First Year Program Spring Course Descriptions (FYS)

Courses offered in "Changing the World: Justice & Advocacy" consider ways that change, rebellion, dissent, leadership, and other movements can promote equity in our world.

Children and Caregivers in Visual Art & Film: South and West Asia

Chandreyi Basi
T/Th 1:50pm-4:00pm

How do images of childhood and caregiving reflect-and resist-social and cultural norms around gender, family, and emotional labor and shape our understanding of human growth, health, care, and resilience across cultures? This first-year seminar invites students to explore the powerful ways in which narrative films, documentaries, traditional visual arts, and new media related to South and West Asia portray children and their dynamic, intimate, yet often fragile and complex, relationships with caregivers. Class time is structured around collaborative learning through peer-led discussion and the development and practice of skills for deep reading and viewing as well as conducting independent research. Topics may include: gendered expectations of children and caregivers; the tensions between generations; the portrayal of migrant and refugee children; and maternal and child health issues. By connecting art and media to real-world contexts, the course prepares students for careers in media and communications, education, social work, public policy, public health, medicine, nursing, and psychology, all fields in which understanding human experience, cross-cultural communication, and ethical complexity is essential. This course fulfills the FYS requirement and the HU general education requirement. This course counts as a 200-level Art History elective as well as Asian Studies and Gender Studies electives.

Sickening in Asia: Epidemics, Pathogens, and Parasites

Aswini Pai
T/Th 1:50pm-4:00pm

This interdisciplinary course on public health explores the impacts of infectious diseases, pathogens, and parasitic organisms across Asia. Drawing from biology, epidemiology, medical anthropology, history, literature, and global health policy, we will investigate the transmission, and control of major infectious agents, including viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and helminths. We will examine both historical and contemporary epidemics, analyze the role of globalization, urbanization, climate change, and cultural practices in disease emergence, and assess responses by states, communities, and international organizations. Case studies will span ancient times to the present - including cholera and dengue in South Asia, the plague in China, malaria and schistosomiasis in Southeast Asia, SARS, and COVID-19. We will touch upon the role of colonial medicine and indigenous healing practices. Students will critically engage with primary sources, scientific literature, policy documents, and media representations. When possible, we will have a zoom conversation with patients, scientists, grassroots health care practitioners, and policy experts from Asia. The course will culminate in a research project analyzing a specific outbreak, pathogen, or parasite, and its broader societal impact. This course counts towards the Public Health major and an Asian Studies minor and fulfills the FYS requirement.

The Justice We Make Together: Restorative Practices for Healing and Change

Esther Oey
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

Why are K-12 schools moving to restorative practices rather suspensions and expulsions? How are colleges and universities using restorative processes to address issues such as bias incidents, sexual misconduct, and campus climate? How are restorative and transformative justice approaches reshaping criminal and juvenile justice systems? And what can we learn from Indigenous communities, where peacemaking and circle processes have long traditions of restoring harmony and balance? Through case studies, videos, guest speakers, games, and hands-on circle practice, we will examine the principles and applications of restorative justice and practices across multiple contexts - from classrooms and residence halls to community justice programs and tribal courts. We will explore the values that ground restorative work, including respect, responsibility, relationship, and repair, and gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to make restorative practices effective and sustainable. Students will select a restorative initiative in education, law, or other community context to analyze, and consider how these practices contribute to justice, healing, and transformation in a setting that interests them. Together, we will keep asking the critical question - does restorative practice work, and if so, for whom and under what conditions? Is this the justice we wish to make together? This course fulfills the FYS requirement and counts towards the Peace Studies minor.

Thriving Communities:  Abolitionist Art

Rivka Eckert
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

What if the arts could help us imagine a thriving future? In this course, students will explore abolitionist art-making practices to challenge systems of oppression and dream new futures into being. Together we will ask: How can performing and visual arts build flourishing community? What does radical accessibility look like? How do artists create stories that transform relationships and invite change? In order to explore topics around prison abolition, reproductive justice, and disability studies, students will read plays, essays, and interviews with culture-makers; participate in workshops that experiment with embodied storytelling and collaborative performance; and reflect on their experiences through writing and discussion. The course culminates in students designing a short workshop or performance that models abolitionist theatre-making. This course fulfills the FYS requirement and the ARTS general education requirement.

