The First Year Seminar (or FYS for short) is a small seminar-style class that all entering first-year students take during their first semester at TCNJ. The course enables entering students to work closely with a professor and their fellow students on a topic of their choosing outside of their major. It offers students an opportunity to engage in an intellectually exciting and challenging experience at the beginning of their college careers.
Instructions
- Some departments and schools give specific advice on how to choose your FYS course. Please check the “Major Specific FYS Info” page before picking your FYS.
- From the list of FYS courses, please pick six sections that interest you.
- Once you have chosen six FYS sections, please put them in your First Semester Worksheet.
- Your FYS choices will not be ranked when entered into the First Semester Worksheet. One of your choices will be assigned to you as your FYS.
| Class | Name/Description | Instructor | Civic Responsibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| 161-15 | AI and Machine Learning in Music
In recent years, concerns have been increasingly expressed about the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques to produce and sell popular music. In this course, we will investigate how these advanced software systems are constructed and learn about the technologies that power them at scale. Then, we will study how algorithms have been deployed in music streaming and recommendation services and other music software to increase profits and market to specific socioeconomic segments. We will engage with the controversies through readings, first-person interviews, and writing assignments. We will then propose our own alternative approaches to apply AI and ML away from the models of consumption established by the music industry, and toward more creative, human-centered, music-making activities. Musical experience not required. Course#: FYS 161-15 |
Theresa Nakra | |
| 164-01 | Teaching English in Global and Local Communities
This course teaches students about political and social issues involved in teaching English globally and locally, with a focus on topics like linguistic imperialism and types of bilingualism. It provides students with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed for teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language in informal settings in the United States and abroad. Students have the opportunity to complete 8 hours of on-line tutoring throughout the course. Course#: FYS 164-01 |
Stuart Carroll | Global |
| 164-03 | The Last of Us: A Study of Human Nature and Threats to Humankind
In a civilization that controls almost all aspects of its environment, few people develop basic outdoor and low technology survival skills. This course uses survival instruction as a foundation for team building, leadership, and problem-solving skill development. Students study survival texts, documentaries, and fictional films not to incite paranoia, but to create a tangible learning context to consider and analyze threats to human sustainability. These threats include overpopulation, resource depletion or environmental degradation, disease, war, and acts of nature. Students explore global perspectives about the existence of and solutions to these threats, writing about them while participating in a game-like course structure that promotes campus and peer engagement. Course#: FYS 164-03 |
Steve Singer | Global |
| 161-16 | Disability and Decolonial Lens
Disability is ubiquitous in the media. We are surrounded by images of disability presented in various sources of media. What do these images tell us? Whose voices do they represent? How do they frame disability? How do they inform our understandings of disability? What are lenses that we could use to analyze and interpret disability images in the media? This course introduces students to disability as a social and cultural construct. We will explore how disability is constructed in various spaces in the media. The dominant discourse on disability, especially in the media, is often situated within a biomedical model. This course challenges and disrupts such typical understandings of disability. It introduces disability as a concept that is rooted in specific contexts, narratives, and perceptions of human differences. Drawing on recent work in the areas of decolonial theory and critical disability studies as well as first person perspectives on disability, this course uses a multitude of lenses for analyzing the depiction of disability in the media. The course presents a capacity based perspective and an intersectional lens on disability. Course#: FYS 161-16 |
Shridevi Rao | |
| 164-14 | Morality, God, and Free Will
This seminar is about what it means to be human. Most people believe that there are moral rights and wrongs and a God (or gods) who cares about how about how well or badly they behave. They also believe that they are selves who have the capacity (free will) to choose between alternative possibilities and take responsibility for those choices. Yet few things are more difficult to verify than beliefs about morality, God, and free will. This course examines the efforts of philosophers, scientists, theologians, and poets to provide compelling answers to these difficult questions. It also invites students to examine their own beliefs and consider alternatives. Course#: FYS 164-14 |
Rick Kamber | Global |
| 164-15 | Morality, God, and Free Will
