Since its introduction in the fall of 2002, the first-year seminar program has expanded significantly and now offers 63 courses in 28 departments, up from 25 courses in nine departments when it began.
Several departments are offering new first-year seminars this semester, including the music, history, comparative literature, anthropology and English departments. The music department's first-year seminar MU 21: "Reading Jazz" is the first one offered by the department.
First-year seminars provide students with an opportunity to take smaller, more challenging classes and interact closely with faculty members. According to University Registrar Michael Pesta, "the intellectual environment of a seminar class allows students to overcome their hesitations, get involved more intimately with their education, and take advantage of all that Brown has to offer."
Professor of Anthropology Douglas Anderson said he views his anthropology seminar, AN 66, Sec. 2: "Explorers and Cultural Encounters," as "an experiment with freshmen" who are not likely to be very familiar with the field.
"This class opens up ways for them to appreciate different views of different people and how they have evolved," he said.
The course deals with personal accounts of several explorers in order to understand the process of exploration and the varying Western perspectives on people in other parts of the world. According to Anderson, the course may count as an elective in both the anthropology and history departments.
Anderson said he is amazed at the historical and geographical knowledge exhibited by the first-years in his class. "They have tremendous knowledge, especially in geography, and they are very enthusiastic," he said.
Matthew Thanabalan '10 described Anderson's seminar as his favorite class. "I enjoy the opportunity to learn in a more conducive learning environment where discussion, as opposed to memorization and listening to lectures, is the mode of interaction with the material," he said.
William Simmons, a professor of anthropology and chair of the department, said he believes first-year seminars work to generate interest in the field, adding that they play an important role in the curriculum.
"Anthropology involves a cross-cultural view or understanding of human activities. Freshman year is a great year for introducing (the discipline) to students, regardless of the field they choose to pursue ultimately," he said.
Simmons said first-year seminars are beneficial because they allow students to open up and express themselves. "Students get the chance to articulate and defend their own points of view. They form communal relationships with faculty and other students that leave important intellectual imprints," he said.
Senior Lecturer in Music Matthew McGarrell, who is teaching "Reading Jazz," said he enjoys teaching a course that integrates music and literature, noting that it is unlike other offerings in the department.
"This course is unique because it does not teach the techniques of music-making or historical perspectives on jazz," he said. "It is about reading fiction, poetry and biographies, analyzing them and figuring out how they relate to the world of jazz."
McGarrell said the course does not count toward requirements for a concentration in music.
McGarrell said he wholeheartedly supports the first-year seminar program and is even thinking of teaching another first-year seminar.
"I think it is fantastic. I'm eager to be part of it again and I'm thinking of proposing a seminar on Portuguese music at some point," McGarrell said.
Professor of History Omer Bartov, who is leading a first-year seminar on the Holocaust for the first time this semester, said he prefers to teach history in a seminar setting.
"(The Holocaust) is a difficult topic. For freshmen taking their first history course in college, it is better to have a discussion-oriented class, especially when (the course) is on mass murder," he said.
In the course, HI 97, Sec. 21: "The Holocaust in Historical Perspective," Bartov tries to embrace a "quellenkritik," or source criticism, approach to the study of history. He encourages his students to study the events of the Holocaust from a variety of perspectives with a critical eye.
"History is not just about who did what, but is a narrative of the past that tries to understand events through different, often contradictory, viewpoints," he said.
Anjali Rao '10 said she finds Bartov's seminar interesting and enlightening. "I was shocked to see how little I knew about the Holocaust. I really enjoy reading primary documents and their different interpretations. I've learned so much in this class," she said.
However, Rao said she believes the seminar would have been better with fewer students. "There are 20 people and it's sometimes hard to get into the discussion because a few tend to dominate," she said.
Zachary Beauchamp '10 agreed that he "sometimes feel(s) disengaged" when a few students speak for long periods of time. However, he said that Bartov tries to prevent them from doing so on occasion.
Professor of Comparative Literature Stephanie Merrim, who is teaching a seminar titled CO 71, Sec. 2: "New Worlds," an introduction to colonial literature in 16th- and 17th-century Latin America, said she believes her course introduces first-years to a new discipline in a way "tailored to their needs, interests and abilities."
"In this course students are introduced to topics that they are probably unfamiliar with or haven't had the chance to explore," she said.
Merrim said she has retooled the course, which was originally an upper-level course, to better serve as a foundation for first-years, some of whom might be interested in studying abroad in Latin America.
"This course may serve as a basis for several concentrations - Latin American studies, Hispanic studies, ethnic studies, comparative literature and history," she said.
Hannah Sheldon-Dean '10 and Adrienne Langlois '10 said "New Worlds" is their favorite class.
Along with the expansion of first-year seminars in the past few years, Pesta said there have been several requests for sophomore seminars. However, he noted it is "a big challenge" for faculty members to take on seminar classes in addition to existing courses and research commitments.