So You Want to Be a Judge

James Sieja
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

The course analyzes the judicial life cycle. We will examine who goes to law school, who gets clerkships, what clerks do, competing in state judicial elections, the federal nomination process, the day-to-day life of a judge, workload issues, getting along with judicial colleagues, moving up in the judicial hierarchy, retirement, and death. We will approach questions from the perspectives of multiple disciplines--primarily political science, but also sociology, history, and economics. This course fulfills the FYS requirement and the HU general education requirement.

Latino in the US

Martha Chew Sanchez
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

This introductory course on Latino Cultural expressions will help students understand the complexities involved in the dynamics of Latinos in the US history, economy, politics and cultural expression. Some questions that we will ask in this course are: While Latinas/os have been integral to U.S. history and culture, why have they frequently and consistently been depicted as either outsiders or foreign and how is Latina/o identity negotiated? How do we explain the presence of different Latino groups in the US and what are the cultural expressions that are taking place in the US due to these migration waves? What are some of the dynamics that are taking place between Latino/a cultural production in relationship both to larger U.S. culture and to other U.S. racial and ethnic groups? We will also question the development and /or existence of Latinidad - the relationship between and common culture among Latino/as in U.S. culture and how it manifests itself through cultural expressions such as literature, music, films and social media. Our readings focus on musical genres, writers and popular culture from various Latino/a groups. Our topics will include migration, language, the body, gender roles, sexual orientation and identity politics in the works of authors and artists. This course counts as CLAS-105 and fulfills the FYS requirement, HU and DIV13 general education requirements.

Big Topics, Brave Conversations

Bruce Yang
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

This course is designed to help students develop critical skills as both participants in and facilitators of discussions on sensitive topics, while also gaining a foundational understanding of the research process. The semester is structured into three sequential parts: (I) Foundations – Students will build the essential knowledge, skills, and self-awareness needed for effective and respectful communication. This section introduces interdisciplinary tools that will support their work throughout the following parts of course. (II) Facilitated Discussions I – Students will begin facilitating discussions using a set of pre-selected, sensitive topics. Emphasis will be placed on applying communication skills and strategies from the first part of the course. (III) Facilitated Discussions II – Students will design and lead discussions on topics of their own choosing.  By the end of the course, students will have gained a deeper understanding of the research process, developed confidence in facilitating conversations on complex social issues, and increased their awareness of global social programs and challenges. This course fulfills the FYS requirement, and HU general education requirement.

Courses in "Figuring it Out: Purpose, Problems & Solutions" engage students in probing problems or purpose to understand solutions and why some are more readily solved than others.

Sex Lives of Scientists

Rachel Bara
T/Th 1:50pm-4:00pm

Marie Curie often slept with a small jar of radium near her pillow. The continuous, yet very toxic, glow soothed her. Alan Turing began codebreaking as a teenager at boarding school. While many scientists claim that their work stands alone and bears no connection to their private lives, we cannot help but wonder about their personal journeys. What made them so great? What made their ideas so influential? And, what did they do when they were not “doing science”? In this seminar, we will read several recent graphic biographies of scientists and view films based on these books. We will examine the ways biographers, artists, and filmmakers work to craft stories about real people, and take a look at archival materials, historical footage, and the narratives that get told again and again about scientists. Students will write a research paper that explores and examines one of these retellings. Taking a cue from the scientists we study, who might also have been athletes, musicians, lovers, and adventurers of all kinds—in addition to being great minds—students will have an opportunity to explore the way their own passions might inform their work as thinkers, writers, and speakers. The course fulfills the FYS requirement and HU general education requirement.