This seminar is about what it means to be human. Most people believe that there are moral rights and wrongs and a God (or gods) who cares about how about how well or badly they behave. They also believe that they are selves who have the capacity (free will) to choose between alternative possibilities and take responsibility for those choices. Yet few things are more difficult to verify than beliefs about morality, God, and free will. This course examines the efforts of philosophers, scientists, theologians, and poets to provide compelling answers to these difficult questions. It also invites students to examine their own beliefs and consider alternatives. Course#: FYS 164-15 |
Rick Kamber | Global |
| 161-05 | American Communism and Anti-Communism in the 20th Century
This course is about the evolution of American Communism and those who opposed it during the 20th century. It will examine how Communism did and did not change over time, along with the relationship of the Communist movement to the American government, to other social movements, and to American culture more broadly. It will also examine the social and political forces that opposed Communism. Through an examination of scholarly texts as well as primary documents--from political pamphlets to transcripts of Congressional testimonies to songs and films and paintings--this course will challenge students to reflect--in discussion and through writing assignments--on how radical political movements shaped American politics and society. Students will complete a series of short writing assignments as well as a longer essay. Course#: FYS 161-05 |
Nicholas Toloudis | |
| 163-02 | LGBTQ and Media Studies
This course explores LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) identity, culture, and politics by way of their representations in popular and independent films/documentaries, as well as in other forms of mass media. Topics covered include: the history of LGBTQ representations in the media; the complexity of LGBTQ visibility in films and documentaries; the complex relationship between comedy, media, and LGBTQ identity; representations of LGBTQ intimacy and erotic life; the notion of resistance in LGBTQ-produced media; the coming out metaphor/narrative in popular culture; the role of social media in fostering LGBTQ activism and community; and media portrayals of transgender/genderqueer identities and bodies. By way of these and other topics, this course provides an opportunity to consider the significant role that media have played in advancing a global transformation on the topic of LGBTQ. Course#: FYS 163-02 |
Nelson Rodriguez | Gender |
| 161-02 | Complementary and Alternative Medicine
This course explores the traditional, allopathic approach to medical care in the United States based on pharmaceutical and surgical remedies, and several alternative approaches. Some are common in the US (chiropractic, physical therapy, mental-health counseling), or ascendant (nutrition, supplements, acupuncture), and some much more accepted in other countries (naturopathic, probiotics, Ayurveda, herbs). The course adopts a holistic and systems-based approach to health and illness, and assesses what contributes to immune-system functionality or vulnerability. It includes side effects as well as direct effects, and long-term consequences as well as short-term benefits of health interventions. 1 course unit, no prerequisites. Course#: FYS 161-02 |
Michele Naples | |
| 164-06 | Women Writing the Past
This course offers a study of fiction, film, and autobiography by women of color whose work demonstrates the "presence of the past" in late 20th-century life. We will read a sampling of authors who have origins in Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, China, and the US for the specific ways in which they construct and reconstruct the past through literature. As we read each text, we will interrogate the myths and legends that have come to be known as "history" and look at the methods, artifacts, and sources each author uses to acquaint readers with imaginative alternatives to "official records" of the past. We will also study the lesser- known personal histories of the authors' lives as well as the personal lives of the lesser-known historical figures "remembered" by the authors. Course#: FYS 164-06 |
Lisa Ortiz | Global |
| 164-07 | Women Writing the Past
This course offers a study of fiction, film, and autobiography by women of color whose work demonstrates the "presence of the past" in late 20th-century life. We will read a sampling of authors who have origins in Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, China, and the US for the specific ways in which they construct and reconstruct the past through literature. As we read each text, we will interrogate the myths and legends that have come to be known as "history" and look at the methods, artifacts, and sources each author uses to acquaint readers with imaginative alternatives to "official records" of the past. We will also study the lesser- known personal histories of the authors' lives as well as the personal lives of the lesser-known historical figures "remembered" by the authors. Course#: FYS 164-07 |
Lisa Ortiz | Global |
| 162-03 | Racism, Crime and Prisons in US History
