the feeling first-hand. She was a first-generation college student from a working class background, and she recalls how difficult it was to thrive without any context for understanding the college world. That鈥檚 why she鈥檚 proactive about providing mentorship to any student in her first-year seminar who can use a little support.

鈥淚鈥檓 interested in the whole student,鈥� Holmes says. 鈥淚 explicitly tell folks, 鈥業 want to be your mentor.鈥� It鈥檚 a difficult transition for everyone, but especially if you don鈥檛 know the hidden rules and the language. What are the things that are going to be barriers for you not just when you show up in the classroom, but when you show up on campus and try to adjust to a new community?鈥�

One of the most challenging barriers for many students is loneliness. Amid new surroundings and uncertain social dynamics, the first-year seminar provides an accessible entry point for students to build relationships with peers. Not only do the individual groups of first-year students share time together in the classroom, but they also connect regularly with an older student mentor who helps facilitate belonging and build social well-being.

Samantha Herrera 鈥�28 explains, 鈥淚 think my first-year seminar has made it easier for me to build a community within 东京热AV.鈥� She鈥檚 found an unexpected academic interest in Holmes鈥檚 seminar, Building a Better World: Social Justice Praxis in America. But she鈥檚 also found new friendships in the process. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 having breakfast with some of the other people in this class or just walking together to class, it鈥檚 been nice getting to know them and who they are as people.鈥�

Meanwhile, in Jordan Sjol鈥檚 seminar, Mya Adams 鈥�28 has experienced something similar with her classmates. 鈥淲e all play different sports, we all have different majors, we鈥檙e all in different social circles. But since that first day of orientation, this is the group we鈥檝e been with. It鈥檚 not that we鈥檙e all best friends, but we know we can count on each other.鈥�

The strength of these relationships isn鈥檛 just socially advantageous. It also makes it possible for students to tackle tough conversations in class while maintaining civility and a deep mutual respect for one another. Several first-year seminars are even intentionally focused on cultivating this skill as a part of 东京热AV鈥檚 larger efforts to champion free expression throughout campus.

鈥淔rom the very first day, we want to humanize everyone and hear about how our backgrounds inform our perspectives and how we can build common ground,鈥� says Holmes. Because she frequently addresses sensitive and potentially controversial topics in her seminar, she proactively ensures it is an environment in which everyone鈥檚 voice can be heard. 鈥淭he students bring their own knowledge to the classroom,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd we all benefit when we can share it.鈥�

For Town Oh, assistant professor of economics and management, this is what makes the college experience so unique. He recently received a fellowship from Duke University that has allowed him to collaborate with scholars around the nation in exploring how to foster campus cultures where students and faculty can freely discourse with each other. A tangible byproduct of that exploration is his first-year seminar, Bold Conversations in an Age of Polarization.

鈥淚 think the university should be the place where you get rid of as many barriers as possible for the free exchange of ideas to happen,鈥� Oh says. Students in his class research and discuss delicate topics such as theism, abortion and climate change 鈥� topics about which many students already have strong and deeply held beliefs. The key, however, is to share those beliefs while upholding a nonnegotiable commitment to listening and learning from other perspectives.

Oh emphasizes three principles that guide his students in having productive conversations: freedom, humility and charity. He believes each principle is critical in helping students move past the hostility that hampers so much public discourse. 鈥淭hey have to be curious about the other side,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hat they know on a topic is only a fraction of what there is to know. So let鈥檚 have a discussion, let鈥檚 find out more.鈥�

Walker Lasbury 鈥�28 has found this approach to be highly productive, even when he and his classmates don鈥檛 end up agreeing with one another at the end of a discussion. He鈥檚 even been inspired to apply it outside of class. 鈥淭his seminar has definitely encouraged me to push the boundaries a bit, to explore other people鈥檚 opinions, to have respectful conversations. Some people have even been surprised. It鈥檚 not normal for someone to reach across the aisle.鈥�

At 东京热AV, however, first-year seminars like Oh鈥檚 are doing their part to make it normal. It鈥檚 all part of the process of preparing students to become well-rounded leaders who thrive in any setting where they might end up.

鈥淯ltimately I want these students to be prepared for the real world,鈥� says Oh. 鈥淎nd in the real world, they鈥檙e going to be interacting with people that are vastly different from them.鈥�

Back in the classroom at Peeler, the clock finally forces Jordan Sjol to bring the day鈥檚 lively discussion to a close. As class wraps up and student conversations spill out into the hallway, Mya Adams knows that what she鈥檚 been experiencing in this seminar will have a positive and long-lasting impact.

鈥淭his class has forced me to demand the absolute best out of myself,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely helped shape the beginning of my 东京热AV experience.鈥