Who We Might Become: Lessons from Dystopia

Rebecca Jewell
T/Th 1:50pm-4:00pm

What does a just society look like? And who decides what is just? In creative depictions of utopia, authors and artists conjure worlds free from inequality, suffering, and violence—but "utopia" means “no place,” and we know of nowhere that utopia has been achieved. Taking a darker approach, dystopian works often paint scathing portraits of injustice in future, post-apocalyptic worlds, offering us a glimpse of who we might become if we lose touch with our humanity in pursuit of perfection. 
 
In this course, we will critically analyze dystopian fiction and films as works of satire that inspire us to question our present-day society and potentially call us to action around issues of social justice. We will read Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s feminist utopia, Herland, the graphic novel adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the chilling and often overlooked science fiction dystopia presented in Ira Levin’s This Perfect Day, and three pieces of speculative fiction by George Saunders; we will also watch depictions of dystopia on the big screen, including the modernized adaptation of The Giver, James McTeigue’s disturbing production of V for Vendetta, and Mike Judge’s cult classic Idiocracy. Students will develop and refine their academic skills through researching a work of dystopia of their choice and presenting their own dystopian film concept. This course fulfills the FYS requirement.

Radical Grief

Erika Kissam
T/Th 1:50pm-4:00pm

"Grief carves a place in the heart and sits there forever. But when focused, it can be a powerful motivator. Sadness becomes resolve and pain becomes action." -Deborah Harkness

Grief and loss are normal, inevitable, and universal human experiences. Grief is interwoven in our sociocultural context. Grief and loss can cause us to question our identity, relationships, and beliefs. It can take away our sense of control, and agency- which may lead some people to action. 

We will practice critical thinking, research, communication skills, and self-reflection while looking at how grief and loss have informed your world view. This course fulfills the FYS requirement.

Speaking of Specters

Ashley Rife
T/Th 1:50pm-4:00pm

What happens when the past won't stay in the past? From #ghosttok to Halloween lore, tales of hauntings are inescapable. The American landscape is littered with accounts of eerie feelings, unexplainable visions, and visits from those long gone. In this speaking-intensive class, we will question the ways hauntings appear in American culture to better understand their purposes, meanings, and impacts. Ultimately, we will dive into the history of St. Lawrence to uncover the people, ideas, and stories that haunt our campus. To guide our journey into the haunted realm, you will learn public speaking and research skills. You'll tell spooky tales, uncover hidden histories, and leave with the skills to speak up about the things that matter to you (haunted or not). This course counts as PCA 111: Public Speaking and fulfills the FYS requirement and the ARTS general education requirement.

Sensory Bubbles and Perceptual Biases

Elyssa Twedt
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

Consider the environment you are in at this moment. What do you see, hear, smell, taste and feel? These experiences are filtered through your sensory and perceptual systems, shaped through your unique combination of biological, cognitive, and social factors. Thus, two people can be in the same environment, yet have different experiences. But humans are not alone in this world. From the spider on the window, to the bird in the tree, to the dog in the yard, each animal experiences their environment through their own sensory and perceptual lens. In this course, we will explore these differences using psychological, biological, social, and environmental perspectives. Ultimately, we will deepen our understanding and appreciation for the diversity of sensory and perceptual experiences, both within humans and between animals. This course fulfills the FYS requirement.

Environmental Disasters: Chemistry and Consequences

Amanda Oldacre
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

Why do natural and man-made environmental disasters occur, and how do we learn from them? This course will explore major environmental disasters throughout history, such as the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster and the Flint Water Crisis. We will use chemistry to understand how environmental disasters unfolded and how the environment and humans were affected. Using case studies as a framework, students will build foundational chemistry knowledge while developing essential research skills, including how to search the scientific literature, evaluate sources, and interpret primary research. A central focus of the course is learning how to communicate science effectively. Students will practice explaining scientific information for different audiences through short writing assignments, analyses of popular press articles, and in-class presentations. Throughout the semester, students will complete assignments designed to strengthen both written and oral communication. The course culminates in a research paper on an environmental disaster selected from a curated list, allowing students to apply their research, critical thinking, and communication skills to a topic of their choice. This course fulfills the FYS requirement.