In this course, students explore the ways in which historical racism shapes perceptions of crime, particularly racist stereotypes about Black crime and the myth (or assumption) of white innocence, racist fictions that drive the mass imprisonment of people of color in the U.S. today. We begin with an examination of racist beliefs about crime and racist punishment practices in the slavery era then the post-slavery (post-Civil War era), the Jim Crow period, and end with the 1970s to present (the New Jim Crow era or "War on Drugs" era). Throughout the course, students confront the reality that white supremacy, white privilege, and racist terrorism against communities of color (through state agencies like the police) are not phenomena of the past, but institutionalized in the present. In so doing, students are empowered to think critically and creatively about ways to eradicate the social injustices that maintain the racist systemic legal oppression of people of color in the U.S. Course#: FYS 162-03 |
Leigh Ann Francis | Race & Ethnicity |
| 162-04 | Racism, Crime and Prisons in US History
In this course, students explore the ways in which historical racism shapes perceptions of crime, particularly racist stereotypes about Black crime and the myth (or assumption) of white innocence, racist fictions that drive the mass imprisonment of people of color in the U.S. today. We begin with an examination of racist beliefs about crime and racist punishment practices in the slavery era then the post-slavery (post-Civil War era), the Jim Crow period, and end with the 1970s to present (the New Jim Crow era or "War on Drugs" era). Throughout the course, students confront the reality that white supremacy, white privilege, and racist terrorism against communities of color (through state agencies like the police) are not phenomena of the past, but institutionalized in the present. In so doing, students are empowered to think critically and creatively about ways to eradicate the social injustices that maintain the racist systemic legal oppression of people of color in the U.S. Course#: FYS 162-04 |
Leigh Ann Francis | Race & Ethnicity |
| 164-13 | A Global Approach to Wellness
Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life. Wellness is more than being free from illness, it is a multidimensional dynamic process of change and growth. This process varies from person to person as there are a variety of societal and cultural influences that can be of support or hindrance. This course will engage students through the deep exploration of personal wellness and how personal, interpersonal, and cultural expectations impact all areas of wellness. Additionally, the exploration and practical application of a variety of traditional and complementary alternative medicine approaches will be used to support reading material and challenge students to rethink what constitutes well rounded wellness practices. The use of current entertainment articles, daily news, research articles, books chapters, videos, television, and social media may affect personal health choices and overall wellness. Course#: FYS 164-13 |
Laura Bruno | Global |
| 164-11 | Art of Happiness from a Buddhist Perspective
This seminar seeks to explore the nature and meanings of happiness from a Buddhist perspective. Students will read the basic teachings about happiness from both the Buddhist canons and the contemporary Buddhist thinkers (such as The Dalai Lama and Thích Nhất Hạnh). Emphasis will be placed on the key concepts of happiness such as compassion, wisdom, mindfulness, affection, kindness, gratitude, right ethical conducts and mental/emotional wellness cultivation. Students are encouraged to think about what it would mean to live a good and happy life by applying the teachings to their contemporary life and society. Course#: FYS 164-11 |
Jiayan Mi | Global |
| 162-02 | Systemic Racism and Health in the U.S.
When we're taught about factors that influence our health outcomes, the focus is often on individual level behaviors such as eating the right foods, getting exercise, and going to the doctor. However, our individual level behaviors that we engage in (or don't) are influenced by the systems in which we live. In this class, we will explore the social determinants of health, with a focus on racism as a significant factor that influences the health of BlPOC, resulting in health disparities. Students will learn the importance of anti-racism and social justice in building a healthy nation. Course#: FYS 162-02 |
Jessica Barnack-Tavlaris | Race & Ethnicity |
| 164-02 | Becoming a Global Disabilities Activist
"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced‚" - James Baldwin This seminar will be closely aligned to the course of study at TCNJ for students with intellectual disabilities: Career and Community Studies Certificate Program. This is a program (https://ccs.tcnj.edu/) with in the School of Education that implements a post-secondary course of study for a small cohort of youth 18-25 with intellectual disabilities that desire a college experience that leads to adult roles and responsibilities. It is expected that through collaborative and controlled experiences, students in this seminar and the certificate program will jointly benefit from exploring the course themes. Course#: FYS 164-02 |
Jerry G Petroff | Global |
| 161-04 | Split brains and phantom limbs: Strange neurological disorders and the biological basis of body awareness