Molecules That Changed History

Stephanie Tartakoff
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

What makes a pepper spicy, a medication work in the body, or TNT explode?  It all boils down to something smaller than our eyes can see, MOLECULES! Modern science has made some pivotal discoveries on a molecular level that have altered the directions of historical timelines.  Spices and the subsequent spice trade and colonialism, antibiotics and the preservation of human life, and explosives and their applications to society are just a few molecules we will explore in this class and their impacts on humankind. While gaining some foundational organic chemistry knowledge along the way, we will discover the economic, physical, social, and political effects of 17 molecules. Writing  and effective communication will be an important part of your future career whether you plan to be a scientist, doctor, or storyteller. The written assignments and oral presentations are tailored to improve your communication skills and will cover a variety of styles and formats culminating in a research project on an important historical molecule. This course fulfills the FYS requirement.

Courses in "Human Invention: Knowledge, Practice & Action" focus on understanding the how and the why, but ultimately end up practicing the “doing."

Artificial Intelligence: Origins and Disruptions 

Paul Doty
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

All technologies have an origin story, and artificial intelligence’s origin story begins with Alan Turing’s concept of machine learning. From Turing’s 1950 essay, we will familiarize ourselves with the key concepts that brought AI to where it is today, before we together grapple with the implications of AI for our world. Specifically, students will conduct a research project into the disruptions and potentials AI brings to shared concepts of work and education. In short, we are going to look AI in the eye and see what’s on its conscience. This course fulfills the FYS requirement.

Linguistics of "Brain Rot" w/CBL

Adam Harr
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

What the skibidi is happening to language? As we scroll through endless content, young people are using strange words to process the creeping malaise sometimes called "brain rot." Fresh weirdness is emerging now that Large Language Models have entered the chat. Is our language being degraded by algorithms, chatbots, and our digital media habits? Or is this simply how language has always evolved, with each generation reinventing language in response to the social and technological world it inherits? We will seek evidence-based answers to these questions by drawing on research in linguistics, anthropology, media studies, and related academic disciplines. To ground our investigations, you will spend two hours a week outside of class time with a local youth mentoring program. While you tutor and play games with middle schoolers, you will practice observing youth language "in the wild" and then reflect on your observations in class. Is there a better antidote to feelings of brain rot than the intellectual adventure of rigorous liberal arts inquiry? Credit and thanks to HEOP Summer 2025 students for inspiring the idea for this class. This course fulfills the FYS requirement.

This course includes an experiential learning component known as Community-Based Learning (CBL). Students in CBL courses actively engage in their learning by spending two hours a week outside of class time, across the semester, in a placement with one of our community partners. Students then connect their community placement experiences with course content. Click on the link to learn more about Community-Based Learning.

Learning Virtue's Beauty

Jeff Frank
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

This course will help us reflect on the beauty of living a life of virtue. Core texts for the course are Plato, Aristotle, and the Gospels. Although these classic texts may sound intimidating, I am convinced that they have a lot to teach us today. Moreover, I will go out of my way to make these texts come alive to problems that matter to students, and each student will write a final project personalized to something that they care about. Students can write about-for example-how sports, or participating in the arts, can help someone cultivate virtue and a sense of virtue's beauty. Finally, although the reading is challenging, and although the instructor will hold students accountable for the reading, he will also go out of his way to make sure that each student is successful in the course. This course is cross-listed with EDUC and fulfills the FYS requirement and the HU general education requirement.

Curate This! Museums and the Art of Exhibition w/CBL

Mark Denaci
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

Curate This! Museums and the Art of Exhibition w/CBL - In this rare, inside peek into the exciting world of exhibition curation and design, students will combine hands-on museum and gallery experiences with course activities and materials that explore the kinds of messages we send (intentionally and unintentionally) through the organization, display, and description of works of art and other forms of material culture. What are some of the possibilities and challenges that physical and virtual exhibition practices create in a culturally diverse world? How can exhibition organizers respond effectively to the needs of local and regional communities? This course meets the FYS requirement and the ARTS general education requirement. This course includes an experiential learning component known as Community-Based Learning (CBL). Students in CBL courses actively engage in their learning by spending two hours a week outside of class time, across the semester, in a placement with one of our community partners. Students then connect their community placement experiences with course content.

Selling Out: Music and Capitalism

Fritz Schenker
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

When Taylor Swift first moved away from her country roots towards a pop sound, some fans called her a “sell out.” They thought she was chasing money instead of her artistic vision. This insult, though, does not always sting. Many musicians reject the idea that “selling out” is necessarily bad, especially as the rise of streaming has transformed how they can make a living. This course explores changing ideas about “selling out” and the tension between creativity and commercialism through a close examination of a variety of sources and topics ranging from ideas about the musical “genius,” the punk rock ethos, and questions of racial authenticity, among others. Formal music training is not required. This course fulfills the FYS requirement and the HU general education requirement.

Mokuhanga: Many Artists/Many Voices

Melissa Schulenberg
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

This combined studio art/research course will introduce students to mokuhanga, the Japanese style water-based woodcut process. Students will produce original woodblock prints in addition to research projects that utilize artwork from the University’s collections. We will study the history of Japanese printmaking, popular imagery and subjects, how to analyze visual material, and contemporary trends. Students will learn the use of tools and materials specific to this process, as well as inking, registration, and printing techniques. This course fulfills the FYS requirement.

Courses offered in "The Intentional Life: Interconnectedness & Wellness" seek out practices, discussions, and ways of being intentionally connected to one another in our daily lives through our work and our play.

The Nature of Wellness

Nicole Panek
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

This course explores the relationship between human well-being and outdoor spaces, with an emphasis on why and how time spent in nature can support mental, emotional, and physical health. Students will engage in research and present on topics at the intersection of wellness, environmental psychology, outdoor leadership, and related fields. As much as possible, we will incorporate class time outside befriending the wintery North Country. This course fulfills the FYS requirement.

Woof: Dogs and Their People: A History

Howard Eissenstat
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

We're often told that dogs are our best friends-and with good reason. Humans and dogs have been living, working, and playing side by side for tens of thousands of years, longer than with any other domesticated species. But how did this partnership start? Why do we love dogs so much, and how has that love shaped both them and us? How has our thinking about this relationship changed over time? In this course, we'll explore the long history of humans and dogs together, while also looking at how History connects with other fields like literature, anthropology, and the life sciences. This course counts as a 100-level HIST topics course, fulfills the FYS requirement, and HU general education requirement.

Farmers, Eaters, and Organizers: Agricultural Life in Literature w/CBL

Sookyoung Lee
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

This class explores what the public intellectuals Ramachandra Guha and Joan Martinez Alier calls "the environmentalism of the poor." How do rural workers around the world sustain life and resist harm in the era of climate catastrophes, corporate monopoly, labor exploitation, and forced migration? How do creative expressions in poetry, fiction, filmmaking, and grassroots organizing give voice to the people, and how do their voices come back to us as consumers, food bloggers, and eaters? How might collective consciousness emerge out of our engagement with questions of responsibility and pleasure when it comes to earth-based consumption? Readings will be drawn from pastoral poetry across the ages and from fictions featuring agricultural labor. Alongside, you will work in local farms and other organizations related to food systems and land sovereignty. This course fulfills the FYS requirement and HU general education requirements. This course includes an experiential learning component known as Community-Based Learning (CBL). Students in CBL courses actively engage in their learning by spending two hours a week outside of class time, across the semester, in a placement with one of our community partners. Students then connect their community placement experiences with course content.