If there is one thing that seems certain in life, it is the powerful realization that you are you. You have a body and your experience tells you that it seems to interact seamlessly with the world around you. You see, you hear, you smell, you taste. You know where your hands and feet are, even with your eyes closed. You feel it. You know it. But what, exactly, is the basis for this certainty? This course focuses on the biological basis of bodily awareness through the lens of strange neurological disorders. Drawing on the popular works of Oliver Sacks, V.S. Ramachandran, and others, students will explore, through reading, writing, videos, class discussions and in-class activities, the fascinating link between the body, the brain, and the mind. Students will learn the basic structure of the human nervous system and then consider specific and bizarre neurological disorders that can fundamentally alter the way a person senses and perceives not only the world around them, but even themselves as well. Imagine hearing colors, tasting textures, being able to feel the presence of a limb that no longer exists (a phantom limb), or sincerely believing that a part of your body actually belongs to someone else! At the end of this course, students will see how tenuous certainty of the physical body can be and at the same time realize how important a normally functioning nervous is to that powerful realization that you indeed are you. No prior knowledge of neurobiology or the human nervous system is assumed for this course. Course#: FYS 161-04 |
Jeffery Erickson | |
| 164-08 | The Beatles and Their World
The lives and musical careers of the Beatles reflect profound cultural changes that took place in the aftermath of the Great Depression and World War II. In particular, the extraordinary transformation of this group in a decade and a half from one of many local Liverpool bands to the most influential popular music group of all time and an international cultural arbiter offers insight into the modern cultural world. With the Beatles as its focus, this seminar will explore such topics in modern cultural history as race relations, women's rights and gender issues, youth culture, consumerism, counterculture and protest, mass media and public relations, as well as, of course, developments in popular music. Course#: FYS 164-08 |
David Venturo | Global |
| 164-04 | Global Political Novels
"Making up stories is an inherently political act," the Pakistani novelist Mohsin Hamid has commented. Among the many forms of narrative, the novel is especially suited to conveying political values, ideas, and conflict. This seminar focuses on how writers around the world have used the novel to think about global and national politics. Students will read a wide variety of novels (graphic, detective, dystopian, autobiographical, magical realist) in exploring how writers have imagined power, government, and citizenship in such places as China, Iran, the Soviet Union, Africa, South Asia, and the Americas. Reading and writing assignments will prepare students for college-level work in all majors. Course#: FYS 164-04 |
David Blake | Global |
| 164-05 | Global Political Novels
"Making up stories is an inherently political act," the Pakistani novelist Mohsin Hamid has commented. Among the many forms of narrative, the novel is especially suited to conveying political values, ideas, and conflict. This seminar focuses on how writers around the world have used the novel to think about global and national politics. Students will read a wide variety of novels (graphic, detective, dystopian, autobiographical, magical realist) in exploring how writers have imagined power, government, and citizenship in such places as China, Iran, the Soviet Union, Africa, South Asia, and the Americas. Reading and writing assignments will prepare students for college-level work in all majors. Course#: FYS 164-05 |
David Blake | Global |
| 161-13 | Rebuilding the Body Human
Modern healthcare relies on the use of technology and medical devices. The definition, development and use of medical devices to "rebuild the human body" will be explored. Topics include the interaction of medical devices with the human body as well as ethical, economic and social issues associated with medical devices that replace or augment body parts and/or body functions. Course#: FYS 161-13 |
Connie Hall | |
| 164-19 | East Asian Fashion Connections
This course will delve into the last 100 years of culturally unique fashion of East Asian countries. Students will investigate how the global events heavily influenced the fashion trends of those countries. Starting from the United States, we will travel to China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan, to see how each country's beauty standards have evolved throughout the last century. We will examine how commercial, societal, or pop-cultural events can intertwine and impact on the way people dress. After studying the similarities and the differences between each of these East Asian countries, we will link elements of fashion to the influence of historical events, political regimes, and global powers. This course will explore the last 100 years of fashion through texts, film, and students¿ own heritages. Students will analyze and write about a variety of perspectives on the connections between East Asian fashion and the rest of the world. Course#: FYS 164-19 |
Celia Liu | Global |
| 164-20 | East Asian Fashion Connections