Business of Food: Asia in the World

Yanqiu Zheng
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

Food is fuel. You are what you eat. Bring home the bacon. These simple sayings confirm that the business of food ranges from sustenance, identity, and money to many other aspects of human life. Even if you have never been to Asia, chances are you have eaten your share of dishes bearing Asian-sounding names, such as General Tso’s Chicken, or spices that are native to and still largely produced in Asia, such as black pepper and cinnamon. Through classroom discussions and cumulative writing assignments, this course invites you to savor the delicious diversity of Asia and unpack “Asian” food as dynamic culinary styles resulting from complex environmental and human interactions over a long period of time. It will make you more knowledgeable about more than half of the world’s population, get you ready for the SLU study abroad programs in the region, and set you apart in the job market. This course fulfills the FYS requirement.
 

Courses in "New Horizons: Global & Historical Conversations" invite students to investigate a culture, time, space, and/or place different than St. Lawrence University in the contemporary time.

The Perfect Spy: The Cold War and John Le Carré

Joseph Jockel
T/Th 1:50p1am-4:00pm

This FYS will sample the Cold War work of the great British spy novelist John Le Carré. It will also view and discuss the feature film versions of “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” and “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.” Students will write a research paper on an aspect of Cold War espionage, literary or historic, of their choosing. This course fulfills the FYS requirement.

International Relations

Karl Schonberg
T/Th 1:50pm-4:00pm

This course analyzes international relations as an area of study within the field of political science, examining global political processes with particular emphasis on patterns of conflict and cooperation. Major areas of study include theories concerning the nature of the international system, nationalism, balance of power, collective security, alliance systems, international law and organization, political economy, war, deterrence, arms control and disarmament, the emerging international order, human rights and the environment.

This course counts as GOVT 108 toward the Political Science major or minor and fulfills the FYS requirement, and SS general education requirement.  Students who are enrolled in or have previously completed GOVT 108 may not enroll in this FYS course.

Courses in "Visionary Ventures: New Advances & Entrepreneurship" explore ways to reimagine the “old”, develop the “new”, and think about ways to move from “it’s always been done this way” to “how could this be different."

Economics to Save the Planet

David Murphy
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

In an age of extraordinary technological advancement, nations face an enduring challenge: how to balance prosperity, security, and environmental responsibility. The 21st century has brought immense improvements in living standards, yet questions remain about the long-term sustainability of our economic and energy systems. Are current environmental concerns evidence of an impending crisis, or signs that we must innovate smarter, not simply spend more? This course explores the complex relationship between the environment, the economy, and energy. Economic growth has lifted billions from poverty and remains a key pillar of stability-but it also depends on reliable, affordable energy and responsible management of natural resources. Can we continue to grow while maintaining environmental integrity? Or is the pursuit of growth itself the foundation of a secure, prosperous future? Students will examine competing perspectives on energy and environmental policy, from neoclassical economics to emerging biophysical and ecological models. Rather than assuming one path forward, we will critically assess how societies can best safeguard both economic and environmental resilience. Ultimately, the course invites students to consider how to ensure a secure, stable, and prosperous future-one that balances human ingenuity with the realities of a finite planet. This course fulfills the FYS requirement.

Energy and the Environment

George Repicky
T/Th 8:50am-11:00am

Why did every car manufacturer in the world aim to convert to all electric by 2035 and then back off? And what does it mean if a lot of that electricity continues to come from fossil fuels? Does the US rejoining (and then leaving... again) the Paris Climate Agreement matter or is the agreement too weak to have any real impact? Why are rural areas around the North Country fighting solar and wind farm development? Why didn’t we see sustained growth in the American Coal industry despite the first Trump administration’s promises and policies?  Decisions being made today about energy production and consumption will lead to economic, political, social, and environmental consequences that will remain with us for decades, maybe even centuries. As a result, thoughtful citizens across the country are demanding to be a part of the decision-making process. In this course, students will delve into aspects of the energy debate through course readings and discussion, as well as their own research projects. Please note that this course will make extensive use of technology, such as WeVideo, and audio recordings in both the research process and for the production of the final projects. This course fulfills the FYS requirement, and SS general education requirement.