This course will delve into the last 100 years of culturally unique fashion of East Asian countries. Students will investigate how the global events heavily influenced the fashion trends of those countries. Starting from the United States, we will travel to China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan, to see how each country's beauty standards have evolved throughout the last century. We will examine how commercial, societal, or pop-cultural events can intertwine and impact on the way people dress. After studying the similarities and the differences between each of these East Asian countries, we will link elements of fashion to the influence of historical events, political regimes, and global powers. This course will explore the last 100 years of fashion through texts, film, and students¿ own heritages. Students will analyze and write about a variety of perspectives on the connections between East Asian fashion and the rest of the world. Course#: FYS 164-20 |
Celia Liu | Global |
| 164-09 | Latin American Politics and Society
The composition and politics of Latin American countries offer a rich set of cases to develop these skills. Although they share similar histories, Latin American countries differ considerably as cultural mixtures and in socio-economic outcomes. This seminar offers a multidisciplinary introduction to the region that investigates forces that have shaped Latin America and describes the social diversity among and within countries. The course presents a historical foundation before investigating the social composition, economic structures, political regimes, and foreign relations of Latin American countries. Students learn how to think critically about how social structure and political choice shape the lives of people in Latin America and by comparison across the world. Course#: FYS 164-09 |
Brian Potter | Global |
| 164-10 | Latin American Politics and Society
The composition and politics of Latin American countries offer a rich set of cases to develop these skills. Although they share similar histories, Latin American countries differ considerably as cultural mixtures and in socio-economic outcomes. This seminar offers a multidisciplinary introduction to the region that investigates forces that have shaped Latin America and describes the social diversity among and within countries. The course presents a historical foundation before investigating the social composition, economic structures, political regimes, and foreign relations of Latin American countries. Students learn how to think critically about how social structure and political choice shape the lives of people in Latin America and by comparison across the world. Course#: FYS 164-10 |
Brian Potter | Global |
| 161-03 | Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, and other business fraud
According to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) research, each year tens of thousands of individuals in the United States are victims of pyramid schemes. Thousands of others fall prey to Ponzi schemes and other business frauds. This course focuses on understanding what constitutes a Ponzi or pyramid scheme, their harmful impact as a type of business fraud and why they persist. We conclude by examining the economic theories that explain some other forms of business fraud (e.g., price fixing, accounting fraud, etc.). Course#: FYS 161-03 |
Bill Keep | |
| 161-01 | Quest for Happiness- Exploration of Wellbeing in Our Daily Lives
What defines happiness? This course is a guided approach to navigating many facets of ‚"happiness‚" through daily wellbeing including physical, emotional, social, intellectual, financial and spiritual aspects of life as a young adult. The objective of this course aims to explore what a ‚"happy life‚" really means. Topics focus on emphasizing the importance of maintaining a healthy life style (physical), acknowledging psychological needs and challenges (emotional), establishing a positive relationship with family and the community (social), developing a strong sense of fiscal responsibility (financial), being open mind to new ideas (intellectual) and recognizing purpose, value and the meaning of life (spiritual). It is the hope of this course that students will leave this course with a deeper and mindful understanding about the meaning of a ‚"happy life‚" as they move forward as an undergraduate student and beyond. Course#: FYS 161-01 |
Bea (Bih Horng) Chiang | |
| 163-01 | Speculative Fiction and the Future of Gender
This course will explore the role of gender in science fiction and other speculative works primarily by women and non-binary people. By examining novels, films, emotion pictures, and other forms of media, we will challenge the normalization of gender binaries and reconsider the possibilities of women's lives in the distant future, alternative past, and different dimensions. How does a world without a concept of gender function differently than ours? How do authors imagine worlds that are exclusively female? What kinds of powers do people in speculative narratives use to challenge oppressive power structures? Over the course of the semester, we will apply a variety of theoretical lenses including Critical Race Theory, Queer Theory, and Afrofuturism to examine how imagined realities reflect our contemporary understandings and changing concepts around gender and identity. We will engage in a variety of creative writing techniques such as re-mix, fan-fiction, and reader's theater to respond to the work of authors like Octavia Butler, Ursula K. le Guin, Janelle Monae, Rivers Solomon, and Louise Erdrich. Course#: FYS 163-01 |
Anne Peel | Gender |